Inola Walela should be a happy woman. She has established herself professionally as a officer in the Bryson City police department, and as this novel opens she is about to receive a medal of honor for her role in taking down a killer who was wanted in three states. Her personal life is on the upswing too. Her romance with Swain County Sheriff Steven Hawk has progressed to the point where the two are living together. Despite some differences over housecleaning, they seem to be a good match.
But still, Inola worries. She is not at ease with Steven’s family, who live nearby, and she doesn’t know how to tell Steven that she can’t have children. Also, the alcoholism in her family haunts her, and she feels somewhat isolated professionally–always a little insecure despite her achievements and unable to confide to her colleagues. Her new partner, Cody Sheehan, looks up to her, but he is green and a bit of a hothead. Inola likes him, but she does not have a great deal of confidence in him. Lori Traeger adds to Inola’s insecurity. The good-looking redhead, newly appointed to the police force, is the niece of the chief. Since the Bryson City force is so small, Inola worries that she will be pushed aside to clear a path for Lori to rise in the department.
With all this on her mind, it is no wonder that Inola goes off track when a traffic stop goes very wrong. In a flash what Cody and Inola thought could be an abduction turns into a firefight and a traffic fatality that leaves two dead and Cody barely clinging to life. One of the dead is a woman who as she was dying, begged Inola to find her kidnapped son. Inola is placed on administrative leave, but thoughts of that little boy push her to investigate the circumstances of the dead woman’s life. But Inola fails to recognize that the person who is most helpful to her–and most attuned to her feelings–is the person responsible for all the death and trauma.
This taut, well plotted novel is the final book in the Steven Hawk-Inola Walela supense series. Click to see information about the first and second novels in the series.
Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.
