'Long Gone' an addictive thriller

Alafair Burke delivers her best book to date with her first stand-alone thriller, “Long Gone.”

Alice Humphrey has landed her dream job: running a Manhattan art gallery. Drew Campbell, who hired her, says the artist of the new photography displays wants to stay out of the spotlight.

Though the pieces offend her, Humphrey agrees.

Everything is going well until she arrives at the gallery one morning and finds Campbell's dead body. The art is gone. The day before, a religious group had protested the photo images. Did the leader of that group have something to do with his murder?

As the police investigate, it becomes obvious that Humphrey has something to hide. According to the lease on the gallery, Humphrey signed her name Drew Campbell and the man who hired her had a different name. The photographer is nowhere to be found.

The more Humphrey tries to prove she was framed, the deeper it puts her in hot water.

Burke takes the backdrop of life in the Big Apple and makes the city a character.

Various subplots also tie into Humphrey's woes, and though it takes a bit longer than it should to put everything together, the result is a masterful read.

Humphrey is an everywoman, and readers will care about what happens to her. More compelling than page-turning, “Long Gone” is an addictive read.