HER LAST DAY

4 stars out of 5

Finding a new series -especially one that shows promise - to me is akin to finding gold pellets in a stream. First comes the excitement of discovery, followed by the hope of more to come. Such is the case here, with the introduction of Sacramento, California, private investigator Jessie Cole. I won't say it was love at first word, but she's interesting enough that I look forward to future adventures.

As is the usual case with series heroines, Jessie brings "issues" to the table - most notably, the disappearance of her younger sister Sophie 10 years earlier. Since then, Jessie has become almost obsessed with finding her - or at least what happened to her - especially important since Sophie's daughter, Olivia, lives with Jessie and is for all intents and purposes now her daughter. When she's not focused on Sophie's disappearance, Jessie spends most of her time finding missing persons on behalf of her clients.

At the outset, one of those clients puts Jessie in a real bind. Hired to document a stalker, she ends up on the other side of the crime and facing prosecution (and possible jail time). Her one-time love interest, detective Colin Grayson, is still around, but for the moment, at least, their future as a couple doesn't seem to be in the cards. He's been hard at work trying to find the so-called Heartless Killer, who's kidnapped, tortured and killed numerous victims.

Almost out of the blue, Jessie is contacted by journalist Ben Morrison, who has a backstory of his own. A decade ago, he was seriously injured in an auto crash that left the driver dead and Ben with no memories of the accident or, for the most part, his past (except, I guess, his ability to write - apparently he's continued his newspaper career with only time out for recuperation). But now, triggered by bothersome but unexplainable flashbacks that include a woman who resembles Sophie, Ben wants to rehash her now-cold case, and it's important that he has Jessie's support.

He gets it, albeit reluctantly since Jessie questions his motives. And, she's got cases of her own to work on, including the possible kidnapping of a mentally disturbed young woman whose off-the-wall father is desperate to find. As all this plays out, chapters switch to what's going on with the very active serial killer; the only thing that's clear is that he will keep doing his thing until he's caught.

The action is almost nonstop, so I was happy to be able to finish the book in two days of spare-time reading (for the record, I'd have been even happier if I could have done it in a single day). Jessie is off to a great start -and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Her Last Day by T.R. Ragan (Thomas & Mercer, October 2017); 318 pp.