In Tess Diamond’s third romantic thriller, an FBI agent teams up with the one woman who can offer the salvation he needs as they search for a serial killer . . . As the head of an elite FBI unit, Special Agent Paul Harrison seems to have everything figured out, but beneath the surface, an internal war is raging. When he returns to his rural hometown for the first time in a few years, he’s faced … hometown for the first time in a few years, he’s faced with the memories that led to his losing the love of his life.
Fifteen years ago, Abigail Winthrop’s best friend, and Paul’s girlfriend, was murdered by the infamous serial killer Doctor X. Now an investigative journalist, she’s determined to find the truth. But when Abigail discovers evidence that clears Doctor X, she realizes the real killer is still out there and is striking again when local young girls begin disappearing.
Turning to Paul for help, Abigail joins forces with him. As an undeniable attraction develops between them, they must heal deep wounds from their past—and find a relentless psychopath who could extinguish their hopes for a future together.
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Abby is a reporter and is doing a book about her best friend who was murdered years ago by a serial killer. Paul is a FBI agent and it was his girlfriend that was killed. Abby and Paul have known each other since they were toddlers. Abby goes and talks to Doctor X, the man who claimed to have killed Cass, her best friend. When she finds out he lied, she realizes the killer is still out there. Her and Paul investigate and find out seven others girls are missing and they were probably killed by the same man that killed Cass. They’ll do anything to find him, especially after another girl turns up missing.
First time reading this author and I absolutely loved it. She makes her characters relatable and it feels like you are right in the story too. Suspense, a little steamy, and best friends to lovers. I couldn’t stop reading it.
The images created in the mind of a reader are harsh, intense, and violent. The story takes the mind to the dangerous and deadly road of hunting for a serial killer where no one is safe, where the target is clear, yet the culprit manages to outsmart the law, the best in the field to find the killers and solve the fatal situations. The story is riveting, it is nearly spellbinding in a way it wrapped itself around my mind making it unputdownable until the end was there, in the early morning hours when the culprits were caught, and I could breathe again.
The suspense is savage and cruel. There are the Hannibal Lecter-moments that had me biting my nails, bringing the nightmarish atmosphere to the tale. There are those desperate moments when hunting for clues, the moments of knowing something to be true yet unable to prove it. I was mesmerized by the teamwork and the effort the characters put into the case, their dedication and determination were admirable.
For the perfect balance for the ghoulish serial killer hunt, bringing a different kind of intensity to the stage was the lifelong relationship between Special Agent Paul Harrison and Abigail Winthrop. The chemistry between Paul and Abigail was palpable, yet the tension of the past mistakes, the hurt, and the secrets revealed are like a wall between the childhood friends.
The budding romantic relationship has a solid foundation between the two who had most of their lives been the home, the safe place, to each other. Yet there were issues they needed to solve, to talk through, to heal from, forget and forgive. The attraction between them is as tangible as the connection they have. Being in each other’s arms there is a fervent passion but also there are healing powers in the tender touch, in the hugs, and the kisses they share with each other in the middle of the mayhem and commotion.
Could the emotions between them and churning inside of them been taken to another level, deeper depth to bring more angst to the tale – sure, but in my mind, the crimes of the serial killer were such vicious, heinous acts, the new state of the relationship between Paul and Abigail was the counterbalance I needed, just as it was, to be able to truly enjoy the story without taking me completely into a dark abyss of the turmoil.
An alluring tale of two childhood friends who are in the middle of the turmoil with a serial killer on the loose and hunting for the next victim. The crimes are ghastly, violent, unimaginable, yet the tender, sweet, compelling attraction and deep emotion between the hero and the heroine bring the perfect balance to this intense, strong, and powerful romantic suspense story.
I loved it, could not put it down until the end, the smoothly flowing, well-written tale just pulled me in and kept the hold.
~ Five Spoons