I had previously read some of Corbitt's middle grade series, Ghosters, but until recently I had not tried her adult mysteries. This is the second of the Izzy Santos mysteries. Izzy is the new head detective in her small town of Rocky Harbor and the job, as well as her family, are keeping her busy. Her aunt Maggie is hit by a car and her leg is broken. One of the Rocky Harbor policemen, Gabe Fox, has a wife in a coma after a fall from a cliff. A woman is found dead in her home by a neighbor. Another local woman is attacked in a park. Then a local teen goes missing. When do detectives have time to sleep?
Izzy works each case conscientiously. She listens to the advice of her superior officer and to what the other officers and crime scene techs discover. She interviews suspects and persons of interest. She digs into the backgrounds of everyone involved. She even listens to Tia Maggie's visions and to her own gut. When all the victims seem to have a connection to a high school senior, Izzy has to consider if the teen is a suspect, the unwitting cause of the attacks by a friend or family member, or is there a piece of the puzzle still missing?
I appreciated the way clues were presented so that the reader can try to piece together the puzzle along with the detective. At one point I was pretty sure I had a solid suspect, then something caught me off guard and I had to think back over all the clues again. Many readers may make the same case for the same suspect I did - the clues were very convincing. The other details of teen drama at the high school, the worry of getting Tia Maggie home after surgery on her leg, and trying to maintain a dating relationship when cases pop up at all hours add up to a well-rounded protagonist. One we can hope to see in future outings.
I read a copy of the book provided for review purposes.
