When a woman is found brutally murdered on Austin’s lakeside hike-and-bike trail, investigative reporter Bailey Rhoads turns up on the scene demanding access and answers. She tries to pry information out of the lead detective, Jacob Merritt. But this case is unlike any he’s ever seen, and nothing adds up.
Bailey has a hunch the victim wasn’t who she claimed to be and believes this mugging-turned-murder could have been a targeted hit. When she digs deeper, the trail leads her to a high-tech fortress on the outskirts of Austin where researchers are pushing the boundaries of a cutting-edge technology that could be deadly in the wrong hands.
As a ruthless hit man’s mission becomes clear, Bailey and Jacob must embark on a desperate search to locate the next target before the clock ticks down on this lethal game of hide and seek.
Review:
I am proud to announce that for once I remembered not to get too attached to the POV character that the book started with, since with a Laura Griffin book, chances are about 99.99% that they’re about to die.
Go, me!
(And yeah, she dies. Spoiler alert. 🙁 )
I enjoyed this start to a new series (The Texas Murder Files) from Ms Griffin (and book two– Flight –excerpted at the end, sounds like another winner as well). Bailey and Jacob are characters it’s easy to root for, and I really enjoyed their chemistry as well. The crime beat reporter/lead detective dynamic was solid–though they might have been able to solve the crime faster if they’d done a better job of collaborating, it’s 100% believable that they probably shouldn’t have, all things considered. Their respective jobs will definitely make their life together interesting going forward… 😉
I don’t want to go into too much detail about the mystery–there’s a whole lot here that I know I wouldn’t have wanted to be spoiled ahead of time. I’ll just say that the way the antagonist was able to locate his victims creeped me the heck out–because it’s 100% plausible. Technology. Not always our friend…
Counting the days until book 2!
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.