NOW YOU SEE ME

4 stars out of 5

Of the 17 previous books in this series, I've read only two - the most recent two years ago. Here, lead characters Sheriff Jenna Alton and her hunky deputy David Kane are married, living and working in small-town Black Rock Falls. As this one opens, local bartender Maisy Jones goes missing and is feared to be yet another victim of a long-time and prolific serial killer. Jenna and David find her abandoned truck and a backpack, but there's no sign of Maisy and the backpack contents belong to a young teaching assistant who - wait for it - has gone missing as well. Uh, oh, this could spell double trouble (at least).

Other characters from other books quickly get involved - such as FBI agents Carter and Jo Wells and Medical Examiner Shane Wolf, along with lovable but skilled canines Duke and Zorro. And the team will need all the help it can get: There are virtually no clues and no actual bodies; then, the unthinkable happens and a couple of other prominent people go missing.

The action - and there's plenty of it - focuses on the investigation (which, at one point becomes a life-and-death situation for Jenna and her husband) as well as snippets from the perspective of one of the victims. Who is the kidnapper/killer? Where is he (or she) stashing the victims, and are they dead or alive? Those questions, and others, are answered as this edge-of-your-seat story unfolds. All in all, another satisfying addition to the series, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

Now You See Me by D.K. Hood (Bookouture, March 2023); 305 pp.

NOW YOU SEE ME

4 stars out of 5

Looking for a new murder/detective series and love characters who have "issues?" This just may be a good place to start. It's the first installment featuring 34-year-old FBI Special Agent Jess Bishop, who brings sins of the past to a whole new level. To that end, she reminds me a bit of J.D. Robb's Lt. Eve Dallas, although Jess tends to be more melodramatic, devoid of emotion and on the whole rather unlikable. Still, she's a hard-working, get-the-job-done detective and an intriguing character I'd like to read more about.

She and her former partner, Jamison Briggs, parted on shaky terms; her current partner, Alex Chan, is a good detective but about as companionable as our next-door neighbor's pooch who growls every time he sees me. Jess isn't fond of him either, but she's adjusting; as the story begins, the two have gone from their Washington, D.C., base to Louisiana. In a bayou there, the torso of a woman has turned up. The head is missing - and since it appears to match the MO of other murders, the agents are concerned that they're on the trail of a serial killer who may be keeping victims' heads as trophies.

Then what to her wondering eyes should appear but Jamison - back from an undercover job and ready for reassignment as Jess's partner. There's a lot of mutual hand-wringing and head games as the two try to come to terms with their earlier break-up and Jamison's new love interest, but professionalism (and an obvious like for each other) eventually win out. As for Alex, he doesn't seem fazed by losing his shotgun-riding status - to him, it's just another crappy day in paradise, I guess - and anyway, enough headless bodies keep turning up to keep his and everyone else's minds on finding the killer.

In the middle of all this, Jess meets Matt Ramsey, a smooth-talking, exceptionally hunky FBI agent who's determined to make an honest woman out of her. True to her emotion-shunning personality, though, he pretty much has to stalk her to get her attention - and even when he succeeds, he isn't able to hold it for long. That's partly because as evidence piles up, a worst-case scenario rears its ugly head: could it be that the murders are somehow related to the sordid past Jess has spent all of her grown-up years trying to hide?

The whole thing was a wild ride all the way to the end, when a few strands are left dangling to whet appetites for the next book. Overall, this definitely was an enjoyable experience for me, though my enthusiasm was dampened a bit by repetition and typos (the latter, I trust, will be corrected before the book is released; I read an advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review) as well as a few glitches in the story. As hard-nosed as Jess is, for instance, it's really tough to fathom how she (or anyone else) possibly could go out for a run hours after cutting her bare feet by stepping on glass shards. Ouch!

Now You See Me by Kierney Scott (Bookouture, November 2017); 318 pp.