Laura C’s review of Edge of Midnight (Chasing Evil Trilogy, Book 3) by Leslie Tentler
Romantic Suspense published by Mira 24 Jan 12
Eric MacFarlane has no business chasing the serial killer known as The Collector, not after the man killed Eric’s wife. But Eric can’t let the case go, and when a woman is found, barely alive, having escaped The Collector, Eric knows the killer won’t let her go, so he sticks as close to her as he can.
The serial killer aspect of this story is interesting. We meet him, we know who he is, basically. That is, we know he’s not a buddy of the people in the story, so you’re not afraid he’s going to catch Mia at the office or something. You don’t worry that he’s going to turn out to be one of the people she trusts. I think that is part of what made me feel…less tense…about this story than I might have been.
The romance in this book is definitely secondary to the suspense. Mia is a victim, Eric an FBI agent. That alone has him fighting his attraction to her, even without the added conflict of his wife having been murdered by The Collector. Still, this *is* a romance, so there’s no doubt that he’ll give in…and he does. Both he and Mia are strong characters, both determined to catch the killer, and a reader can easily imagine them making a life together at the end of the book. All the conflicts are external—the killer, their jobs, etc.
Mia has amnesia and can’t remember anything about her time with The Collector, so she agrees to participate in an experimental and very dangerous procedure involving multiple rounds of drugs and hypnosis to get her memories back. I’m not sure what the point of this whole storyline is except to show us how Mia is both strong and fragile and to give Eric a reason to feel responsible for her (he convinces her to work with the psychiatrist).
I wish I could point to one thing or the other that made me feel a bit “off” about this book, but I can’t. It’s a fine book, plenty of action, a good villain to hate, a good couple to root for. I just don’t feel as if it gells. I am sure others will feel differently.
Grade: B-
Summary:
The writer becomes the story when crime reporter Mia Hale is discovered on a Jacksonville beach—bloodied and disoriented, but alive. She remembers nothing, but her wounds bear the signature of a sadistic serial killer. After years lying dormant, The Collector has resumed his grim hobby: abducting women and taking gruesome souvenirs before dumping their bodies. But none of his victims has ever escaped—and he wants Mia back, more than he ever wanted any of the others.FBI agent Eric MacFarlane has pursued The Collector for a long time. The case runs deep in his veins, bordering on obsession…and Mia holds the key. She’ll risk everything to recover her memory and bring the madman to justice, and Eric swears to protect this fierce, fragile survivor. But The Collector will not be denied. In his mind, he knows just how their story ends.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
