Carolyn Sullivan has much to be grateful for at the start of bestseller Rosenberg's riveting fourth romantic thriller to feature the Ventura County, Calif., probation officer (after 2006's Sullivan's Evidence).
She's getting married in two weeks, she has two healthy and happy almost-grown children, and she's been promoted to division manager. These developments help her deal with the many brutal cases that daily pass through her office, but when her best childhood friend, Veronica Campbell, is murdered, it's almost too much to bear. Determined to find the killer, Carolyn embarks on a path of twisted truths that becomes more and more tortuous with each step as she discovers how little she really knew about Veronica.
Rosenberg, who worked 14 years in law enforcement, puts her knowledge of the criminal justice system to expert use in her frightening portrayal of a dysfunctional family.