A quirky travel agent who also has psychic talents is the star of FLIGHT RISK, Cherie Priest’s stand-alone sequel to GRAVE RESERVATIONS.

These fast-paced and clever mysteries feature Leda Foley, whose paranormal abilities are sometimes an asset and other times a frustration. In this novel, she continues working with Seattle PD detective Grady Merritt, who is well into middle age and lives with his teenage daughter while still mourning the loss of his wife to cancer. Although he was skeptical about the paranormal in the first book, after being presented with clear data showing that Leda knew things about the future, he actually got her a contract with the police department as a consultant.

"As the plot unfolds, Priest provides several possible culprits, and while there aren't any shocking reveals, FLIGHT RISK is a solidly satisfying sequel."

In FLIGHT RISK, Priest gives us a twofer. Leda is asked to look into the disappearance of Robin Reddick, who was last seen with a fairly large bank deposit. She drives a bright orange vintage Volvo, so the fact that her car hasn't been seen and she hasn’t used any of her credit cards is worrisome to her brother and son. Her husband, on the other hand, doesn't seem too concerned. Perhaps that's because Paul, an English professor at the state university, is a complete slimeball. He has affairs with students on a yearly basis --- a new one each year --- and his son and brother-in-law despise him. He, too, is missing, and no one is sure where he is.

In a strange coincidence, Grady and his daughter are searching for their dog, who was lost at the Mount Rainier park. When he finally appears after several days on his own, he is carrying what turns out to be a partially decomposed leg, with a shoe and sock still in place. Although Mount Rainier is several hours from Seattle, Grady coordinates with the local county officials to look into the case. And, of course, the leg belongs to Paul.

So now there are two missing people and lots of confusion about when exactly each of them disappeared. Where is the rest of Paul's body? Where is Robin? While not many people actually liked Paul, Robin seems to have had few enemies. Her family does not believe that she would take the money and abscond to parts unknown, even considering the problem of her philandering husband.

As in GRAVE RESERVATIONS, the interplay between Leda, Grady and Leda's best friend, Niki, lend much humor to the narrative, even when some of it is a darkly comic, gruesome description of body parts. We get to know Grady more in this story and see how his friendship with Leda evolves. As the plot unfolds, Priest provides several possible culprits, and while there aren't any shocking reveals, FLIGHT RISK is a solidly satisfying sequel.