Ten Days Gone by Beverly Long – a Review

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Description:
They know exactly when he’ll strike… They just have to find him first.In all their years working for the Baywood police department, detectives A.L. McKittridge and Rena Morgan have never seen anything like it. Four women dead in forty days, each killed ten days apart. With nothing connecting the victims and very little evidence, the clock is already counting down to when the next body drops. A.L. and Rena will have to act fast if they’re going to find the killer’s next victim before he does.But identifying the killer’s next likely target is only half the battle. With pressure pushing in from all sides, a promising breakthrough leads the detectives to Tess Lyons, a woman whose past trauma has left her too damaged to appreciate the danger she’s in. Unwilling to let another woman die, A.L. and Rena will put everything on the line to keep Tess safe and end the killer’s deadly spree once and for all–before time runs out again.

Review:

Ten Days Gone by Beverly Long is the 1^st book in her new A.L. McKittridge detective series.  We meet our two Baywood detectives, A.L. McKittridge and his partner Rena Morgan, as they are desperately trying to find a serial killer, who has killed four women in forty days; killing one every 10 days.  They are both stumped, as the clock is ticking down before another woman will be murdered.  Finally, they discover a clue that loosely ties to all 4 victims, and the race is on to find the next targeted victim before the killer does. 

In every new series, we get to learn more about our leading characters, and I found myself liking both A.L (have no idea what those initials mean) and Rena.  They have worked together for many years, and make a great team.  The POV is mostly between A.L. and Rena, as we also discover more about their personal lives.  Rena is married, and when her husband has been coming home late, she begins to worry that he is having an affair.   A.L. is divorced and worries about his daughter, as well as having secret sex with the medical examiner.   While their personal lives play a big part of the story, it is the investigate that dominates.

When they find whom they think is the next target, both A.L. and Rena continue to investigate those that have close ties to the past, and at the same time protect and hide Tess (the possible next victim), until the timeframe the murderer will attempt to attack (10 days).  While A.J. stays at a safe house with Tess protecting her, Rena will keep researching clues.  A.L. slowly finds himself attracted to Tess, but does his best not let his feelings take over.  Rena learns the truth about why her husband has been out late often, and fortunately for her, all is well. Now she can solely concentrate only on protecting Tess.

What follows is an exciting thriller, with additional focus on the two detectives that will lead this series.  The last half of the book escalates the excitement and action, as things go wrong and both A.L. and Rena are desperate to find the killer before he kills again.  To tell too much more would be spoilers.  I did enjoy the story, and it was well written by Beverly Long.   I look forward to the next addition to this series.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher