Deadly Fear

Cynthia Eden

For much of his professional career in the FBI Luke Dante has been working to be assigned where he now is. He is starting with the SSD - the specialized Serial Services Division. They specialize in serial killers. The lead profiler of the team is Monica Davenport, the woman he has never forgotten. She had left him when they were both early in their careers.

Monica had protested against Luke's assignment to the SSD. But the head of the Division hired him anyway. Luke was the one man who had gotten past her self imposed wall. She was afraid he could do it again. But the two agents complement each other. She is able to get into a killer's head and think the way the killer probably does. He is able to identify and work with victims, helping them to feel comfortable, trust him, and often recall more than they realized they remembered.

The two are the first team members sent to Jasper, Mississippi. The sherriff believes there is a serial killer in town even though the deaths were different. When they discover notes that the first victims received, "I know what scares you", they agree. They realize that the first victims were killed in a manner that frightened more than anything else. It was only a little over 15 years earlier another serial killer was working not far away in Lousiana. But that man is still in prison. Is there some relation between the two?

The killer moves up the schedule when Monica and Luke arrive in time. Yet the kidnappings and murders are very organized. The killer leaves nothing to chance. Then Monica becomes a target. She is fighting her feelings for Luke and now is being threatened by a serial killer. Luke refuses to let her give in to it. Then another member of their team is abducted. The murderer taunts them, dares them to find the person who is under their noses.

Deadly Fear is a fast paced romantic suspense novel that keeps the reader pulled in. Monica is the aloof character with good reason. Jack's reason for good victim empathy is also valid. The two are very different but are right for each other. Cynthia Eden fashions a sick murderer who is believable as well. I was able to figure the identity of the antagonist shortly before the person was revealed. But Eden had made it pretty obvious that the original suspect was being framed.

There is graphic sex throughout as Monica and Luke get together. Her background story is slowly revealed and explains her aloofness. The two have a lot to deal with as they learn more about each other. But the reader feels that they'll be just fine (and hot, of course. It's that kind of romantic suspense.)

Notice:  Explicit sexual content, Non-graphic violence

Provided for review by publicist

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