Other than some fender-benders and lost wallets during the
annual Harbor Festival, the small Maryland town of St.
Dennis is quiet -- and the chief of police, Gabriel Beck,
likes it that way. He's had enough excitement in his life
and enjoys the peaceful atmosphere (except for tourist
season) and beautiful surroundings of Chesapeake Bay.
That peace is shaken, however, with the disappearances of
two young women from nearby towns, and then shattered when
one is found brutally murdered. Beck and his team join the
neighboring police forces and start an investigation, but
many of them feel they're already over their heads. Then a
second corpse turns up, not only in St. Dennis, but on
Beck's own property, and the FBI is called in.
Mia Shields has gotten accustomed to the surprise that
often greets a female FBI agent, but Chief Beck almost
immediately begins to treat her like any other
investigator. His help in showing her around town and
introducing her to the local residents is invaluable.
Unfortunately, as she finds out more about the crimes, Mia
begins to think that a monster lurks behind one of the
smiling faces in St. Dennis. With a family tragedy in the
recent past and the seemingly endless horrors of her job,
Mia struggles to keep her own personal monsters at bay as
she and Beck race to keep another young woman from a
horrible death.
This gripping story of suspense has a truly nasty serial
killer and some surprises along the way. Mia's issues with
burnout add emotional complexity and make the book more
than just another procedural. I also liked the professional
relationship between Mia and Beck that gradually became
more personal. The scenic location of St. Dennis, with its
cheerful shops and small-town atmosphere, made the murders
seem that much more twisted. This book may make you wonder
the next time you pass through a sleepy little town about
just what secrets lurk behind those closed doors...
A nine-year veteran of the FBI, Special Agent Mia Shields
thinks she's seen it all. But nothing prepares her for the
terror that descends upon the idyllic bayside community of
St. Dennis on Maryland's Eastern Shore, where a depraved
killer has left a grisly surprise for chief of police
Gabriel Beck: the body of an unidentified woman, naked and
completely encased in plastic wrap, stretched across the
backseat of Beck's car. Hidden in the wrapping is a tape
recording of the victim's last, gasping words, terrifying
evidence of the horror endured at the hands of a madman.
Soon the body count begins to rise as more victims are
found, all gruesomely cocooned, their final pleas captured
on tape.
Determined to capture the sadistic killer, Beck and Mia
team up and set a trap—with Mia as bait. But their prey is
closer than they ever could have imagined. Now Beck must
race against time to save Mia from becoming the next victim
of a serial killer as elusive as he is evil...
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