This is the first book in one of my favorite mystery series. We are introduced to Deb Ralston, a detective with the Ft. Worth Major Case Squad, and also a wife and mother with somewhat harried home life (rings very true). She comes in to a bizarre case where the main suspect is being allowed to remain at the crime scene, and they can't even determine how many victims there are, because a room has been entirely filled with furniture and they are impossible to get to.

It seems obvious that Olead, a recent resident of a mental health facility, must have gone nuts and killed his family, but a few details are bothering Deb. Not least that a former mental patient makes a hell of a fall guy for anyone else.

The gradual revelation of what happened, along with an interesting array of characters drawn with great detail, and the collision of Deb's work life with her home life, make this an excellent introduction to a promising series. ( )

Detective Deb Ralston is investigating some brutal murders. Second in series. ( )

Fictionwise multiformat ebook