She changed her name and identity to escape her violent
past.
But she didn't run far or fast enough.
Therapist Kyra Chase fights for victims and their
families. But she harbors her own tragic secret: the unsolved murder of her
mother. Now a new threat is terrorizing the City of Angels -- a killer who
mimics another killer's MO. LAPD homicide detective Jake McAllister has to help
his partner solve crimes in both the past and present before Kyra becomes the
victim in a chilling vendetta of violence that's far from over…
This book picks up where the first book,
The Setup, left
off. There is a new serial killer in town in that book, one that mimics a killer
from twenty years earlier. Known as "The Player," he was never caught,
a fact that haunts retired detective Quinn, the lead in that case. Detective
Jake McAllister leads the task force on this case, and Kyra Chase is a victims'
advocate assigned to the task force. Their rocky beginning made things
interesting, with sparks of attraction simmering under the antagonism. Though
The
Decoy can be read as a stand-alone, I recommend reading
The Setup first.
At the end of the first book, the serial killer meets his
fate, but another copycat strikes before the task force can celebrate. The
similarities to the original and the first copycat cause the team to wonder if
there is a link between them. I could feel the team's frustration as clues were
few and far between. With each new murder, the pressure intensified. I loved
watching the painstaking work to find something that would lead them to the
killer. I cheered for the little piece of tape, and again when modern
technology gave them another part of the puzzle. It was interesting to see how
the killer gave himself away. I did feel that the final confrontation, while
somewhat intense, was a little anti-climactic. There are still unanswered
questions, and I don't think anyone is ready to call the case solved.
In the first book, Jake and Kyra first had to learn to
work together and deal with the attraction simmering between them. Both of them
have trust issues. Jake's stem from his wife's betrayal, making him wary of
anyone who keeps secrets. Kyra's life is nothing but secrets. She is fiercely
independent, and letting down her guard doesn't come easily. When she receives
disturbing messages, rather than share them with Jake, she investigates on her
own. She partially believes they have nothing to do with the case but also
doesn't want information revealed to change the way he looks at her.
I ached for Jake, who wanted to get to know Kyra better but
kept running up against her secretiveness. I thought he was incredibly patient
and understanding. There was also some physical frustration between them, as
circumstances seemed determined to interrupt at awkward times. I loved when
Quinn helped Kyra realize that she wasn't helping anything by keeping Jake in
the dark. I felt her nervousness when she finally came clean. I liked seeing
the advancing of their relationship, but I suspect there will still be some
bumps in their road to happy ever after.
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