Dark Hearts
DK Hood
328 pages
Bookouture
published February 26, 2024
Wow, this is already book 3 in the Beth Katz series. I guess it seems a little longer since it is kinda a spinoff of the Kane and Alton series. And they even make a cameo in this one.
Beth is still looking for her vigilante justice on the tarot card killer, but her boss has other ideas. He assigns her and Styles a case with a missing girl and a trail of dead ones. While there is an underlying story in the series, the missing girl is the stand alone case of the book. This could easily be read as a stand alone, but I almost think this is better if read in order. And since it is only book 3, there isn’t a huge backlist.
I like that in addition to the normal chapters of trying to solve the crime, there are chapters from the victim and the bad guy. But don’t fret, the bad guy chapters don’t let you know who it is and you still get to try and solve things along with speical agents. One of my favorite parts of a crime procedural.
Beth and Styles are still testing out their partnership and there is even a little will they won’t they going on. Styles seems to know there is something up with Beth and with them both having baggage in their past, I think they are maybe getting closer to taking that step and trusting the other.
With Beth’s past vigilante justice trail, it makes her think a little different that normal law enforcement and think outside the box. It is great to watch her unique thoughts mesh with Styles more by the book style as they track down the clues.
I can’t wait to see how the two grow in their partnership as they solve their next crime.
About the book
Under a thick canopy of pine trees, Cassidy Wilder frantically searches for a hiding place. Her breath catches in her mouth as she hears heavy footsteps. She says a silent prayer, but she knows he’s closing in on her. She knows it’s too late…
When a robbery at a local store ends with multiple deaths and the abduction of sixteen-year-old schoolgirl Cassidy Wilder, FBI agent Beth Katz and her partner Dax Styles are called in. Visiting Cassidy’s family home just a couple of blocks away from the quiet little store where she went missing, Beth’s heart breaks as she talks to her grieving parents and promises to find their daughter.
Looking at CCTV footage, Beth is horrified to see how calm the killer is as he shoots everyone in the store before forcing the terrified Cassidy to follow him into his truck. Then Beth uncovers multiple robberies just like this one, where all witnesses are killed and a young girl is taken. All of the victims are taken at night and found dead the following morning, so Beth knows time is running out to save Cassidy.
When Cassidy’s lifeless body is discovered dumped on a busy highway near a patch of forest, Beth is devastated. And as more girls go missing, she fears the murderer is escalating. A breakthrough finally comes when she finds a name written in blood next to one of the bodies. Beth knows she’s close to catching the killer and is determined to stop any more lives from being taken—even if it means serving her own form of justice. Will she be able to resist the urge to take a life herself? Or will she become the killer’s next victim?
Leave a Reply