The mother and son writing team of Iris and Roy Johansen has teamed up once again for their fourth book together and their second featuring Kendra Michaels. Kendra is a music therapist who was born blind but was given the gift of sight at the age of 20. When she was sightless, Kendra used her other four senses to create “pictures” in her head about what the world looked like. When she was able to see, her powers of observation became almost uncanny, making her notice things that many other people (even those who considered themselves trained observers) would never see.

"Believe it or not, I had not read any of these authors’ previous books, but I might have to delve into each of their backlists, as they have a writing style that is fast-paced, full of action and quite satisfying to read."

Former FBI agent Adam Lynch is a force to be reckoned with. Intelligent and insightful, he can also be almost ruthless in his methods of interrogation when he’s out to gather information. Adam is known as The Puppeteer, and for good reason --- he has incredible powers of persuasion, making his sometimes unknowing victims almost powerless to stop themselves from helping him, even when they don’t want to.

That’s how Kendra feels when she is approached by Adam to help solve the mystery of a serial killer. Kendra doesn’t work with the FBI, but her former boyfriend, FBI agent Jeff Stedler, is missing and feared dead. She doesn’t want to associate with Adam, but finds herself irresistibly drawn into the job both by his persuasiveness and her desire to find out what has happened to her ex. Although they are no longer together, Kendra feels compelled to help Adam solve the mystery of his disappearance. That is, until her best friend, Olivia, is hurt when she is mistaken for Kendra. Kendra blames herself for the attack and balks at having to assist further in the investigation.

It develops that Kendra and Adam are uncontrollably drawn to each other. The sexual sparks fly almost from the moment they first meet, although this isn’t really what you’d call a romance novel. Still, it does appear to be the beginning of an ongoing relationship that the Johansens will probably use in future tales. One can at least hope for that outcome as the two characters work well, especially with each other.

Believe it or not, I had not read any of these authors’ previous books, but I might have to delve into each of their backlists, as they have a writing style that is fast-paced, full of action and quite satisfying to read. And, of course, I will look forward to the next installment of this riveting series.