D. D. Warren has seen a lot of ugliness as a homicide detective with the Boston P.D., but the level of violence in an apparent murder/suicide attempt that left the members of a seemingly happy, middle-class family dead and the father in a coma would shake the most hardened soul. She and her team have barely begun their investigation when another brutal murder/suicide takes place -- this time involving a barely functional family on the poor side of town, with no survivors.

Because of some similar details at the scenes, the detectives search for any possible links between the families and discover that troubled children were involved: children who had at one time been admitted to a special pediatric psychiatric unit at a local hospital. And in a bizarre twist, Danielle Burton, a nurse in that unit, is the lone survivor of her father's deadly rampage when she was a child. Meanwhile, Victoria Oliver, exhausted spiritually and physically by trying to care for her severely disturbed 8-year-old son, wonders when her own family tragedy will be splashed across the 6 o'clock news.

These three women's lives will soon come crashing together in ways none of them could have ever predicted.

I love Lisa Gardner's books, and this one is no exception. She hooked me from the first page and never let go. From the gruesome details of the murders to the deeply sad story of Victoria and her son (and other children like him in Danielle's care) to the straight-up investigating and camaraderie of the detectives, there's not a wasted sentence in this story. The characters are compelling (if not always likable), and D. D. is a strong female lead, providing a solid center in the midst of the confusion. (I love it when I'm as interested in the mystery solver as I am in the mystery!) I highly recommend this book with one caution: There are some graphic scenes involving children and violence that may be too intense for some readers.