Smoky Barrett, an FBI special agent in charge of the Los Angeles office's Violent Crimes Unit, has suffered the ultimate loss at the hands of a killer she was hunting. She's lost her family and has permanent physical scars to go along with her grief. She's reluctantly forced into returning to her job when a sadistic killer murders someone else in her life. Don't read this if you're faint of heart and can't handle riveting suspense. I had a hard time putting this book down and was tense for most of the story. Smoky is an extraordinary character and the killer pretty formidable. I was engrossed not only in the hunt for the killer but Smoky's own personal journey back from near madness. If I have any criticism it's that sometimes it was just too much to bear. I'm rating this 4.5 stars and plan to read the rest of the books in this series.