Pasadena Police Detective Nan Vining is back and confronting the ghosts left behind from her brush with death. When Nan's 14-year-old daughter Emily discovers the bloody yellow polo shirt worn by Nan's would-be killer, T.B. Mann, the harrowing memories rip open the never completely healed wounds of her psyche. Still, life must go on, and as a detective, there are other cases to be put to rest.

Nan is back with partner Jim Kissick, working on the latest case involving gangs, graffiti and shady schemes surrounding the death of an advertising arrow-wielding clown. More chilling is the fact that this case somehow appears to be linked to Mann and his sidekick Nitro. Meanwhile, Jim is also looking into similar murders of women, like Nan, who killed men in the line of duty. A sketchpad and pearl necklaces are the only things linking the three other homicides to Nan's attack.

Emily is proving to be a handful, as well, carting her mother's demons around while dealing with the difficulty of teenage emotions and an unsuitable friendship with a boy connected to the case of the murdered clown. Nan's obsessive need to follow the clues she's been collecting on her own leads her down a dark path; one that compromises her personal code of honor and keeps her telling lies to Jim and her boss. Time is running out for a happy home and a future at work if she can't let go and permit others in to help.

This story has its moments, but I wonder if I would have enjoyed it more if I'd read the first two books in the series. The characters seem almost wooden, as if they are but marionettes being moved about a framework stage. The prose, while at times full of moments of sublime description, suffers from an overabundance of telling and not showing. I found that none of the characters stood out and resonated with me. Still, it is a compelling read and full of possibilities. While the moments spent looking into the mind of T.B. Mann cause plenty of chills, the plodding path to the end of the book takes the zing out of the story. However, Ms. Emley shows promise and I look forward to seeing her future work.