Series:
West Coast Murders (Book 1)
Catching serial killers is her specialty
Until one follows her home
Attacked and left with a partial heart-shaped symbol
carved into her chest, forensic investigator Lena Love finds her latest hunt
has become personal. But leaving LA to return to her hometown comes with its
own danger—like detective David Hudson, the love she left behind. And soon
sparks fly, even as Lena is targeted and stalked, and bodies—all marked with
the killer’s signature heart—are discovered in David’s jurisdiction…
Good mix of suspense and romance, as Lena Love investigates
a serial killer and reunites with her first love. I will begin by saying that,
for an intelligent woman, Lena takes some very stupid risks.
The story opens as Lena, a forensic crime scene
investigator with the LAPD, decides to revisit the serial killer's latest murder
scene BY HERSELF. She's deep in her investigative zone when she's attacked by
the serial killer, who succeeds in carving half a heart into her chest before
she manages to escape. She returns to her small hometown to recuperate.
Lena wanted to be a CSI ever since she was a kid. When it
came time to go to college, she picked the one that would give her the best
education for what she wanted and then took a job in LA. This ended her
relationship with her boyfriend, David, who was committed to staying in
Clemmington and joining the police force there. Lena also looked forward to
getting out from under the overprotective umbrella of her police chief father
and police officer brothers and living life on her own terms.
David was hurt and angry at the ease Lena left him
behind. When Lena returns to town, he vows to keep his distance from her and
guard his heart from falling for her again. But keeping his distance doesn't
last long when a bored Lena asks to help with his vandalism investigation. Something
about the vandalism gives David pause, and the next one causes him to believe
that the serial killer may have followed Lena home. When murder victims with
the killer's MO start turning up, it is obvious that Lena is in danger.
I became extremely frustrated with Lena, who kept
sneaking off alone to investigate on her own instead of listening to everyone who
tried to protect her. She didn't seem to care about the fear she caused
everyone who loved her as long as she got to do what she wanted. David did his
best to keep her safe while allowing her to help, but his frustration with her
heedlessness was evident. Thank goodness she eventually accepts that she is in
danger, but she still finds ways to put herself at risk.
The story's suspense kept me hooked as David, Lena, and
the others put everything they had into stopping the killer. I could feel their
frustration at the difficulty of finding evidence and the dead ends they ran
into from what they did find. Their frustration and determination intensified
as the killer's actions escalated. I was glued to the pages as their trap went
horribly wrong, and Lena landed in the killer's hands. The final confrontation
was a nail-biter, and I liked seeing Lena fight back as best she could. I
rooted for David to arrive before it was too late. I must admit that the killer
was not who I expected it to be.
I enjoyed watching the rekindling of the relationship
between David and Lena. David is wary of getting involved again, as he knows Lena
plans to return to her job in LA. Lena doesn't want to hurt him again and tries
to keep things strictly to friendship. But the more time they spend together,
the harder it is to deny the attraction that flares between them. Lena is
surprised to discover that being back home isn't the hardship she thought it
would be, despite her family's attempts to get her to stay. I liked how
everything that happened caused her to reevaluate her life and choices. I
enjoyed the conversation between Lena and David at the end and the surprise she
had for him.
No comments:
Post a Comment