Author: Kendra Elliot
Series: Columbia River (Book 2)
Publication: Montlake (August 25, 2020)
Description: A dead conspiracy theorist. A mass murderer. Two cases collide for Callahan and McLane in a pulse-pounding thriller by Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author Kendra Elliot.
A man is savagely murdered outside Portland, and Detective Mason Callahan finds blood-spatter evidence that tells a troubling story. Files reveal the murder victim, Reuben Braswell, was a radical conspiracist. In his home, investigators find pages of diatribes against law enforcement as well as ties to Mason’s fiancée, FBI special agent Ava McLane. The victim was her informant—and had strong reasons to be paranoid.
To Ava, Braswell’s rants were those of a wearying and harmless man…until they collide with her investigation into the murders of police officers and finding the connection becomes urgent. Meanwhile, Braswell’s brother and Ava’s twin sister both disappear, and disturbing acts of sabotage target Ava’s personal life.
For Mason and Ava, the brutal crimes and escalating mysteries create a perfect storm for a terrorist conspiracy that becomes dangerously personal—one that has yet to claim its last victim.
My Thoughts: In this story, Ava McLane and Mason Callahan are both involved when Mason is called to investigate a gruesome murder. The man is severely beaten and tortured. When Mason investigates the man's house he discovers that the man was one of Ava's informants. He also discovers that there is a plan to bomb the Clackamas County Courthouse.
But the bombing was only a ruse. When law enforcement from many jurisdictions converge on the courthouse, they run into a sniper who kills a number of the police officers and wounds Mason's partner Ray. Mason's vest is the only thing that saves him from being wounded himself. Now Ava and Mason are trying to track down the sniper which leads them to a larger conspiracy which includes stolen weapons that were being transported after confiscation.
But that isn't the only problem that Ava and Mason face. Ava's sister Jayne is making a reappearance in Ava's life. Every time Jayne shows up she sows chaos and this time is no exception. She cancels the reservation for the wedding venue that Ava and Mason had chosen. She also calls Ava to beg for help getting away from the man she is with.
Then Ava gets a phone call telling her that her father - the man she has just met and isn't sure how to deal with - was attacked and killed while jogging. Ava is torn between being with her newly discovered family and working on her current case. Things get even more tangled when it is discovered that the gun used to kill her father was the same weapon that was used to kill someone across the street from the first victim Mason was investigating.
This was a very busy story with lots of twists and turns. I liked the appearances from other characters from other books written by Elliot. I liked that it looks like Ava and Mason are on the way to their own happy ending.
Favorite Quote:
"I did walk out on our last meeting. He had given me nothing and was being inappropriate.""Inappropriate how?" he asked, turning to look at her, his dark gaze sharp."Your knuckles are dragging." She raised a brow at him. "He made comments about me getting married. It was none of his business."
This looks good to me. I want to try this author sometime.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.