I had high hopes for this book, as the description on the back seemed very fast-paced and suspenseful. I was incredibly disappointed. Although there was a time limit on finding the next victim to prevent their murder, there didn't seem to be a true sense of urgency while reading this. There was no suspense at all until the last 20 pages. There were a lot of things happening, and puzzle pieces were being dropped until the very end when everything came together, but it just didn't seem like anything was really going on. There was no page-turning action or real urgency. I wasn't in a rush to get back to it when I had to put the book down. We saw the personal lives of the detectives, as well as their working relationship, so they were well-developed and you have a good sense of who they are. The next victim (once found) was a strong female who was also pretty well developed even though she wasn't brought into the storyline at the very beginning. You do feel for her and understand what she's going through.

All in all, I would say to skip this if you're on the fence about it. I've never read anything by Beverly Long before, but if you are a fan of her other books, then you may enjoy this one. I own the next book in this series, but I am going to skip reading it. It sounds like a good story with a lot of suspense and action, but this one did too, so I'm choosing to not move on to the next book. If you like cop stories, putting puzzle pieces together, and strong female characters, then you may like this. If you're looking for a gripping read, though, this is not it. ( )

Reading this book was like eating my favorite comfort food. It is my go-to genre; dead people and mysteries, cops and coffee, plenty of legwork and problem solving. Just the right amount of drama among characters, a little too much romance for my taste (but any amount is too much for me), it was perfectly entertaining. The mystery draws you through the story effortlessly, keeps you guessing, and delivers in the end. I would definitely continue on with this series and look forward to reading the next installment. ( )

I could not identify with the main characters and nothing in the story line grabbed me to where I wanted to continue turning pages. Needless to say I did not find the book worthwhile I gave up on it. ( )

I read the next in this series first and I think that instalment is better, but this one is still pretty good. The detectives, Rena and A.L., are excellent characters who work logically and well together. The reasoning behind the murders and the choice of the victims seemed a little tortuous to me, but then, I'm not a psychopath... ( )

I thought this was a good read. It is on the milder side of suspense thrillers. Yet, this is not a bad thing if someone who is a cozy mystery fan is looking for a book to read. This book can be read as a stand alone novel.

Where the main characters, A.L and Rena are concerned, I did like them both. In fact, there were what did keep me reading this book. Despite the fact that I found the storyline easy to solve and the other characters lacking in emotion. They just did not resonate with me. Therefore, I did struggle with staying engaged with this book. However, I would check out the next book only because of A.L. and Rena. ( )