Mysteries: 'Three Reasons for Revenge' and 'The Shadow Step'

Dervla McTiernan and Mark Billingham’s latest crime novels turn the idea of “getting even” into a warning sign, not a payoff. In Dervla McTiernan’s Three Reasons for Revenge (Morrow, 336 pages, $30), an unsettling past resurfaces for both crime victims and the detectives assigned to solve the case. The story follows Judith Lee, a police detective in Melbourne, as lingering history complicates the investigation and deepens the emotional stakes. The pairing with Billingham’s The Shadow Step reinforces a common theme: revenge may feel like closure, but it often drives characters into worse outcomes.