Author: Leanne Kale Sparks
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (February 7, 2023)
Description: The stunning landscape of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains are among our greatest natural treasures. But there are deadly secrets lurking in the craggy heights, and FBI Special Agent Kendall Beck and Denver Homicide Detective Adam Taylor team up to investigate a kidnapping. When Taylor’s niece, Frankie, suddenly vanishes at a local hockey rink, it’s clear that there’s a predator on the loose—and now, the case has turned personal.
One discovery after another leads Beck and Taylor closer to the truth, as they close in on the devastating truth about the fates of the missing girls—and the many who came before them. Will they be able to find Frankie before it’s too late? In this thrilling story, Leanne Kale Sparks weaves the threads of this harrowing drama and builds the intensity to a fever pitch.
My Thoughts: The story starts with a shooting in a convenience store in a bad part of Denver. The clerk draws a gun when a guy comes in and wants the cash in the till. He has a gun too. Shots are exchanged. Even an innocent bystander in the store gets a chance to take some shots before leaving with a young girl who came in with the robber. The robber and the clerk both die and Detective Adam Taylor leads the investigation.
The first thing they learn is that the young girl had been kidnapped and was set to be trafficked. She provides clues about who lured her out of her home. It looks that Taylor and his team have found a pretty complex trafficking operation. FBI Agent Kendell Beck gets involved because she works crime against children.
But when Adam's niece Frankie disappears from the hockey arena where she's playing while Adam, Kendall, and Frankie's parents are watching, the trafficking case gets close to home and really personal for both Adam and Kendall.
The story was a tension-filled hunt to find the missing Frankie before she disappears into the trafficking network. But with tensions between her mom and dad, kidnap by traffickers might be a second option to her running away. Family secrets are outed but still waste a lot of time that could be used searching for Frankie.
Along the way other crimes are discovered including drug dealing by Frankie's hockey coach which also might have given him some reason to want to do harm to Frankie.
This was a great story with lots of twists and turns. Fans of thrillers can't help but enjoy this one. I especially liked Kendall's sarcastic nature.
Favorite Quote:
Adam settled on a bottle of Smart Water - he could use all the help he could get - and a bag of corn nuts. He only ever bought them when he was at a convenience store. Never thought about them otherwise. There was just something about the molar-cracking treats he couldn't pass up.I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.
Oh I need to read this. It sounds like a book that would capture my attention and I would not want to put it down until I was finished. Thanks,
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