The Girl in the Glass: A McCabe and Savage Thriller by James Hayman

A young woman's death mimics her grandmother's.  Who would have killed her like that and why?

Witness Impulse and Edelweiss gave the me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published August 25th.

Aimee is just graduating from high school as valedictorian and she's having a great time at the big party her father threw for her.  Her stepsister is there, too, but Aimee knows she's his favorite and she's dressed to match the large painting he's acquired of her grandmother.  She makes a grand entrance and is on top of the world.  She's young, beautiful and has money.  She's having an affair with a teacher but she plans to turn that into more.  He's got other plans.  He's cutting off the affair and will go home to be with his family.  It doesn't matter who had what planned.  Neither live beyond that night...

When McCabe and Savage begin digging, they find family history has an impact on the present case.  They eliminate who they can and then wonder about what they haven't found.  Their one witness gets killed before she can talk to the police, almost on Maggie's doorstep.  When Maggie goes after the killer, she ends up in the hospital lucky to be alive.  They're getting closer, but will they survive it?

There's another murder before things are over.  I didn't guess who the killer was.  McCabe would like to date Maggie but she's met the security guard from the monied family and is out with him.  Maybe the case isn't the only thing that's over.  I'll have to read the next book to find out.

Darkness First by James Hayman

The doctor was closing her office up when she notices a young woman standing back in the dark.  When she makes no move to come inside, Emily goes out and brings her in.  She's afraid she's pregnant and wants to abort the baby.  Em is concerned about her bruises and wants to get the cops involved.  The young woman runs and Em runs after her.  When she hears her scream, she runs faster.  As she gets on the park grounds, the killer runs Em down with his car...

Witness Impulse and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this ebook for review (thank you).  It is being published tomorrow, so check with your local bookstore for a copy.

When Maggie's father calls her and invites her to visit for the weekend, he also mentions that Em is in the hospital after being hit by a car.  Maggie's dad won't tell her why he wants to talk and she hasn't visited for a while, so she decides to go and see how Em is doing at the same time.

When she finds out drugs were involved in the case and it was no accident, she asks to be added to the case.  She's part of the police force in Portland, ME, and Em's her good friend.  The detective leading the case isn't sure he wants her, but he agrees to let her be part of the team until Tuesday.

This story would make a great movie.  There's an obvious suspect, a romance between Maggie Savage and her work partner McCabe, her father has cancer and the real killer is totally unknown.  He leaves no forensic evidence, uses a false name and anybody who has contact with him dies.  How do you find a ghost?

The real heroine of the story is Tabitha.  11 years old, fat, and not too pretty, she's the sole survivor of her family and has the pills and money her sister stole.  She doesn't know what was in the package, but when she finds the bad man coming after it, she manages to escape and stays tough.

It's a good mystery with plenty of suspense, terror and tension during the cat and mouse hunt for the drugs.  I really liked this one.  It was an excellent read.

Happy reading.