Trooper Bobby Dodge works for the Massachusetts Special Tactics and Operation Team (STOP) and is called to a domestic disturbance. Shots have been fired and from his vantage point Bobby sees a man raise a gun and point it at the woman in the room, threatening to kill her. In a split second Bobby decides to act and shoots the man. It transpires that the victim is Jimmy Gagnon, the son of powerful Judge Gagnon. There are theories that his widow Catherine, who Bobby acted to save, is actually the dangerous one of the couple. Judge Gagnon intends to remove his grandson from her care, accusing her of deliberately making the child sick. Such warped behaviour may be a consequence of her own damaged past; for Catherine was abducted as a child and held for a month underground before escaping. The Judge also believes Bobby Dodge was duped into the shooting and that Jimmy's death suits Catherine's schemes. With suspicion surrounding everyone, Catherine and Bobby are thrown together, but will she be his nemesis? Meanwhile sadistic criminal Richard Umbrio is released from prison and thirsty for revenge.
A slick tale from Gardner with clever play on the is-she-a-saint-or-a-sinner riff. There are one or two moments of purple prose, when dealing with love and lust, that felt like they'd wandered in from a Mills and Boon but skip over these - the rest is a suspenseful page-turner.
Cath Staincliffe author of the popular Sal Kilkenny mysteries and the series creator of TV Blue Murder
Amazon Home
