Karen Rose has written a terrific and enthralling crime thriller. The introduction to the characters are clear and the events fast-paced keeping the readers' attention to the surprise conclusion. The intense action mostly takes place over a 48 hour period. College girl Crystal Jones is strangled and stabbed in the gardener's shed during a party involving sex and drugs on a large estate. Rex McCloud organised the event. He is the grandson of powerful ex-senator Jim McCloud and his wife Dianna. Rex is a wild tearaway who has caused family problems. Ramon Munoz, the estate gardener, is convicted of Crystal's murder despite protesting his innocence. His alibi of being in a bar owned by Denny Sandoval with his friend Jorge Delgado was discredited at his trial by prosecutor Grayson Smith when the two said they had not seen him. Incriminating evidence found in the home he shared with wife Elena lead to a guilty verdict and his imprisonment. Mother Maria seeks the help of private investigator Paige Holden, a martial arts expert and partner of Clay Maynard. A bullet-riddled minivan crashes next to Paige. It is Maria's but the shot driver is Elena who says that cops were chasing her. A sudden head-shot kills Elena but not before she gives Paige a flash drive containing evidence that may prove her husband's innocence and support his alibi.
Paige meets with prosecutor Grayson Smith to discuss new findings (both of them have secretive pasts). This encounter and Elena and Crystals' deaths trigger off a cascade of incidents at breathtaking speed expertly scripted by the author. Serial child molesters, murderers, suicides, corrupt police, bribery, an ex-cop gone bad, case-fixing, kidnapping occur under the control of a mastermind who eliminates anyone who gets close to the truth. Who is this person? No one is safe. Who can be trusted? As the narrative proceeds, the relationships between the main characters become more intense as they relentlessly drive to unravel the facts, expertly developed by the author, with unexpected twists and turns to climactic effect.
This is an absorbing, skillfully creative book that takes the reader through a mind-blowing sequence of events. Never a dull moment. A superb addition to Karen Rose's writings.
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
