The hands of justice work slow because of a myriad of rules to follow -- T's to cross, I's to dot. But even then it is a flawed system because of the human factor. This is a story of what happens when justice affected by these flaws has to police itself and make decisions that no longer serve the public by acknowledging its flaws. Searching through her father's mess of papers in cabinets and boxes galore Regan Landry was hoping to find the inspiration for her next true crime book. Following in her fathers footsteps Regan has all ready made a name for herself as a first class cold case researcher. Still recovering from his murder she found a remarkable collection of information about individuals who on the surface seem insignificant but she is determined to sort through the piles of scraps and documents. With the latest reports of misread DNA by a renowned lab and coerced testimony of witnesses Regan starts thinking about writing about a more current act of injustice. As more is uncovered about the gross mishandling and ultimate forgery of DNA evidence the courts are forced to reopen several cases and release some convicts. Lester Ray Barnes sees this as a miraculous opportunity to save himself from his very eminent death sentence. Oh make no mistake -- he's guilty of the grisly murder that put him on death row but his conviction was based on the faulty DNA report from the investigated lab and the testimony of an eye witness who convincingly lied on the stand. Lester Ray is determined to have his story become Regan Landry's next great book and use his share of the profits to set him up as a free man. The release of Lester Ray, and others, sets off a chain of grisly murders with suspiciously similar aspects to the one committed by him and Regan joins with the FBI in investigating who is behind them. Is it Lester Ray or the work of a copy cat murderer?

This is the second of the "Truth" series I've reviewed and once again Stewart kept me guessing till the end. Every so often you have an epiphany of who is the serial killer -- kind of an ah-hah moment -- only to have it dashed at the turn of the page. Just as Regan and her FBI boyfriend Mitch are racing against the clock to ferret out the culprit the reader is busy turning the pages hoping that there isn't still another victim. Just as in a real investigation this story doesn't take any liberties or short cuts that would make it less believable. We anxiously read on while they run into road block after road block and ultimately become part of the larger team trying to put the pieces together and stop the killings. So turn on your best sleuthing and enjoy the latest and last book of this series by Mariah Stewart.