Blog Tour Review, Missing before Daylight

She wakes surrounded by an inky black darkness and can barely breathe. A sack is covering her head, and her hands are tied behind her back. She desperately tries to struggle free as she hears footsteps walking toward her. She silently starts to cry as a chilling voice whispers “It’s time to pay for what you did…”

When Detective Amanda Steele is called to the murder scene of a young gas station clerk just before dawn, she assumes it must be a robbery gone tragically wrong. But when she discovers nothing has been stolen, she knows the motive must be far more personal.

Watching the security footage, Amanda is shocked to witness the cold-blooded killer not only shoot the clerk dead but abduct a customer. And her heart stops when she recognizes the customer as her former colleague, Katherine Graves. As Amanda breaks the news to Katherine’s heartbroken Aunt May, she vows to do whatever it takes to bring her niece home alive.

Desperate for a lead, Amanda and her partner, Trent, search Katherine’s home. Soon, they discover that despite no longer being with the police department, Katherine has a long list of very dangerous enemies. Enemies who have been sending her anonymous letters promising revenge.

The more Amanda digs into Katherine’s past, the longer her list of suspects becomes. But when May is sent a ransom demand and a picture of Katherine close to death, Amanda knows time is running out. With only hours left to find Katherine alive, Amanda is prepared to risk everything to keep her promise to May, even her own life…

A completely pulse-pounding and unputdownable crime thriller, perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni and Rachel Caine.

My Review

The latest installment in the Detective Amanda Steele series is fast paced and captivating.  Amanda and her partner Trent are looking for a kidnapped woman they know from the local diner.  They fear the longer she is missing, the more likely the situation won’t end well.

One of the things I like about this series is that even though Amanda is a true workaholic, there is some personal life still thrown in there with her love life and daughter.  While I don’t need a romance in my police procedural, it breaks up the intensity of the chase to catch the bad guys.

There are two POVs, Amanda, which is most of the chapters, and Katherine the missing woman.  So the reader has a little insight into what the situation is over the cops.  I love that Amanda is a strong, spunky woman.  But she also shows she’s infallible in this installment.  That makes me relate to her even more.

I was gripped from the start and fell for a few of the red herrings.  I can’t wait to see what happens with Amanda next.