I enjoyed this series and blew through them. They had the comfort that any mystery/thriller fan experiences when reading, knowing that there is one case per book that would be solved, plus enough character development to keep me coming back for more. On one hand, this is much of the same that fans of Blake Pierce will recognize and enjoy. On the other hand, I appreciated that the main character is neurodivergent, which she experiences as something complex, and in both positive and negative ways. This series was also a bit of change of pace for a Blake Pierce protagonist because the main character’s struggles revolved more around coming to terms with herself, learning to form relationships, and realizing that she is not a monster like those she captures just because she doesn’t empathize and emote in a neurotypical manner (as opposed to other series’ main characters fighting off the emotional toll of working violent crimes and resisting becoming jaded and/or corrupt).

Love the quirky Zoe.

Her mother called her the devil's spawn - Zoe Prime sees the world in numbers, patterns few others see. Her childhood left her socially awkward but a more than competent FBI agent. While the premise that Zoe's talent is a secret from the FBI is absurd, I enjoyed reading a story with a unique protagonist. Zoe and her partner are chasing what appears to be a serial killer who has no pattern in his(her?) choice of victims and travels across state lines. Can Zoe decipher the killer's pattern before he kills again? Not my favorite Blake Pierce (Stella Gold) novel but kept me interested to the finish.

Free audiobook on AppleBooks.

Zoe Prime (name a play on her condition, of course) has a special ability that gives her a head start on her cases. She can see patterns and numbers left jn evidence that no one else can. With those clues, she has a leg up and a better slice case than her peers. Her down fall is that this condition also makes her socially awkward, no love life, and no friends.

There’s a part of me that was doubtful that NO ONE else could figure out that she had a special talent that gave her insight that no one else could see.

This condition/talent puts her on the heels of a serial killer who finds his calling through patterns that HE sees. When their two worlds collide, will she doubt herself or will she finally learn to trust in the gift she was given?

The narrator was decent and I found that I didn’t mind her much. I liked this first in a series enough to maybe continue on if the prices aren’t too bad.

Think the tv show Numbers with a very dull unlikable main character.

The main character was interesting, but she made silly mistakes that seemed unlikely. I felt like the mistakes were a device to draw out the story.

I liked Zoe.

3 1/2
Free audiobook and the narrator was pretty good, especially compared to some I've heard.