Corinne Wolff, seven months pregnant, nouveau riche, and to all appearances a dutiful wife, was on her way to play tennis when someone ruthlessly beat her with her racquet. Homicide lieutenant Taylor Jackson, recently back from a romantic trip to Italy with her profiler boyfriend, John Baldwin, isn't ready for such a savage slap of reality on her first day back to work.

Naturally, they look at the husband, Todd, whose actions have been suspicious since even before he arrived at the scene. When Taylor locates a hidden pornography studio in an equally hidden basement, it just adds one more thing to the growing list of reasons to investigate him.

However, in the midst of uncovering the Wolffs' secrets, some of Taylor's are forced out of hiding.  First, damning images of her and her former partner having sex are released on a sleazy porn website. Then, following on the heels of her first major argument with Baldwin, the same images are released to the media, along with video of Taylor shooting the man, David Martin, who appeared in the earlier films. Taylor, though already cleared of any wrongdoing in the shooting, is once again professionally investigated.

Taylor's problems with Baldwin are not made easier by her new stalker. Since their return home, she's had the twitchy feeling that someone was watching her.  Once Baldwin is called away on official business, the feeling gets worse. A murdered rabbit and a stranger in her yard are alarming as well, but nothing that throws her into a tizzy -- at least, not until Baldwin, sounding terrified, lets her know that the man is the same man he's been tracking.  Aiden, an international assassin, has a vendetta against Baldwin that Baldwin has until now neglected to mention. Not appreciating his secrecy anymore than Baldwin appreciates the now national coverage of Taylor's illicit affair, Taylor distances herself from the man with whom she thought she had finally found the perfect relationship.

Perfection isn't everything, however, and Taylor's going to need all of the support she can get as she faces professional and personal ruin, tries to stay alive, and keeps dogging at the case that started it all.

As with All the Pretty Girls, Ellison doesn't focus on just one thing in Judas Kiss. This is more true to life, obviously, but some readers may be put off by the number of balls they have to juggle to make it through the book. References are made to occurrences in the previous book as well, so reading All the Pretty Girls is recommended.

Baldwin played a much larger role in the first book of the Taylor Jackson series, but his absence isn't felt too heavily.  Ellison does a good job of making Taylor strong and independent but also of making it clear how she feels about people -- and her feelings toward Baldwin are right out there. Judas Kiss swarms with other characters, but most of them are easily distinguishable and readers shouldn't get them confused. The dialogue is as fast as the plot, and Judas Kiss is guaranteed to suck you in from line one.

Heavy on suspense and intrigue, Judas Kiss will leave you guessing up until the end. Even the end will leave some things dangling in anticipation of the next novel, due out this autumn.

--Sarrah Knight