Playing homicide investigator was never more challenging and candidly fun – in a grisly sort of way. Funny how you can get over the sight of blood rather quickly and dare I suggest easily once you are enmeshed in the search for a monster. Well, it must be a monster, no down-to-earth regular person could or would compile a mass accumulation of bodies. In a rather short span of time. With the eyes of the legal community everywhere. Expect to be surprised and perhaps even utter oh crap I forgot about that. This is par for the course Karen Rose at her finest.

We meet up once again with police psychologist Dr. Sam Reeves who has been working with teens at a local shelter and has been called upon by the police to help them ferret out whether or not a witness or suspect is being candid. This means he will be working rather closely with Homicide Detective Kit McKittrick and her new partner Connor. Sam and Kit have been moving very – almost painfully – slow in what could become a relationship. Sam is still working on the friendship portion. Kit isn’t even at that juncture yet. But she has developed trust in Sam, and that has taken quite a while.

Sam and Kit on a desert walk with their dogs make a gruesome discovery. A body that has been mutilated by someone or something rather than just the topography and animals that inhabit the desert. The more they inspect the body the more they come to realize this was a murder of rage. Someone had let out their emotions on this gruesome murder. They were able to identify the victim as a local politician. A councilman who was for the most part considered popular but had gathered quite a number of enemies.

Now Kit and Connor are faced with finding out who and why someone would have kidnapped, tortured, mutilated, killed, and then tossed the body. Quite a lot of territory to cover and they enlist Sam to help.

We learn that the inhabitants of the McKittrick house are an amazing support group for Kit who had at one time been one of many foster children. Karen Rose carefully incorporates many characters into this case which has its tentacles covering a large area. The world of the immensely wealthy and powerful is going to be scrutinized. Those who had something they kept carefully concealed will become part of a growing number of suspects. One problem now for Kit and Connor is to prevent losing any more possible witnesses or suspects. There is a killer out there who is culling the herd, one by one.

Awesome look into the dangerous mind of a murderous lunatic. Karen Rose leaves no stone unturned. And brings us right into the heart of the action. If it’s been mentioned, it just might be important. After all this is Karen Rose whose talent is legendary.