A police detective discovers an ex-boyfriend on a dating site, which leads to the untangling of several grizzly murders. New York police Detective Kat Donovan isn't interested much in dating, in fact it's been years since she dated anyone seriously. But when she receives a subscription to a dating service as a birthday gift from her best friend, she decides to give it a try. And she's shocked to discover that one of the profiles on the site is of her ex-boyfriend Jim, a man who disappeared mysteriously from her life eighteen years ago. Things get even more strange when a teenager named Brandon stops by the station to fill out a missing persons alert on his mother. who is supposed to have run off with her boyfriend. But now she's not returning phone calls or texts and Kat discovers to her horror that the boyfriend is actually also her ex-boyfriend Jim.
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As she tries to track down Jim, her boss tells her that a serial killer who had confessed to murdering a string of people has recanted one murder: that of Kat's father. She isn't sure whether to believe the man now and if so, who really killed her father? As she investigates the case of the missing mom, she begins to unravel a bigger mystery. The number of missing people could number in the dozens and they all seem to be connected to the one dating web site. Brandon hacks into the site in frustration and is able to uncover clues that could lead Kat to the killer (or killers). But his hacking was noticed and before Kat can arrest the guilty parties, one of them kidnaps Brandon and takes him back to their hideout.
Kat follows and eventually shoots the killer, but not before he puts a bullet through Brandon's kneecap. Kat discovers Brandon's missing mom, along with other imprisoned women. Later, the FBI discover 31 bodies on the property, dating back decades. When the case is over, she decides to reconnect with Jim and for a few days, they are happy. But then a long-forgotten fingerprint surfaces from the scene of the murder of Kat's father and it belongs to Jim. He confesses to her that it was an accident and that was the reason he left eighteen years ago. As the book ends, the two of them are sitting on the bed, waiting for the next step.
Best part of story, including ending:
The two intertwined cases were very surprising and in both cases, the villains weren't apparent until the very end. That made it a very enjoyable and unpredictable read.
Best scene in story:
The final scene, in which a horrified Kat discovers that her second chance at romance isn't happening, now that she's discovered the identity of her father's killer.
Opinion about the main character:
Kat Donovan might be a great cop, but she struggles in her personal life. And those struggles make her a better policeman and a more interesting character to read.
