Blood Tracks by Matt Hilton

Tess is a private investigator now.  She used to be a cop so she has skills.  When the local district attorney asks her to find a witness for a court case, she needs the money.  Saying yes will bring her close to a sadistic murderer.  It also introduces her to a man she doesn't want to love...

Severn House and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published March 1st.

They've lost an undercover cop to a monster that enjoys inflicting pain on people.  Tess needs to find the witness before the murderer.  Her brother, a cop himself, tells her to talk to Po.  He's from Louisiana and can help her in her search.  He looks like a young Clint Eastwood and he has skills she'd never seen.  He's an ex-con.  If you learn how to survive in prison, you're tough.

What should have been a fairly easy job quickly became deadly.  She meets Pinky, an odd black man who has influence in places he probably shouldn't.  He gets them on the scent of the witness and they start looking harder.  The bad thing is that someone has given the bad guys her name.  She's being followed and they beat her to the witness.

When she gets a location and goes to see what's waiting for her, it's his body.  Po instinctively knows someone is watching them but he can't see them.  They decide to get out while getting out is available.

The case just keeps getting nastier and the killer is having a good time with his victims.  It wasn't until the very end that I knew who was going to be left standing.  This is a tension filled drama with evil all the way through it.  Tess began the case a bit unsure of herself but she's back now.  I hope the next book doesn't have such a sadistic monster.  The story is good but the torture bothered me.  That said, I would read another in this series.  I like how Tess and Po work together.