"Tense romantic suspense"

Susan Moore asks her nephew Cade Harding, former head of the Washington State University Criminalist Department and an ex cop, to search for her lost grandson Josh. The widower wants to say no as he still mourns the death of his wife fifteen months ago, but he owes his aunt. Susan explains she cut off her drug using daughter Mariah who died from an overdose, but learned after the death that Mariah had an infant son who was placed in foster care, but vanished when three older foster children killed their host Belle Bliss.

Cade learns that Frank Bliss blamed the foster kids (Gus Vanellato, Dianna "Beauty" Lintz, and Addilene "Wart" Wartinski) for killing his mother. The ex-cop meets guilt- laden social worker Wayne Grover who offers little. After talking with Wart's sterile aunt, Cade visits Beauty's dying mom who regrets not marrying her daughter's father, who owns a nearby resort Star Lake. The sleuth travels to the resort where he meets Addy "Wart" Michaels. To their mutual shock Cade and Addy fall in love, but a final confrontation between all the survivors is coming.

Readers will commiserate with the intriguing lead heroine and understand Cade's shock to find he is attracted to a woman for the first time since his wife died. Cade's investigation is fabulous to follow as he step by step traces Beauty and Wart. Although the killer comes out of nowhere and Frank is too much an idiot to easily tracks the vanished trio while professional sleuths failed, fans will enjoy this tense romantic suspense and seek other works by E.C. Sheedy (see PERFECT EVIL and ROOM 33).

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted December 18, 2004