Obsession
4 Stars

FBI Profiler Jess Harris is at a crossroads in her life. On the verge of losing her job and her marriage, Jess returns home to Birmingham, Alabama when an old beau, Dan Burnett, request her assistance on a case involving the disappearance of several young women. As Jess immerses herself in the case, a menacing specter from her past raises its ugly head and places those she cares about in serious danger...

A well-crafted if predictable plot with several similarities to Alex Kava’s A Perfect Evil including a female FBI profiler who has a past with a serial killer and a relationship with the chief of police. That said, the investigative aspects of the case have an authentic feel, the motivation behind the crime is original albeit rather disturbing, and the climax and resolution are exciting.

The characters are also very well developed. Jess is a strong and intelligent heroine, but it is difficult to truly empathize with her given that she often comes across as arrogant and dismissive. She is also in dire need of some sensitivity training. Dan gives the impression of being something of a ladies man although it is rather obvious that the women in his life are surrogates for the one who got away. While there is real potential in their slowly simmering second chances romance, it is the relationship between Lori and Chet that really grabs the reader.

While the primary storyline is resolved by the end, the book does end on a cliffhanger of sorts (I will be seriously annoyed if Lori dies) and I am eager to continue with the series. ( )

AUTHOR: Webb, Debra
TITLE: Obsession
DATE READ: 06/23/15
RATING: 4.5/B+
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS Romantic Suspense/2013/Grand Central Publixhing/295 pgs
SERIES/STAND-ALONE #1 in Faces of Evil
CHARACTERS Special Agent Jess Harris; Police Chief Dan Burnett
TIME/PLACE 2013, Birmingham, AL
FIRST LINES: Special Agent Harris's career was in the toilet along w/ the breakfast she'd wolfed down and then lost in a truck stop bathroom the other side of Nashville.
COMMENTS: Special Agent Jess Harris has had a very successful career in Washington DC as a top-notch profiler of Serial Killers … until her last case. She was so sure she had this one and made one mistake that let him go free … she was also free now, w/ a suspension from her duties. She returns to Birmingham, AL -- where she grew up -- when she is asked by the police chief to assist them w/ a case where young women have been kidnapped. Chief Burnett is also her high school sweetheart. Jess has spent most of her years since then avoiding Burnett but the offer to work and find these women cannot be ignored. Good story… ( )

I have had this book and the next couple books in this series on my long to be read pile for a while. I have been wanting to read it and see what the series was all about. I finally picked up the first book. Yep, this book is right up my really alley. A good story line and characters.

Although, I did find Special Agent Jess to be a little weak. I thought she would have been stronger with her skills in solving cases. Yet, I found myself more drawn to the case itself then her solving it. I am giving her a tiny break as this is the first book in the series and I did find her for the most part good. A fast pace read that did keep my attention. I am now interested to see how book two goes and if Jess has grown from this book. ( )

From the minute I started this book until the last page I didn't want to put this book down. Even as I write this I want to get the next book in the series because I have to know what happens to the characters next. This book has so much suspense that I literally didn't want to put it down until I finished the book because I had to know what happened next. The author is amazing and I am for sure going to be reading more of her books. ( )

Jess Harris is an FBI profiler who is suffering the backlash from a major error in judgement that allows a serial killer to be let out of prison. She answers the call to help in an investigation from an old boyfriend, Dan Burnett, who is now the Chief of Police in a small town in Alabama, as well as to flee her troubles. She is eager to use her expertise to find four young women, one of them Dan's former step-daughter, who have been snatched seemingly out of thin air. At the same time she is determined to keep Dan at arm's length, because the hard feelings of their last time together is still painful after all these years. As time is running out in their efforts to find the girls alive, the pair need to bend the rules in order to try to succeed. But to add to Jess' troubles, the serial killer who was released sees her in a tv interview and now he has his sights on her.

I wasn't sure how this story would play out when I first started it. Was it a romance with a bit of suspense, or a suspense book with a touch of romance? I was so glad to keep reading and find out that while the book has both components, front and center is the search for the missing girls and the detective work done to save them. I love a good plot line which allows for some romance and character background but stays true to its suspense genre. As this was the first in a series, there is the inevitable introduction phase we must get through, but by the middle of the book I was glued to the pages. The last 10% or so on my kindle flew by and then I encountered a surprise ending with cliffhanger that I didn't see coming. That sealed the deal; I will definitely read the next one in the series, Impulse, which I already have handy. ( )