Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Sarah and Bill Armstrong were two Texas Rangers in love. But when Bill died in a car accident, Sarah was left to care for their young daughter, Maggie, and carry on with her work. As a criminal profiler and one of only two females on the force, Sarah has had her share of challenges, but none as harrowing as her current case: a feral serial killer striking with increasing frequency in southeastern Texas. The first murders, of a Galveston tycoon and his mistress, appear to be the act of a vengeful lover. But it soon becomes clear from the crime scene bodies posed as if in rapture with a bloody cross painted on the wall over the bed that this is the work of a career criminal on a twisted moral mission. When the FBI is called in, Sarah finds a shrewd and attractive partner in Agent David Garrity. Together, the two track clues that lead to the Texas railroad and a group of menacing gangsters known as the Freedom Fighters. Meanwhile, Sarah must cope with a precocious daughter who misses her dad. An impressive fiction debut for true-crime author Casey (She Wanted It All, 2005), whose memorable heroine has brains, moxie, and heart. Happily for readers, this is the first in a series.--Block, Allison Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Lt. Sarah Armstrong balances the challenges of being the Texas Rangers' lone criminal profiler and a single mom in the riveting fiction debut from true-crime journalist Casey (A Descent into Hell). A recent widow with a young daughter, Sarah deals with her loss by vigorously investigating the ritualistic murder of a wealthy Houston businessman, Edward Travis Lucas III, and his mistress, lawyer Annmarie Knowles, at his Galveston beach house. Galveston PD, the rangers and FBI unite their efforts, but turf battles erupt as they differ on whodunit. Sarah and FBI profiler David Garrity don't believe the local police's prime suspect--Lucas's unhappy wife, Priscilla--was the culprit. A serial killer appears more likely, and they soon uncover similar Texas murders. Casey's solid research, smooth plotting and sensitive depiction of Sarah's relationship with her grieving daughter lift what could've been standard serial-killer fare into poignant, exciting family drama. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
One of Houston's wealthiest businessmen is found in a very compromising position in his beach house. The problem is that he and his girlfriend are dead. The Houston detective assigned to the case thinks that the man's wife hired a hit man to rid her of an unwanted embarrassment--her husband. Profiler Sarah Armstrong, one of the few female Texas Rangers, disagrees and with assistance of her FBI equivalent sets out to find the truth. This well-written debut begins a promising premise that falls into predictability by the end. Readers should not be deterred, however, from discovering what may well develop into an outstanding new series with an original sleuth. Casey is the author of four well-received true-crime books. For larger mystery collections. [Library marketing campaign.] (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
After four true-crime books (A Descent into Hell: The True Story of an Altar Boy, a Cheerleader, and a Twisted Texas Murder, 2008, etc.), Casey crosses over into fiction for the tale of a Texas Ranger tracking a serial killer. Lt. Sarah Armstrong is a recent widow, a single mom, one of only two female Texas Rangers and, it follows, smart as a whip and whipcord tough. She's also the Rangers's sole criminal profiler. Headquartered in Houston, she'll saddle up and go wherever--Galveston, for instance, to check out a bizarre double homicide with ramifications. The victims, a man and woman, were murdered, then artfully posed in the nude as if illicit coitus had been suddenly interrupted. Inevitably, the murders of real-estate magnate Edwin Travis Lucas and Annmarie Knowles, his gorgeous, much younger lawyer/mistress, have the media slavering. Sarah's colleagues don't react any more becomingly. In a mad rush to judgment, Edwin's widow Priscilla is arrested and charged with hiring a hit man. The most damning piece of evidence against her seems to be a $100,000 withdrawal from her personal bank account that she declines to explain. Meanwhile, the serial killer, now cleverly identified by Sarah as a religious fanatic bent on punishing a variety of transgressions, piles up the sinners. Sarah finally cools his act, but not without a series of traumatic experiences, few of which will take readers by surprise. Slow and on occasion irritatingly predictable. Truth may be easier than fiction. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
