Enemies become lovers in a race to stop a killer.
When
another woman's body is found near the Carson Meadows Trail, Sheriff Zane North
realizes the killer he's been hunting is still on the loose. As he digs deeper
into the case, he doesn't expect to fall for his chief suspect's sister. Can he
stop the killer before he strikes again, and save the love of his life?
Second book in the series and just as gripping as the
first. The Callahan County sheriff's department is still working to solve the
fifteen-year-old cold case of Mallory Jameson's murder. Leads are nearly
non-existent, so the sheriff and his deputies have gone back to the beginning
and are re-interviewing previous suspects and persons of interest. One of those
people is Dylan Alexander, Mallory's former boyfriend, and son of the man who
many believed killed her. The Alexander family suffered a lot during that time,
which has left Dylan wary and his sister Ashley bitter. She doesn't react well
when the sheriff shows up to interview Dylan yet again.
I liked Zane. He is dedicated, experienced, and smart. He
is confident in his department's abilities, but also smart enough to use the
outside resources that are available to him. He is also very professional, with
an underlying kindness. It's clear that protecting the people of Diamond Springs
is essential to him. I loved how he handled Ashley's hostility when he showed
up to question Dylan. He knew the history behind her attitude and didn't let it
bother him.
I liked Ashley too. She is understandably cynical about
law enforcement after everything that her family went through. Trusting anyone
doesn't come easily, and she tends to keep most people at a distance. She is
very protective of her brother and initially tends to jump to conclusions
whenever Zane shows up at their house. She is also observant and intelligent
and provides some fascinating insight during Zane's investigations.
Ashley and Zane had an immediate connection. It was
amusing to see Zane's rather flummoxed reaction the first time he saw her, and
how it took him a minute to remember why he was there. Ashley reacted to him,
also, but her distrust dampened the initial effects. Zane was determined not to
give in to the attraction while working on the investigation, but as time went
on, it was clear that he was fighting a losing battle. When Dylan's fiancée,
Kerri Lynn, received a letter similar to the ones that Mallory and Lauren
received, Zane wondered if they were dealing with the killer, a copycat, or
someone playing a cruel prank. As other letters show up around town, including
one to Ashley, she and Zane don't have much opportunity to act on their growing
feelings, though there are some sweet scenes of them together.
The suspense in this book is even more intense than in
the previous one. The death of another young woman increases the tension around
town and in the sheriff's department. While there appear to be connections to
the earlier events, something about this one raises doubts in Zane's mind. I
loved following the investigation and the twists and turns before it was
finally solved. The ending was a nail-biter as Ashley ended up in the
cross-hairs of a desperate killer. I was impressed with her ability to remain
reasonably calm and take an active part in her own rescue. I loved her
confidence that Zane would reach her in time. The epilogue was great, and an
excellent way of showing the Alexander siblings moving on with their lives.
The secondary characters played essential parts in the
story. Dylan, of course, as a person of interest because of his association
with both Mallory and the recently murdered woman. I liked his confidence that
Zane would treat him fairly, and his attempts to get Ashley to lighten up on Zane.
The sheriff's department secretary, Cheri, flat out irritated me. Even in the
first book I wondered why Zane had hired such an obviously immature girl for a
job like that. In this book, her gossip was even more inappropriate, and her
actions were downright stupid when it came to specific events. I also hated her
attitude toward her so-called best friend's engagement. Her treatment of Dylan
was creepy, and I thoroughly understood Ashley's dislike of her. Another
character that continued to rub me the wrong way was the newspaper guy, Randall
Piper. I agreed with Ashley when she said he should be working for the
tabloids. His rudeness and lack of empathy toward the victims was infuriating.
I also didn't like the way he denigrated the sheriff's department. I kept
waiting for him to take something far enough that he'd be in trouble, but he always
skated just close enough to avoid any consequences.
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