Another book by this author, Dead Gone, I read a while back and liked it a lot. So when I got the chance to read an advance copy of this one (thank you, Bookouture and NetGalley), of course I jumped at the chance. It's No. 6 in the author's North Country series and I haven't read any of the others - but not to worry; it stands alone just fine.
At the heart of this one is finding what may be a serial killer before he (or she) strikes again. Early on, a child services worker in Lake Haven, New York, is found dead in her car in the agency parking lot - the victim of an unusually brutal knife attack. No evidence was left behind, but co-worker Bobbi Noelle has reason to suspect that she may have been the killer's real target (they look somewhat alike, drive similar cars and the victim had been covering for Bobbi the night she was murdered). Local and state police detectives Mike Nelson and Lena Overton begin an investigation that includes Harriet's no-good estranged brother and Bobbi's ex-boyfriend Jamie, but with almost no clues to work with and a ton of different characters (which, BTW, made it a little hard for me to keep track as well), identifying the culprit seems hopeless.
The chase gains some legs when Mike and Lena learn of another caseworker who went missing, but the trail of that decade-old case has long gone cold. Maybe, just maybe, the killer has a "thing" for social services workers; but in any event, time is of the essence. Will they find the killer in time, or will Bobbi be the [ahem!] next to die?
Nope. No way will you get the answer from me. Good story, good writing, good book worth reading.
Next to Die by T.J. Brearton (Bookouture, February 2018); 364 pp.
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