A terrific addition to the Cavanaugh Justice series. The story opens in the small town of Calhoun, Arizona, where detective Liberty Lawrence is looking for the man who killed her foster mother. What she finds is the trail of a serial killer. And when she links the killer's MO to a recent murder in Aurora, California, that's where she goes.

I enjoyed Liberty's first encounter with Campbell. She is focused and intense when she tells him about the link between cases. Cam is a little wary initially because he thought she was too obsessed to have been thorough in her investigation. But after listening to her, he realized that she was right. Meanwhile, I could see her frustration at his attitude. I liked that he apologized for not taking her seriously. She isn't used to that, and it threw her off-kilter for a few minutes. Once Cam is convinced, he's all in and proceeds to include her in his investigation.

The interactions between Cam and Liberty were fun to watch. Because the case is so personal to her, she is even more intense than usual. Thanks to her early life, she also doesn't trust easily and constantly questions Cam's motives. Cam finds her fascinating and is determined to get past the walls she has erected. His straightforward inclusion of her in the investigation goes a long way toward achieving that goal.

As in many other Cavanaugh Justice books, the prevalence of Cavanaugh family members in the Aurora PD surprises the newcomer. I enjoyed how her disbelief turned to wonder as she saw how they support each other, from her meeting with the medical examiner to their conversation with computer guru Valri. Another big shock is usually attending one of Uncle Andrew's family gatherings. It went a little differently this time, with Cam taking Liberty to Andrew's for a meal. It was still an eye-opening experience for Liberty, who was deeply envious of the size and closeness of the family.

I liked watching the relationship develop between Cam and Liberty. There were sparks of attraction from the start, but they buried them in favor of concentrating on the case. I liked how Cam respected her abilities as a detective. I also enjoyed seeing him work to get her to open up to him and how he began to understand what drove her. Liberty was surprised by how quickly she began to trust Cam, but it felt right, which made giving in to their attraction much easier. As they closed in on the serial killer, and Liberty proposed to use herself as bait, Cam's protective instincts took over. I felt his fear when things went south and his relief when it was all over. There was a bit of a hiccup in his expression of his feelings for her, but the Christmas Eve scene made up for it.

The suspense of the story was good. Part of that came from spending some time in the killer's head, giving the reader a peek at what Liberty and Cam are up against. I ached for Liberty's link to one of the victims, but it gave excellent insight into what drives her. I liked seeing the cooperation between the two detectives as they joined forces to stop the killer. Taking the work that Liberty had already done and sharing it with Cam and his partner helped move the case along. There was a surprise addition to the information that Liberty had discovered that gave them a new direction to take. The tension ramped up as the killer escalated his attacks, leading to Liberty's decision to bait a trap with herself. I was glued to the pages as Liberty wound up in mortal danger. The resolution was a nail-biter and came way too close to disaster, but it certainly kept me turning the pages. I did not see that particular ending coming, but it was satisfying. ( )