Another great thriller by Karen Rose. As always some old characters appear alongside new ones. Couldn't put it down, I've thoroughly enjoyed every one of Karen Rose's books. No spoilers here though. Originally I listened to the Audible edition but the ending was missing. Audible couldn't fix the problem so I returned it and bought the Kindle edition. Great ending (as usual). ( )

Okay so it took me a little time to be able to sit down and really start reading this book. Upfront I admit I have never read anything by Ms. Rose but the book sounded interesting.

I LOVED EVERY MINUTE I SPENT READING IT!

You probably guessed that I was unaware that this is actually part of a series so if there other stories out there about some of these characters....I only know them from this story.

Here we have Det. Scarlett Bishop, tough as nails no b.s. kind of cop. She gets an early morning call from Marcus O'Bannion letting her know he needs her help. Marcus is a newspaper publisher who does some side work as a modern day behind the series vigilante....except he just makes it so the bad guys get locked up, he doesn't actually kill anyone. Justice served in a round about way we the legal system fails. They met 9 months prior when Marcus' brother was killed and he himself was shot. She was one of the detectives working that case. Even laid up in a hospital bed Marcus felt an attraction towards Scarlett....and she's been dreaming about him too.

Anywho, Marcus made contact with a young girl whom he instinctively knows is in trouble. He arranges to meet her and calls Scarlett figuring if the girl does need help she might be more comfortable going with a woman. While speaking with Tala someone shoots her. They take aim at Marcus right after. Scarlett walks up to see him over Tala's body. And here starts the mystery.

Piecing together who Tala is and what she meant by being afraid of the man and his wife, the ones who owned her and her family is not going to be easy. With every answer they think they have 5 more questions pop up. An ankle tracker with recording capabilities. No one really sure where she came from and how she got to be in the alley for Marcus first met Tala in the park walking an outrageous poodle with a diamond collar.

Now we also see the other side of the shooting (and we find out pretty early that Scarlett and Marcus & co. are indeed looking for human traffickers) we see the alarms going off because Tala's tracker has been cut. We get to see what actions the "boss" and his partners are willing to make to keep anyone from finding out just what is really going on. And let me tell you, some of the things they do....well their marbles aren't all in one bag is all I have to say. The reach this network had is unbelievable but I guess if you are dealing in drugs and humans you would have to have some kind of power.

At first I didn't know if I could handle the switching from good guys POV to the bad guys POV. There was a time stamp to each switch so it made it less confusing. From start to finish every thing was wrapped up within 36 hours. But it went quickly and the flow was good. Not rushed unless the character we were with was feeling panicked or frantic, which did happen.

So much happened in the book that to give specific details or plot lines would take almost as long as the book is. Just suffice to say. It's a well written story. Our characters are real in the sense they are flawed, have attitudes and feel a range of emotions and we get to feel it right along with them. Men who cry and women who kick butt...nothing wrong with any of it. Our couple, Scarlett and Marcus, feeling their mutual attraction and acting on it but not overly sappy. They share their secrets and face their ghosts. With them and the others I found myself so into the story I could go from laughing to being angry to crying within a few pages.

With my enjoyment level on this so high I am thinking I have to go back and read some more of Ms. Rose's other books. I know I am looking forward to the next one in this series. ( )

Karen Rose can weave a story with so many characters and plots flawlessly. Even a simple scene of a group of people sitting around a table talking, bantering back and forth just flows effortlessly. She is for sure a talented author.

My problem is the stories aren't as engaging as they used to be. I miss her serial killer themed books. Of course that's a personal preference and others may like the story arc in this one. As I stated earlier one of her best qualities is having so many characters in each book. In this one I loved all the “good guy” characters and how they all interacted my problem was she has just as many “bad guy” characters which was overload on characters to try and keep up with and I honestly really didn't even care about most of the “bad” characters or their story line. The human trafficking plot has been done so many times now that for me its just not interesting even coming from one of my favorite authors. Again, I will say this is just my opinion as I think I've just read too many suspense books and I need to be wowed with the sick and twisted minds of killers not with men who are just greedy and think they are above the law.

Even though I wasn't impressed with the “bad guy” side of the story I kept reading because I do love how she puts words on a page. Her “good” characters are always interesting and their stories engaging. ( )

Always a good read, not too over sexed (!) ( )