by Lisa Gardner
Part of Detective D.D. Warren, book 5
First published 2012
Tessa Leoni stands over her husband's body in their kitchen. The state police trooper claims she killed Brian Darby in self defense. Her bruised face tells part of the story. Detective D. D. Warren arrives expecting a straightforward domestic violence case. Then she learns that Tessa and Brian's six year old daughter has disappeared. Warren teams up with former lover Bobby Dodge to investigate. They must penetrate the protective culture of law enforcement to understand what really happened. The case becomes a statewide hunt for a missing child. Warren questions whether a trained officer would actually shoot her spouse. More troubling, she wonders if a mother might harm her own daughter. Tessa walks a dangerous line between truth and deception. She trusts no one and has nowhere to turn. Every decision brings higher stakes. She will sacrifice anything to reach her goal. Her police training becomes her weapon. A mother's love drives her forward, and everyone else becomes expendable.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, detective
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: deception, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Massachusetts
Period: 21st-century
412 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Bantam
Content warnings: domestic-violence, violence