When librarian Laura Griffth’s
sixteen-year-old sister disappears on a frigid February day, leaving
only a brief note behind, Laura resolves to do whatever it takes to
track down the runaway teen. That includes recruiting ATF agent turned
PI James “Dev” Devlin to help—but the deeper he digs, the more he
begins to suspect that something sinister is at work in the girl’s
disappearance. And the closer he gets to uncovering the truth, the
clearer it becomes that the situation isn’t just dangerous—it’s deadly.
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
Laura Griffith paused inside the back door and frowned.
Where was the thudding bass that usually shook the walls as it reverberated from behind Darcy’s closed bedroom door?
Where was the soda can her half
sister always left on the counter, despite repeated requests to rinse
empties and put them in the recycle bin?
Where was the faint odor of burned
bagel that had greeted her at the end of every workday since the teen’s
arrival in St. Louis four months ago?
She crossed the room and dropped her
purse and tote bag on the kitchen table, the thump of the heavy
satchel echoing in the uncharacteristic stillness. “Darcy?”
No response.
As a tingle of unease slithered along her nerve endings, Laura forced herself to take a deep breath.
Chill, okay? This could just be a new strategy. She hasn’t tried the silent treatment yet. Stay calm.
As if.
Chagrin twisted her lips as she
walked toward the living room. Her placid existence had evaporated the
day Darcy stepped inside the house, a hundred and two pounds of
brashness, bravado, and attitude. It had taken mere hours for the girl
to figure out her thirty-three-year-old half sibling had zero experience
dealing with a sixteen-year-old—and Darcy had done her best to exploit
that liability ever since.
Was it any wonder they clashed constantly?
Laura passed through the living
room, giving it a quick scan. No gloves or hat thrown on the couch. No
muffler trailing across the floor. No parka dumped in the wing chair.
Since it was doubtful Darcy had
altered her typical behavior pattern and put her winter gear in the
coat closet, the conclusion was obvious.
She’d broken the rule about coming straight home after school. Again.
With a sigh, Laura walked down the
hall toward Darcy’s room. Not much chance she’d find the teen poring
over her homework on a Friday afternoon, but it couldn’t hurt to check.
Hope sprang eternal and all that—even if she was already psyching
herself up for the battle of wills sure to come later in the evening.
As usual, Darcy’s door was closed. Laura knocked and called her name. After waiting a few beats, she turned the knob.
Once again, apprehension skittered
through her, along with a sudden chill that had nothing to do with the
frigid early February weather outside or the icy wind whistling around
the corner of the house. Darcy’s bed was made, the desktop swept clean
of clutter, the carpet pristine rather than littered with discarded
pieces of clothing from the teen’s ritual morning search for the
perfect outfit.
But it was the folded sheet of paper on the pillow that caused her heart to stutter.
Rubbing her damp palms on her
slacks, she forced herself to move toward the bed. Hesitated. Then,
pulse pounding, she picked up the note and flipped it open.
It took her only a few seconds to read the brief message.
A few more to quiet her chaotic thoughts.
A full half minute to formulate a plan of action.
Then she strode back to the kitchen, reached for her phone . . . and started to pray.
MY THOUGHTS
Did the teaser get you? This is the second book in this series, and every bit as exciting and suspenseful as the first!
This book kept me up all night, I read it start to finish, and it's no small book. It's one of those books that keep you hanging, it's evil, it's awful, and yet it's so good that you can't stop turning pages. This is a story so real that you can imagine it being in your newspaper or on the local news, yet, it's a story you hope you never hear.
What else can I say? If you like a big dose of suspense with a bit of romance on the side go buy this book!
*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for review from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing
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