Veena’s review of Hard Silence (Agents Undercover, Book 2) by Mia Kay
Romantic Suspense published by Carina Press 25 Apr 16

What’s a girl who’s hiding out in the country to do when a top FBI profiler moves in next door? She tries to fade in the background and make herself invisible, but her friends have matchmaking on their mind, so that doesn’t work out quite that well. Then Jeff catches a serial killer case, which is on a collision course with Abby’s dark hidden past.  Dear reader, I know you’re intrigued just like I was to see how the author brings it all together and deliver a happy ending.

Abby leads a fulfilled and busy life with her ranch, her menagerie of rescued animals, and now an abused little boy who she and Jeff rescue. It’s pretty clear from the beginning Abby has deep and dark secrets that keep her awake at night and it’s not really till the end that all the facts come together to show the reader how vigilant and fearful Abby truly is as she goes about that busy and fulfilled life.

Jeff has been attracted to Abby since he first met her on his past few visits to this little country town. He’s back in this quiet corner of the USA, taking time out from his usually hectic life to write some training material for the FBI and work on a serial killer case, with Abby thrown in as a nice diversion to explore in his spare time. Abby, however, calls to him and he makes room in his schedule to find time to spend with Abby. When they both rescue a little boy and agree to co-foster him, it’s like icing on the cake.

I was fascinated with how the author uses Jeff’s case in combination with Abby’s dreams and memories to flesh out the story, coming together from two entirely different points of view.  The identity of the killer and her possible motivations become clear to the reader long before Jeff pieces it all together, but the author is still able to surprise the reader quite a few times as the story plays out.

I found the end charming as the two of them skirt around each other in wary fascination.  This book is the first for me by this author, but definitely not the last. I am curious to see where this series will go next.

Grade: B

Summary:

FBI profiler Jeff Crandall returned to Fiddler, Idaho, to work on new Bureau protocols in peace…and because he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about Abby Quinn. Kind, beautiful and quietly sexy, the petite rancher next door is loved by the entire town but keeps fiercely to herself. She’s a mystery that doesn’t want to be solved, though he’s desperate to try.

Whether that interest is professional or personal is a question he’ll sort out later.

Abby knows sharing her secrets would bring death and destruction to Fiddler. She survived her childhood, barely, but a long list of stepfathers weren’t nearly so lucky: their bodies are buried across the country, waiting to be discovered. The best protection is silence, anonymity and isolation, though the handsome agent next door seems hell-bent on destroying all three.

And he just keeps kissing her…

When Jeff is called in to investigate an interstate serial killer case spanning two decades, Abby knows it’s only a matter of time before he connects the dots, sees her for who she really is and walks away. But it’s when he’s standing in the crosshairs of Abby’s past that Jeff faces his biggest challenge yet: how to give the woman he loves the life she doesn’t believe she deserves.

No excerpt available.

Other books in this series: