Veena’s review of Bridged (Callahan and McLane, Book 2) by Kendra Elliott
Romantic Thriller published by Montlake Romance 10 Feb 15
When their last case together left Ava injured, Mason quickly moved into the role of supportive and caring boyfriend. They’re living together, even if she’s still got her house and hasn’t shared the innermost angst regarding her twin sister. Their relationship is about to take on a more intimate intensity as the bridge killer festoons Oregon bridges with bodies of tortured dead men, and they’re both assigned to work on the FBI task force assembled to solve the crimes. To complicate things, Ava’s twin sister is back on the scene messing with Ava’s emotional well being, such that it’s bleeding over into her professional mien. Will their relationship survive and move into the next level?
Mason, with his gentle courtesy and cowboy hat, appealed to me from Book 1. I’m happy that he teamed up with Ava at the end of the first book and got the dog to create the family that was missing from his life. He only grows on me more with this book as he supports Ava and helps cement and deepen their relationship.
Ava shared some basic facts about her troubled twin in the first book, but this one really gives us a deep inside look into what Ava has been dealing with trying to support her troubled twin. It’s very hard to believe that two children who are identical in looks and could slip in and out of being each other are so different under the surface. As the story develops and Ava gets sucked into her sister’s shenanigans, I wanted to urge Ava to walk away from trying to find and rescue her sister, before she destroys all the good things in Ava’s life. I have to admit, though, that this makes the overall book more powerful, since Ava’s personal conflict is such a perfect foil to the blood and gore of the murder mystery.
While the identity of a the killer remains a mystery until close to the end, I like how the author alternates between giving us insights into the killer’s mind with the FBI task force as they develop the profile and hunt down the clues to solve the mystery. This story really drives home the fact that most crimes are solved through slow, painstaking work, talking to people, chasing down leads, finding ways to prove the theories until they finally lead in the right direction.
I love the climatic ending that brings Mason and Ava’s feelings out in the open – talk about making a statement. This is a great series which satisfies my need to read murder mysteries lightly seasoned with romance.
Grade: B
Summary:
After a congressman’s tortured body is found dangling from a Portland bridge, the FBI joins the Oregon State Police to investigate the case—and FBI Special Agent Ava McLane, still recovering from a bullet wound, hunts the twisted killer alongside the man who captured her heart, police detective Mason Callahan.
But once a third body appears and all evidence points to a serial killer, the public furiously clamors for answers—and the couple’s relationship grows fractured under the pressure. Ava and Mason search in the past for clues that predict the future. And when Ava’s mentally ill twin spins out of control, the FBI agent who battles monsters every day wonders if she shares her sister’s self-destructive streak…
In the latest thrilling romantic suspense novel from award-winning author Kendra Elliot, the past and the present violently collide…and the fallout can be deadly.
No excerpt available.
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