Evie Blackwell is a detective who is going to start on a State-wide cold case task force. Her friend, Ann, a semi-retired detective thought she’d be perfect for this job. She takes a two week vacation and heads to Carin County and is going to try and solve two cold cases. The sheriff, Gabriel Thane, his two brothers, his mom and dad, all end up involved in one way or another along with several other people. Enough about the characters, you can read that yourself on the back cover.

This book kept my interest. I found it hard to put down and I couldn’t figure out the mystery, I like that in a book. The characters were real and likable, and the plot was good enough to keep me guessing. There is a second book in this series and I’m interested to start reading it to see how a few things work out.

I like Dee Henderson’s books and this one did not disappoint. Thanks for another great read! ( )

58271

I really enjoy Dee's books and the way she incorporates characters from previous books into the current one. I look forward to reading more about Evie and Gabriel. I loved the quote "death is like a sneeze" as it is a different perspective on how to look at death. ( )

3.5 stars (rating shown may vary depending on site)

I think I bought this book at Half Price Books. It's listed as romantic suspense on the back near the barcode, but I would probably list it as more fiction than romance. The suspense is there but it's not the type I'm used to in the romantic suspense genre--probably mostly because they are focusing on cold cases.

I've read Dee Henderson in the past, and, like other reviewers, I do prefer her earlier books to this one--at least on some points. I do like that this book has a single woman detective who is comfortable staying single and being able to focus on her job--yet she still has friends. I also like that Ann and Paul Falcon model a marriage relationship that can work even if one of the two does need time alone.

The basic premise of this series is that the soon-to-be-governor wants to start a cold case task force with Evie Blackwell as one of his main investigators. For whatever reason, Evie ends up in Carin, Illinois to look at two cold cases prior to the official announcement of the task force.

WARNING: SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW--READ ON AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION:
*****

I like the Thane family. They seem close and welcoming. I like that all 3 sons have remained close to home and their parents and each seems to have found a niche that suits him.

If there was a previous book about Karen's situation, I've either forgotten it or missed reading it.

I have a feeling Josh and Grace will end up together at some point. I'm not sure how that will work given what she found out during her trip back to Carin this time and some of her memories of the town--and Josh seems rather committed to Carin--so I guess we will see.

I also have a feeling Gabriel and Evie will eventually end up together, much in the way that Ann and Paul are--that each will respect the other's skills and be attuned to what the other needs.

I was a little surprised that Henderson has Ann "retiring" again and passing the torch on to Evie. I'm not sure what prompted that. Is Henderson tired of writing Ann? Is she getting pushback from readers that Ann is too involved in all of the storylines? Or is it just Henderson acknowledging that the character is getting older and maybe can't do what she used to (or doesn't want to do what she used to)? ( )

After muddling through some of Henderson's other recent fiction, this first book in a new series came like a breath of fresh air. I liked the heroine and her systematic dismantling of the primary cold case. I'm actually looking forward to picking up the next book in the series (rather than the sort of resigned plodding I did through other post-O'Malley books). ( )