Written with two plot lines, each with Ben as a main protagonist showing how being abused as a child can lead to two different paths in life.
A great engaging read and will be looking for other titles written by this author. ( )

I bought this book for $3.00 at the grocery store and then forgot about for 2 years.
Big mistake.
Excellent book!
A serial killer is terrorizing a nice community in Southern California in the early 1980’s. And a second story of a pedophile praying on vulnerable kids.
The two storylines come together nicely.
The book is incredibly well told.
Definitely an author to look for.
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Southern California, 1986. Ben Wade was a former LAPD detective but four years ago, in an attempt to save his failing marriage, he decided to move his family back to his hometown, the supposedly safe, suburb of Santa Elena. Although the move didn’t achieve this aim, he and his ex-wife now maintain a fairly close, amicable relationship as they try to provide their teenage daughter Emma with a sense of security. If he is honest with himself, after working in Los Angeles, Ben is finding his job in the suburbs rather boring – dealing with drunks, shoplifters and road-traffic accidents is hardly cutting-edge police work! However, in recent months there have been several killings, all with a similar M.O., in Los Angeles and other locations in the north of Orange County and although, as yet, there has been no official admission that these are the work of a serial killer, most cops are beginning to believe that they probably are.
When a woman is found murdered in a similar way in a suburb just a few miles from Santa Elena, Ben is called in to help with the investigation. Suddenly the threat to his own safe, secure community feels too close for comfort, a threat which becomes even more real when a similar killing soon takes place in his own town. From being a community where people felt safe in their habit of leaving their doors and windows unlocked, it becomes one where terror lurks. The police come under increasing pressure to find the killer, an almost ghost-like person, able to slip in and out of his victims’ homes without being seen. Their workload is increased following the apparent suicide of a teenager, an illegal immigrant, but also a star swimmer on the local high school team. Ben is deeply disturbed by this death and is not convinced that the boy committed suicide. Risking the ire of his boss, he refuses to sign-off on the case and continues to investigate. This is a decision which will prove to have a profound emotional effect on him as he is forced to confront painful memories.
Although this is a crime story, and the tension surrounding tracking down a serial killer permeates the story, its real strength lies in the author’s impressive character development and the convincing psychological underpinning which explores the backgrounds and motivations of the main characters. The gradual exposure of childhood traumas and long-held secrets is central to the developing story and demonstrates that, in one way or another, unresolved feelings can continue to define how people live their lives.
Both Ben and the killer are burdened by secrets from the past and each, albeit in very different ways, has developed dysfunctional behaviour patterns as a way of dealing with emotional pain. For Ben this shows mainly in his inability to make close, intimate relationships with the women in his life. Although he cares deeply for his ex-wife and daughter, he isn’t always able to either fully recognise, understand or meet their emotional needs. He also struggles with his developing relationship with Natasha, a forensic specialist with whom he works. Although I understood why he couldn’t allow himself to get too close to her, I still found myself wanting to shake him because she is such a lovely, caring character! Not only is she clearly attracted to Ben, but her respect and kindness for the dead victims demonstrated a very humane approach to her distressing and disturbing job. The key to the killer’s childhood traumas and his turning to violence as a way of trying to resolve them, lies in occasional chapters which describe, in chilling detail, his background and his gradual social and psychological disintegration. The examination, through these two main characters, of why one traumatised person can live a socially acceptable life whilst another becomes a psychopathic killer, was one of the factors which made this such a satisfying story to read.
Another thread in the story focused on the fact that even in apparently middle-class, affluent small communities there can be dark secrets, secrets which remain unexposed for a variety of reasons, often the result of a self-protective conspiracy of silence. I thought that the gradual exposure of this dark underbelly was very convincingly and sensitively portrayed, especially in the way that it demonstrated how people in authority can wield such power over their vulnerable victims.
Throughout the story I was drawn into the author’s evocative descriptions of the dramatic and beautiful countryside of Orange County. His descriptions of the trails through remote, mountainous scenery made me feel as though I too was struggling to track down a killer who was familiar with every twist and turn of the paths. He also captured, through Ben’s reflections about some of the unwelcome changes in his hometown, the ways in which unsympathetic development can destroy the very landscape to which people had been attracted in the first place.
If you are looking for an “edge of your seat” thriller, this story would probably be a bit disappointing. However, if you enjoy a character-driven, well-paced and totally absorbing read; if you enjoy beautifully written, creative prose, then this book should tick all the boxes for you. I find myself hoping that Alan Drew is going to write a sequel so that I can revisit the memorable characters he has created. ( )

I really enjoyed this book! I liked how the author intertwined Ben's past with the "future". Not all secrets should be buried, if in fact others are being hurt because of it. I like that this was based a few decades ago when we didn't have 24/7 access and communication to each other. Thoroughly enjoyed and looking forward to more books by this author. ( )

Detective Ben Wade and his then-wife, Rachel, returned to their hometown of Rancho Santa Elena for a peaceful, safe life for themselves and their daughter. After all, as a detective, Ben knows the darker side of life. But even the idyllic California community couldn't save his marriage with Rachel--his high school sweetheart--and now the two are divorced and jointly raising their teenage daughter, Emma. And, for the most part, Ben's career is pretty dull: nothing like his old LA one. That all changes when a serial killer starts haunting the area. They come around at night, slipping in doors and windows, and terrifying the residents of this planned community. At the same time, Ben is trying to figure out if a young Hispanic teen truly committed suicide. Are these two crimes interconnected? And how much destruction will this killer bring until found?

I'm a sucker for a good crime novel, so I was intrigued by the description of Alan Drew's book; I have never read anything by this author before. I'm not sure I realized the novel was actually set in the late 1980s; I tend to read more contemporary fiction, but I was pleasantly surprised by this mystery. Although mystery is somewhat of a misnomer. While there is a case to solve here--two really--this is far more a character-driven novel, with an intense focus on Ben, his personal life, and how his past life has made him into the detective and man he is now.

In many ways, this is a novel about the passage of time and the effects it has on a person. It is a novel about the effects of abuse, as well, and what it can do to someone. Can a child who suffers abuse come through unscathed? I wasn't expecting such a storyline when I started the novel, but it worked. It's quite well-done and while much of the book is often sad, it's well-written and the pages pass quickly.

The novel is told from three points of view: Ben; our serial killer; and Natasha Betencourt, the local assistant Medical Examiner. Of course, Natasha and Ben have a bit of a personal relationship (this is a novel, after all). And, sure, Ben often comes across as the cliched crime detective who doesn't always follow the rules. Because of this--and because of the California setting--I couldn't help but think of Michael Connelly's amazing Harry Bosch as I was reading this (Bosch probably being my all-time favorite fictional detective). I actually would sometimes even accidentally read "Ben" as "Bosch." Still, to be compared to Bosch and not come across completely lesser for it is pretty high praise. Ben is no Bosch, but he's a well-written character, even if he is a bit cliched from time to time. Yes, he's dealing with a past. Yes, he likes to break the rules to get the job done (hey, so does Bosch). My only issue was that it was implied that he sometimes let his detective work slip a bit due to his personal ties in one of the cases: that didn't seem right.

Still, overall I really enjoyed this novel. The two storylines--the first being the serial killer case, the second being the teen suicide--intersected well and kept the book moving. Ben's ties to the teen were surprising and gave the book an emotional depth I wasn't expecting. While I'm not sure Drew could keep up the emotional rollercoaster for every novel, I could see Detective Ben Wade becoming a recurring character in a series. If so, I would certainly read the next book. 3.5 stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 05/23/2017.

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