This is my first time reading this author and while many of her books have been romantic suspense, there is only a hint of romance in this one. This is a essentially a mystery novel. The story jumped around a bit in the beginning but got exciting towards the end and I couldn’t put it down!

Leanne Everhart came back to her home town in West Texas two years ago and works as a detective. She came back after her father, also a detective, was killed by a drunk driver. She is assigned her first case as lead detective in a homicide case of a young woman found brutally murdered. As Leanne begins to investigate, she realizes there are old cold cases involving the disappearance of other young women that are connected to the new murder. She suspects she is dealing with a serial killer.

Her father worked on one of the cold cases but the man who was found guilty was just released from jail after his conviction was overturned. Leanne uses her father’s notes to help her and it’s emotional as she mourns for him. She feels like she is not getting much support from her department and feels pressured when the police chief tells her she has forty-eight hours to wrap up the case. Leanne is tough and smart (she has been a detective for ten years) but she is frustrated and worries about being able to catch the murderer before he strikes again.

Leanne has a friend, Duncan, that works for the county Sheriff’s office and there are hints that they were close when they both lived in Dallas. He tries to look out for her and appears to be interested in her romantically, but he gets frustrated and feels like she only calls him when she needs a favor. Leanne is consumed with the case and there is barely any romance in this story, which disappointed me. They share a hug and kiss, but that’s about it. There is also a little bit of a mystery with Leanne’s brother Ben. He got out of rehab three months ago and she worries about whether he is staying sober and what he’s up to when he doesn’t return her calls.

The timeline of the story jumped around quite a bit making it hard for me to follow and there were a lot of characters to keep track of which was challenging. I was overwhelmed by all of the different evidence in the mystery for Leanne to investigate, between the cold cases and new murder. The last quarter of the book is exciting and I was glued to the book as Leanne and her colleagues (at least the ones she could trust), work together to solve the case. I wondered if this book will be part of a series but so far, it’s listed as a standalone mystery.

The last portion of the book made it all worthwhile and I was on the edge of my seat as all the clues came together with a twist. I enjoyed trying to guess who I thought the murderer was, even though I was wrong. Fans of Laura Griffin and readers interested in a murder mystery with a serial killer in West Texas might enjoy this.