When he grabs Daisy Dawson, he believes he has found his next victim. But despite her small stature, she fights back with an expertise that quickly frees her. Before fleeing the scene, Daisy also manages to grab what proves to be crucial evidence: a necklace from around the killer's neck.
The necklace is more than a trivial item--it is a link to a cold case that Special Agent Gideon Reynolds has been tracking for seventeen years. With Daisy's help, Gideon finally has the opportunity to get closer to the truth than ever before.
But they might not get the chance, as the serial killer has a new target: Gideon and Daisy.
Comment: This is the most recent installment in the romantic suspense series by author Karen Rose, an author whose work I've been a fan of for some time.
This book follows up what happened in other books, when it comes to the character's relationships but it's also labeled the first of a new spin off series, set in Sacramento.
In this new book we get to see how is the life of Daisy, another sister to Taylor and Julie, recurrent characters from previous books, namely Monster in the Closet.
The action starts with Daisy Dawson being attacked but resisting ad how that starts of a chain reaction to not only follow the circumstances of why a serial killer keeps killing and to connect that with a cold case and the real life situation of FBI agent Gideon Reynolds.
Daisy and Gideon and their mutual friends will team up to look for more clues about a locket Daisy got out of her fighting the killer, not knowing the killer is on to them now...
When I start a book by this author I have immediate expectations which are quite complicated to not have because of what she has used her fans to. Her books are very plot focused, the action is always on going and it's even difficult to imagine everything happens in a matter of days, always seeming that it takes longer than that for the crimes to be solved and the romantic pair to bond.
In this book, Daisy and Gideon are the main couple, and the interesting tidbit is that the friends they have in common, including a matriarchal matchmaker have been trying for them to meet before and they never said yes, until this case proves there was some reason behind their efforts.
Daisy, we've been told, was a bit troubled because of the restrictions her father, Frederick, imposed on the family thinking he was protecting them all from Taylor's biological father, who his wife Donna always said to be dangerous. Daisy was a bit of a rebel but she endured until the truth came out when Donna confessed she lied about everything. Then Daisy's life changed and she wanted the freedom that had been denied to them, and that took their sister Carrie's life too.
I liked Daisy's character and personality, something I admit I was doubtful about because in the other books she was mentioned we didn't have her side of things and she came across as unfair. It was obviously nice to see she is as caring and dedicated as all the heroines before her in regards to the hero and the family.
The hero of this book is an unknown character. Gideon was a surprising guy because he lived in a cult as a child and that has certainly shaped many of his expectations and behavior. He still lives with what happened to him, his sister and mother while living in the cult but what he wants most is hope and revenge against those who caused him so much pain. I'm just happy that, by the end of the book, we get to have a huge clue in how this sub plot will certainly have a solution and a possible new book set in Sacramento will likely feature the solving of this.
This obviously means the characters have quite a complicated past. They had to go through some very harsh situations and that affects how we must see them: people who suffered but overcame all that and are now exemplary citizens, people we must sympathize with. I'm just commenting this because it does feel like the couples in the author's books had to suffer something in order to be worthy protagonists. Of all the books I've read I can't remember one where at least one of the protagonists hadn't gone through some trauma/problem/suffering.
I'm not saying this is exactly a flaw but it does create a situation and that somewhat explains why we must engage with them so quickly: most of their personalities have been shaped by pain.
Daisy and Gideon are a good match, they understand each other, they are good friends even when they don't share with those who care for them... and they are a good investigative team as well. Along with other officers of different entities (police, FBI, crime scene people, etc.) they plan and they search and they managed to connect the dots to catch the bad guy.
I actually felt bad for this one in some points. He wasn't evil like others have been, his maliciousness came from something that happened to him and not out of his own evil self. He killed many so no excuses, but still. I keep thinking we have way too many pages from the villain's POV and this was no exception. We could still have an idea of actions without having such long scenes by him.
As a whole, this was fast paced, engrossing, the little details about several characters helped, the investigation had its moments and I do appreciate how the author has tried to focus more on some positive things (scenes we see more characters we care about and how they work together) instead of just bad stuff. This wasn't a bad book in the series and I'm obviously eager to read the next one.
Grade: 8/10
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