Dark Hearts by D.K. Hood

Publisher's Synopsis

When a robbery at a local store ends with multiple deaths and the abduction of sixteen-year-old schoolgirl Cassidy Wilder, FBI agent Beth Katz and her partner Dax Styles are called in. Visiting Cassidy’s family home just a couple of blocks away from the quiet little store where she went missing, Beth’s heart breaks as she talks to her grieving parents and promises to find their daughter.

Looking at CCTV footage, Beth is horrified to see how calm the killer is as he shoots everyone in the store before forcing the terrified Cassidy to follow him into his truck. Then Beth uncovers multiple robberies just like this one, where all witnesses are killed and a young girl is taken. All of the victims are taken at night and found dead the following morning, so Beth knows time is running out to save Cassidy.

When Cassidy’s lifeless body is discovered dumped on a busy highway near a patch of forest, Beth is devastated. And as more girls go missing, she fears the murderer is escalating. A breakthrough finally comes when she finds a name written in blood next to one of the bodies. Beth knows she’s close to catching the killer and is determined to stop any more lives from being taken—even if it means serving her own form of justice. Will she be able to resist the urge to take a life herself? Or will she become the killer’s next victim?

Reviews From Elsewhere

Amazon

I have long been a fan of this author's books and when I discovered she was branching out with a new series, was pretty happy about it.

Beth Katz is a different kind of FBI Agent and has more in common with the killers than anyone knows about and when she is tasked with a tricky case involving the kidnapping and murdering of young women, she has to really work at keeping her other persona hidden.

There is a bit of crossover with the author's other series, and that adds to the enjoyment of this book as well. Read All Reviews

Books and Bindings

The storylines were complicated, well-nuanced, and multi-layered while each character was complex and cunningly crafted, even the secondary ones. D.K. Hood has mad skills although I worry for her neighbors if they give her grief. Read Full Review

The Book Review Crew

Wow, this is already book 3 in the Beth Katz series.  I guess it seems a little longer since it is kinda a spinoff of the Kane and Alton series.  And they even make a cameo in this one.

Beth is still looking for her vigilante justice on the tarot card killer, but her boss has other ideas.  He assigns her and Styles a case with a missing girl and a trail of dead ones.  While there is an underlying story in the series, the missing girl is the stand alone case of the book.  This could easily be read as a stand alone, but I almost think this is better if read in order.  And since it is only book 3, there isn’t a huge backlist. Read Full Review

GoodReads

D. K. Hood exemplifies her abilities with this thriller collection. Hood creates a stunning story that is sure to keep the reader fixated on learning how things develop while relaxing throughout the experience. FBI Special Agent Beth Katz has kept her secret from everyone as she keeps hunting for serial killers across Montana. While Special Agent Katz has been working to find a local serial killer another case crosses her desk, as a number of women have gone missing during violent robberies. While Special Agent Katz looks for answers, she realises that the pressure of the job has left her vulnerable, perhaps too much so, and her secret might soon come to the surface. Hood delves deeper into her newest protagonist to present a great novel. Read All Reviews