The premise of Exposed is an interesting one (even if I have seen it before): a photographer unknowingly captures a crime taking place, and thus is targeted by the perpetrators. While I had some initial misgivings about this book, things improved and it ended up being an exciting story.

Maddie Callahan is a part-time wedding photographer and a part-time forensic photographer. She works for the Delphi Center crime lab (reminiscent of the television show Bones’s Jeffersonian) and is often contracted to photograph car accidents and crime scenes for the local police department. But it is after doing one of her side jobs, an engagement shoot, that she is attacked and her camera equipment stolen.

Maddie gets suspicious when the FBI shows up to talk about what she believes is a routine mugging. But they think it’s something more, and may be related to a kidnapping. A young woman due to testify against a suspected drug dealer/smuggler/murderer was kidnapped in the neighborhood just moments before Maddie was mugged. Brian Beckman, one of the FBI agents assigned to the case, feels awful about this, as he was in charge of her safety. Now that Maddie’s in danger – and getting herself involved in the case – he feels like he needs to protect her, as well.

Brian and Maddie are also attracted to each other, but Maddie has walls up. One, Brian is six years younger than she is (he’s 28; she’s 34). Two, though Maddie isn’t exactly pining over her ex-husband, she is still very much in mourning for her daughter, whose sudden death as a toddler both spurred Maddie into her criminology career and also splintered her marriage. Brian doesn’t particularly care about the age difference, and would much rather pursue a relationship with her than have a one-night-stand and then be friends and colleagues. They do have good chemistry, and I liked them together, but I thought Maddie held off for too long. I got a bit impatient with her using the same excuses over and over again. As a result, the HEA isn’t one of the “let’s go get married right now” variety, but more of a promise that they will, eventually, get to that point. This was more believable to me than the rushed lifetime commitments that Romantic Suspense novels tend to bring about.

The mugging happens in the first scene, and it took me several paragraphs to realize something significant was happening. The tone was off, and what should have been a charged scene felt disconnected and flat. I was worried that the whole book would be like that, but luckily it picked up and the pacing and tone matched the story, which turned out to be just complex enough to keep me thinking, and straightforward enough that I kept up easily. I enjoyed the way the pieces of the mystery fell together. The mastermind behind the kidnapping (and several murders) isn’t a secret, but Brian and Maddie and the others have to figure out how the players and victims connect.

I did have a hard time believing the way Maddie brought the Delphi Center into the investigation as often as she did. Have any of these characters heard of chain of evidence? I’m pretty sure civilians – even ones that are occasionally contracted to law enforcement – can’t walk away from a crime scene with bullet casings, and expect any findings to be admissible in court. All of it was done as favors, or with the excuse, “We’ll get it done faster,” but I still was wondering, “Who is paying for this? Where is the documentation?” And believe me, the last thing I want is to be pulled out of a story, thinking about paperwork. I also wondered how qualified Maddie was for her job. Going from a part-time portrait photographer to criminologist is a bit of a leap.

While not perfect, this book did keep me entertained. Fans of romantic suspense should find a lot in this book to enjoy. This is one in a series about employees of the Delphi Center, and there is a prelude to a future couple that intrigued me. I may be returning to this crime lab again in the future.