Detective Amanda Steele lost everything almost six years ago after her husband and daughter were killed by a drunk driver and she shut out her parents and siblings, unable to be near them after her life fell apart. Now she spends her nights drinking too much and having one night stands, although somehow she still keeps it together enough to stay at her job as a homicide detective. She gets a called to a crime scene one night, and she finds the body of the man who killed her family. And when she uncovers a link between the silver bracelet he has on him and a past cold case involving a brutally murdered exotic dancer, she finds herself mixed up in something very dangerous and unexpected.
The overall story was fine. The premise was interesting. I even empathized with her character still trying to get over the initial shock of losing her young daughter, years later. And I was glad that there wasn’t much explicit violence, although there was enough explicit other stuff that I wish I’d had a warning before I started reading. (Note to reader: Definitely a trigger warning here for child sexual abuse.) I also liked the relationship between Detective Steele and her new partner Trent Stenson. He seems very non-stereotypical of many male detectives in this genre of book, which is definitely a good thing. I’d like to see that continue in the future books.
But I’m not sure why we spent most of the story with Detective Steele trying to track down an alibi for where she was during the murder, just because she didn’t want to tell her boss that she had a one night stand. Type in the license plate, get the name, hand it over. Be done with it. It was just too much. If it takes her that long to track down her alibi, it’s going to take her decades – and so many more books – to solve the bigger underlying crime that we’re left with at the end of this book.
And you really have to suspend your disbelief for Detective Steele ever actually being assigned to this case in the first place, especially since she’s the one with the most motive and a prime suspect, although outside of being asked for an alibi over and over – and even as she fails to provide one – everyone else pretends that this wouldn’t be an issue if the case ever actually went anywhere – reasonable doubt, anyone?
It’s a nice start to the series. With where it ended, I don’t know if my stomach can take where it might be going, but I’ll keep an eye out for what’s next for Detective Steele.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Bookouture in exchange for my honest review. It did not influence my opinion.