Title:Stalked
Author:Elizabeth Heiter
Series:The Profiler, #4
Published:December 2016, MIRA
Format:ARC Paperback, 384 pages
Source:Publisher
If you’re reading this, I’m already dead…
That’s
the note seventeen-year-old Haley Cooke leaves behind when she
disappears from inside her high school. FBI profiler Evelyn Baine is
called in to figure out who had reason to hurt her. On the surface, the
popular cheerleader has no enemies, but as Evelyn digs deeper, she
discovers that everyone close to Haley has something to hide. Everyone
from estranged parents, to an older boyfriend with questionable
connections, to a best friend who envies Haley’s life.Secrets can be deadly…
One
of those secrets may have gotten Haley killed. If she’s still alive,
Evelyn knows that the more the investigation ramps up, the more pressure
they could be putting on Haley’s kidnapper to make her disappear for
good. It’s also possible the teenager isn’t in danger at all, but has
skillfully manipulated everyone and staged her own disappearance. Only
one thing is certain: uncovering Haley’s fate could be dangerous—even
deadly—to Evelyn herself.
My thoughts:This is the fourth book in Elizabeth Heiter’s Profiler series and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. These books just seems to get better and better as the series goes on.
This was quite an intense read from start to finish. There are so many different things going on – and at first it seems that nothing is related, and you are desperately trying to figure out how it is all going to tie-in, because you know an author never gives us anything that isn’t somehow connected. Evelyn is called in to help a local police force locate a missing girl. At the same time, Kyle, now working in the Civil Rights Division, ends up on a case involving human trafficking at a local college. Just how are these two cases related?
I loved the way this book was plotted, the way there were so many suspicious characters that it was hard to figure out who was innocent and who was guilty. I had reason to suspect everyone at some point and was so on edge as things progressed. But, I loved the way Evelyn and her partner on this new case, Sophia, worked together, and Kyle and his new partner, Jimmy worked together and then when they all started working together – what a team!
Of course, as intense and crazy as this case is, that’s not the only stress Evelyn has to deal with right now…someone from her past decides now is the perfect time to show up and let’s just say – Evelyn is less than pleased! It seems life is never easy for her and she certainly doesn’t need this headache right now.
I love that not only are the main characters so well-developed, but the minor ones seem to be, too. And in this book, there were quite a cast of characters and I felt that I got a pretty good picture of them, whether from their interactions with Evelyn or Kyle or the profile that Evelyn developed. I wonder if this is the last we see of Sophia…while I don’t necessarily see her and Evelyn being buddy-buddy, they did seem to work well together. I guess time will tell.
This was a great installment in one of my favorite series and I can’t wait to see what comes next for Evelyn…the only problem is that now I have to wait until the next book comes out.
Books in this series:
2.5 Avenged (free short story from Harlequin)
3. Seized
4. Stalked – due out end of December 2016
