Judith L. (jlautner) reviewed on 1/6/2021 + 105 more book reviews

A renegade FBI agent. Sounds like a contradiction in terms, and in fact to me it suggested that agent Ana Grey should not be in that organization.

There are many fictional detectives who become obsessed with learning the truth, and will cross any number of barriers to get there. I don't' find that admirable or endearing. There are also many detectives who can't open up, are unable to trust. I do understand and can usually relate to this trait. In Ana we have both.

While searching for the man who abducted, viciously beat, and raped a fifteen-year-old girl, Ana crosses lines that may weaken the investigation, an investigation that she shares with Malibu detective Andrew Berringer. Ana and Andrew are having an affair. Ana tells herself that she is just in it for the sex yet she talks to Andrew about moving in together.

There are contradictions in Ana's character that I couldn't resolve in my head. She cares for Andrew but when he says he prefers to keep the house that holds so many family memories for him, she dismisses his concern because she prefers her own apartment. She is a level-headed investigator but goes off the rails when her thoughts lead her to accusations of infidelity against Andrew. She behaves in a dangerous, absurd manner that threatens the safety of others.

Yet inside she is caring about little Juliana, the rape victim. I couldn't put it together, particularly because the caring moments are so few. Instead of taking us inside a deep conversation with Juliana, Smith glosses over it and later says Ana had many conversations, without letting us into any of them. I suspected that Smith really did not know how to express that caring.

She did know how to express how a special nurse talks to a rape victim, and I appreciated the time she took with that (the acknowledgments indicate that she explored this topic with others).

Overall, I found Ana vindictive, reckless, and thoughtless, and I don't feel the need to read any more in this series.

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