Special Agent Steven Thatcher and his family are still recovering from his son's abduction six months ago during one of his cases when he lands another case involving a missing teenager. He soon realizes he's dealing with a serial killer when a second teenage girl goes missing. Meanwhile, he's trying to deal with his problems at home as his oldest son has had a personality change and is failing chemistry. When Steven meets with his teacher, Jenna Marshall, there is plenty chemistry to go around. Jenna Marshall is having her own issues as she's failing the star quarterback, which gets him benched. His father and teammates seek vengeance by vandalizing her car and classroom. She and Steven are trying to explore their feelings in the midst of his career demands and her challenges with the vandalism. The two issues eventually converge as the attacks on her property escalate to her personally. The mystery involving the serial killer has a limited number of suspects but it still was a challenging case with a few red herrings thrown in the mix. The crimes were pretty gruesome and heartbreaking as the victims were only 16 years old. I was able to figure out the killer about halfway through but continued to challenge my choice almost to the end. This is a very suspenseful story with just the right balance of romance. Steven and Jenna are sympathetic characters who seem well suited for each other. His children and Aunt Helen also provide some much needed comic relief to the story. This is another winning book by Karen Rose with all elements working brilliantly in tandem. It's well written with good dialogue and I plan to continue the series.
 - Karen Rose)
