When Rebecca arrives at Annabelle’s home to see how the young woman is doing, she finds Annabelle severely beaten but alive. Rebecca cannot think of anyone who would want to hurt Annabelle, and while it would be unethical for her to turn Annabelle’s patient records over to Detective Meigs, she agrees to look through the files and report any concerns back to him.

Because the two colleagues have a notarized agreement to take over the other’s practice in the event of an emergency, Rebecca contacts Annabelle’s recent and upcoming appointments to see what she might learn. Rebecca is also suspicious of the new man in Annabelle’s life, a carpenter Annabelle had just started seeing; in fact, they were scheduled to have Friday night supper with Rebecca and her new boyfriend. Rebecca is desperately worried about Annabelle and Annabelle’s sister Victoria is not forthcoming with details, and then is murdered herself, making Rebecca even more determined to find out who is behind the vicious attack on Annabelle.

Dr. Rebecca Butterman, who first appeared in Roberta Isleib’s Golf Lover series, has developed into a very strong female lead in a short time. Rebecca allows as many people as she can to count on her and rarely, if ever, disappoints. She has also constructed a support network for herself, including her ex-husband, that allows her to keep up the pace. Rebecca is very genuine and knows to ask for help when she is out of her depths (as she finds herself with sand play). Rebecca has also made personal gains as she deals with a mutual attraction between herself and Meigs, knowing that with a terminally ill wife at home, Meigs will remain emotionally, and physically unavailable other than in their professional lives. Rebecca has also reached out to her estranged father and has indicated to him she would like to attempt a relationship with him.

Though Rebecca can’t imagine anyone having motive to hurt Annabelle or kill Victoria, she knows someone did, and there are several good suspects, and while readers may surmise early on who it was, it isn’t until the end when all the dots are connected that the motive becomes clear. Two other therapists play into the mystery and into Rebecca’s life, one of whom may be a problem for her in the future, but Rebecca’s fans know she will be up to any challenge that comes her way.                                                

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry