It started in Georgia during the height of a heat wave in 1998.  Two young women went out one evening and never came home.  The body of the first girl was found almost immediately near a major highway.  The second girl’s body was found months later, and almost one hundred miles away in a remote wilderness area.  It happened again in 1999.  Then two sets of girls were kidnapped in 2000.  By this time, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) was beginning to understand that the first body was a map to the second girl.  Of the eight girls kidnapped, only the last girl was found in time, alive.  Then, for three years, it all stopped.

In 2004, Kimberly Quincy is halfway through her FBI training at Quantico .  Her father is the renowned profiler, Pierce Quincy.  Her mother and sister were victims of violent crime.  Kimberly is utterly, almost dangerously focused on becoming an FBI agent.  One morning during a run, she leaves the training path and finds the body of a young woman.  According to GBI Agent Mac McCormick, who is at Quantico for training as well, this body fits the profile of the killer in Georgia .  There are plenty of questions.  Why the three-year break?  Why would the killer leave Georgia for Virginia ?  And, perhaps most importantly, who is this woman and is there another woman out there awaiting rescue? 

The narrative hits the ground running in the prologue, which details the earlier cases in Georgia .  Kimberly is truly a tortured individual.  In previous volumes, she’s seen her mother and sister brutally murdered.  Her complete obsession with becoming an FBI agent is as understandable as it is painful to watch.  In addition, she’s learning to relate to her father as a professional, rather than as a father.  Although this story is related to other books by the same author, this one works fine as a standalone. The story itself is gripping, as the author shows events through the eyes of law enforcement, victims, and killer.  The pacing is fast and even, and will keep readers turning pages as the clock ticks down on another life.  Not for the faint of heart, the grimness of some scenes is offset by black humor and sarcastic wit.  I’m looking forward to reading a lot more from this talented author.