This is the last book in the Jessie Cole series, a series which I enjoyed reading & found addictive. 

There are several stories in the book: Lacey – Jason kidnapping, Arlene Synder – missing person, Anne Corrigan – missing person, Roger Willis – continued from previous book, Ben’s background unravelling (his life before his accident) continued from previous books. One of these converges into another. The principal characters continue to be Jessie (private investigator) and Ben (reporter). 

Lacey and her husband Jason are out to celebrate their anniversary. She is pregnant and looks forward to telling Jason about it, without realizing that he is at a stage where he is bored of her and in an affair. In the cab, they suddenly feel sick and find themselves kidnapped. 

Penny, Daughter of Arlene Synder approaches Jessie, asking help in finding her mother. Her dad Nathaniel was imprisoned but later released based on DNA evidence. Jessi meets up with Arlene’s parents and friends, trying to trace what could have happened. 

There is also a missing person case Jessie is asked to take up – that of Anne Corrigan, age 33. She went missing from home at the age of 16. This is connected to one of the earlier two cases. 

Ben as a reporter has been asked to take up some cold cases. Roger Willis, a physical instructor who went to jail in the previous book after Ben intervenes when he misbehaves with his student is now out on bail. Many of the parents are worried. Ben still cannot recall much of what happened before his accident. Jessie also tries to help by meeting some of his neighbours. 

All the stories are good though I was quite disappointed at how Ben’s story inched slowly to this book from previous ones but ended flat. This was a very enjoyable crime series with some very well-developed characters (including those in supporting roles such as Zee & Olivia). The books are interlinked in terms of carry-over of character backgrounds and hence should be read in order.