Meg Gardiner returns with the fourth entry in her taut and thrilling UNSUB series. SHADOWHEART features a battle between two serial killers that starts out like a game of cat and mouse and grows to be something far different.

The year is 2018 in the town of Spring River, Tennessee. Jessup County Deputy Marius Hayes pulls over a suspicious vehicle that is being driven by Efrem Judah Good, a drifter. Not only is there a long-dead female body across the backseat, Goode points to a cabin at the motel where he is being arrested; Hayes finds three more mummified corpses there. This apprehension will open the floodgates on a serial killer who is being compared to the infamous Henry Lee Lucas for his body count and the number of murders he claims to have committed around the country.

"Meg Gardiner has composed a novel so complete and exhilarating that I am happy to just sit back and go over it again in my head."

FBI profiler Caitlin Hendrix is sent to meet with Goode in prison as he has some important information to share. The conversation is odd, and it ends with Goode turning over some eerie drawings he made of alleged victims that he had not told law enforcement about previously, along with names and/or nicknames. When the body of a woman turns up in North Carolina, it clearly bears some connection to Goode. And upon learning about another victim, this time in New York City, Caitlin and her team immediately partner with NYPD Detective Greg Tashjian and his squad.

The location and placement of the body directly resembles a confirmed past kill by Goode. It is now apparent to everyone involved that there is a copycat killer out there. We are still in the salad days of this investigation, and it will take some incredible sleuthing from the FBI and the police to figure out the culprit’s motives and relationship to Goode.

Graffiti begins to appear in the areas around NYC where bodies are found, all with the same broken heart symbol. Caitlin is contacted by high school student Finch Winter, who claims to have information pertinent to the case. She knows she was adopted at an early age and believes Goode killed her mother --- a murder that has since been recreated by the Broken Heart Killer.

One scene in particular, involving a pursuit across the tracks of a busy subway station, is among the many highlights of this great book and had my heart racing out of control. The back and forth between the happenings in NYC and the prison where Goode is being housed keeps the plot hopping and the intensity white hot.

Meg Gardiner has composed a novel so complete and exhilarating that I am happy to just sit back and go over it again in my head. At the same time, I heartily recommend SHADOWHEART to all those who love a good thriller and suggest you add it to your summer reading list as soon as possible.