Some secrets should stay buried.

When a local girl falls prey to a sadistic serial killer, Nashville Homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson and her lover, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, find themselves in a joint investigation pursuing a vicious murderer. The Southern Strangler is slaughtering his way through the Southeast, leaving a gruesome memento at each crime scene -- the prior victim's severed hand.

Ambitious TV reporter Whitney Connolly is certain the Southern Strangler is her ticket out of Nashville; she's got a scoop that could break the case. She has no idea how close this story really is -- or what it will cost her.

As the killer spirals out of control, everyone involved must face a horrible truth -- that the purest evil is born of private lies.

A passable read but nothing that makes it stand out from the crowd as it follows a pretty well-worn formula with a sadistic serial killer being tracked by gutsy (blurb's words) homicide lieutenant Taylor Jackson & FBI profiler John Baldwin. Thrown into the mix is Whitney, a TV reporter wanting get her big break by getting the scoop on the killer & a side story about a rapist, which didn't seem to go anywhere.

I found this rather unimpressive initially but when, like one of the characters, I had a lightbulb moment about the killer I got a little more invested in it & read to the end- had to know if I was right! While the things panned out as I'd expected at least the ride there got a bit more twisty, just engaging enough to keep me reading to - what I thought to be - a particularly cheesy ending.

The storyline was a nice idea but - I'm sorry to say - a bit sloppy at times with characters whose actions weren't especially credible & who I found rather non-descript. I know it's the first in a series & characters develop over time but there was nothing here that made me want to know more about them. I didn't like Baldwin & have no interest in reading more about him & Jackson's romance.

Maybe I sound a bit harsh, after all it wasn't a bad read, it just wasn't the "masterful thriller, shockingly authentic & unputdownable" read that it's blurb promised.

Spotted on a wishlist so it's sneaking in with some other books...

Not bedtime reading but probably ideal commute reading. I still go in one or two days a week so this could make me miss my stop if it’s as gripping as it looks.

Not a bad thriller but like Plum-crazy I don’t think I’m going to read the rest of the series. I think the characters were a bit one dimensional.

I’m putting together a box of thrillers for dolph1n. This will travel soon. I probably need to read at least one more book to fill the box.

Thank you for this book and all the other things in my Christmas parcel. I wonder if I'll agree with the blurb or with the two previous readers.

A good thriller but I think I've had my fill of serial killers.
I agree with the previous journalers I won't bother with the rest of the series.

Near Telford's