Series: Cavanaugh Justice (Book 40)
Does she have the key to solving a murder?
A Cavanaugh is on the (cold) case!
Kenzie Cavanaugh strives to prove herself to her legendary
law enforcement family. But when her missing persons case grabs the attention
of infuriating -- gorgeous -- Detective Hunter Brannigan, she grudgingly
collaborates with her work rival to catch a killer. As the partners uncover a
lethal conspiracy, they must learn to trust their instincts, and one another,
to stay alive.
Good book with an intriguing mystery and an enemies to
lovers romance. The story opened with a chilling look into the mind of a killer,
foreshadowing what our hero and heroine will be up against. It then moved on to
Kenzie Cavanaugh, the newest member of the missing persons division. A
childhood friend comes to her, looking for help finding her missing father. Kenzie's
compassion is evident, along with her determination to find her friend's
father. Our introduction to Hunter is when a fellow detective clues him into a
new arrival in the ME's office. Hoping that it might be what he needs to close
a cold case, Hunter is both dismayed and concerned when the parts don't match,
but the MO is the same. When the new victim turns out to be part of Kenzie's
case, logic says they should combine forces, but Kenzie resists.
This is the first Cavanaugh book that I can recall that I
didn't like the Cavanaugh for a good part of the book. Kenzie has a huge chip
on her shoulder thanks to being burned by a cheating fiancé. Because Hunter has
a playboy reputation, she tars him with the same brush. Her constant nasty
attitude toward him grated on me, and I wondered how Hunter could put up with
it for as long as he did, though he did get some enjoyment out of egging her
on. The part that bothered me the most is that she let her animosity bleed over
into the job too many times. I was impressed with his patience but cheered when
he finally called her on her attitude. Hunter has his own pain that he hides
behind the cheerful façade, pain that makes him more understanding of those
around him.
I liked the development of the relationship between
Hunter and Kenzie. Part of the reason that she reacts so strongly to Hunter is
that she is attracted to him and isn't happy about it, so she works to keep him
at a distance. Hunter finds himself liking the woman under the prickly surface,
and I enjoyed watching him work to bring that woman out from behind her walls. I
especially liked the role reversal as this time it was the non-Cavanaugh
partner who dragged the Cavanaugh to one of Andrew's get-togethers. I liked
seeing Kenzie lower her guard and realize that he's not such a bad guy after
all, with the predictable post-party results. With the cessation of
hostilities, their feelings have the opportunity to grow. I loved that while
Hunter had great respect for Kenzie's abilities, he was also protective of her.
That protectiveness created an emotion-charged scene at the end, lightened
slightly by a conversation between Andrew Cavanaugh and the head nurse at the
hospital. Loved the epilogue.
The suspense of the story was good. That first chilling
scene with the killer set the tone. I liked Hunter's instincts when Hunter saw
the most recent victim and saw the similarities to his seven-year-old cold
case. The realism of the drudge work of investigation was great, as the team
dealt with the mountain of information they had to go through. I liked how each
little thing that they found added to the big picture. The final confrontation
was intense and had me on the edge of my seat until it was over.
As always, I love it when various members of the family
make their appearances. In this one, I loved how well Brian Cavanaugh, the
Chief of Detectives, knew both Hunter and Kenzie and paired them up in the best
way possible. The scenes with poor, overworked Valri were great. I liked the
little I saw of Kenzie's brothers and look forward to their stories.
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