Sara-Jayne Townsend is a published crime and horror writer and likes books in which someone dies horribly. She is founder and Chair Person of the T Party Writers’ Group. http://sarajaynetownsend.weebly.com/
When April Brown was five, she was the only survivor of a fire that destroyed her home and the rest of her family. Now, two decades later, someone has made an attempt on her life. Convinced the two acts are related, she calls her police contact, retired NYPD detective Dan Schottland, who brings in his daughter, former FBI agent Corie Geller, to launch a full-fledged investigation.
April’s late father, Seymour Brown, was a money launderer for the Russian mob. But April has managed to step out from under her father’s shadow to make a life for herself as a respected academic, about to marry the love of her life and make a home with her. She appears to have no enemies. Who would want her dead? And if it’s the same person who started the fire, why are they waiting twenty years to try again?
This is a decently-written story that kept me reading. It’s the second one in a series featuring father-and-daughter team Dan and Corie, and although you can pick up the plot of this one without having read the first book, I did feel like I was missing out on some information about the characters. In particular, there’s reference to Corie’s PTSD and how she’s had to take a long career break due to a traumatic earlier case – which I assume is described in Book 1.
The book starts fairly slowly, as Dan and Corie revive the long-cold case of Seymour Brown – no one was ever arrested for starting the fire that killed him. However, the attempts on the life of April Brown make a much more interesting story. Despite having very unpleasant parents and enduring the trauma of climbing out the window of her burning house as a child, April seems a very well balanced and likeable character, and it’s hard to imagine who hates her enough to want her dead. Wanting to find out the answer to that was enough to make me keep turning the pages.
Part historical mystery, part thriller, part police procedural, this competently written novel throws in enough plot twists to intrigue even the most discerning crime fiction fan, and with Dan and Corie setting up the Schottland & Geller Detective Agency by the end of the novel, it sets the premise for a series that promises many more intriguing adventures.
