Dodging bullets isn't the homecoming he expected.
When Detective Foster Lovett's pretty next-door neighbor,
Millie Dean, begs him to help her find her missing brother, the other deputies
warn him not to investigate the case. But Foster's gut says something is off,
particularly once Millie becomes a target. Foster will do whatever it takes to
keep her safe, but can he solve the most dangerous case of his career?
Good start to the new series. Foster returned to his
hometown of Kelby Creek to help turn around the sheriff's department. A few
months earlier, the town was rocked by the exposure of massive corruption
throughout the local government and law enforcement. As an experienced
detective, Foster is assigned to look at cold cases and others that the corrupt
officials may have impacted. One of the first cases he tackles is a missing
person.
Millie's brother Fallon has been missing for six months. Her
initial reports got nowhere as deputies didn't believe her brother was missing,
thanks to some trouble in his past. Millie continued to investigate on her own.
She had high hopes when she learned of the arrival of a new detective.
The suspense of the story grabbed me from the beginning. From
the moment we learn of Fallon's disappearance and the lack of cooperation from
the sheriff's department, there's a feeling that perhaps not all of the
corruption was stopped. When Millie shows up at the sheriff's office on
Foster's first day on the job, she hopes that he will be someone without
preconceived ideas and will listen to what she has to say. Unfortunately, one
of the other deputies stops Foster and warns him about Millie before she gets a
chance. The meeting in his office ends up going the way she expects, with
Foster relying on previously recorded information. I liked Millie's rebuttal
and the effect it had on Foster. Though he told her nothing could be done,
something kept pulling him back to Fallon's case file.
The tension begins to increase almost immediately. That
evening Foster, who discovered that Millie lives next door to him, noticed her
leave her house carrying a flashlight and a baseball bat. He immediately suspects
trouble and follows her. Millie's hopeful side sends her to one of Fallon's
favorite spots in the woods, believing that he might show up there. Instead,
she encounters a man who is also looking for Fallon. She barely escapes him
before running into Foster. Foster begins to suspect that there is something to
Millie's story. That suspicion is borne out the next night when the man from
the woods breaks into Millie's house, this time with a gun. I loved Millie's presence
of mind as she tried to find a way to escape. Foster's providential appearance
not only saves her but convinces him that she is in danger.
I loved that Foster began to trust his instincts when it
came to Millie. After their initial encounters, they have trust issues to overcome. As they worked together, each brought a different
perspective to the hunt for the truth. The suspense intensified as Foster and
Millie were drugged and kidnapped, left on a boat miles from home, and nearly
shot. They continued to have questions about people who may be involved, and
pursuing those answers stirs up more questions and trouble. An unexpected twist
at the end provided some answers, but there are still questions left hanging. I
can't wait to read the next book and see where they go.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between
Millie and Foster. Despite the initial antagonism, the sparks of attraction
between them are evident. I loved that Foster quickly began to trust his
instincts where Millie was concerned. I especially liked the scenes where he
stood up for Millie against those who spoke against her or cast suspicions on
her honesty. It didn't take too long for Millie to realize that she could trust
Foster. There were a couple of occasions when Foster would waver, and I ached
for Millie when that happened. I could feel her hurt, but I also cheered when
she pushed back. The intensity of their time together made the rapid growth of
their feelings believable. I loved the ending and seeing the depth of their
feelings for each other.
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