Meg Gillis had been a cop for nine years before quitting to start a security firm with another ex-cop and good friend Mike Johnson. Mike is the friendly front man of their business: savvy, smooth and popular. He brings in the clients and Meg does her part in the background, accounts, paperwork and running the place. Mike is a bit mysterious at times, running his part of the business with notes from napkins and tips from cop friends, but ultimately Meg trusts him. When he doesn't show up for work one Saturday morning as promised, she is angry but not surprised. Seems Mike has a busy romantic life that often gets in the way of his work.

However, after the apparently false kidnapping tip, Meg finds herself in the middle of a frightening conspiracy. Hauled into the Beverly Hills police station, Meg is confronted with a barrage of questions she doesn't want to think about. Was Mike running drugs? Were they blackmailing their customers? And why has Mike suddenly disappeared?

In the center of the investigation is Sergeant Joe Reilly, an imposing force who accuses Meg of colluding with her missing friend in a variety of crimes. Or is he protecting her from someone else? Another sinister person involved in murder, perhaps even someone with police ties? After Meg's stolen car turns up covered in blood, the plot moves quickly with many twists and turns. Just who can Meg trust?

The author's strength in this debut novel lies in her own past experience on the police force, and the nuances of police investigation tactics. Songer clearly has a good feel for police work and strong dialogue among her cop and ex-cop characters. Meg is a strong and defiant woman, a character not unlike V.I. Warshawski and Kinsey Millhone. You enjoy reading about her cleverness and sass, especially when being interrogated by all the snide police detectives who try to get the best of her.

Interestingly, C. J. Songer chooses to provide very little physical description of her characters. Meg is never given hair or eye color for example, and Reilly is presumed sexy only from the description of his large chest and arms and his quick mind. While some readers may miss these details, the sexual attraction between the two is apparent nevertheless.

The story is fast-paced and full of the unexpected. What did happen to Mike? Whose blood is all over Meg's car? Can she really trust Reilly or is he part of the conspiracy? And as the plot unfolds, we learn of another murder very close to Meg several years before – a case still unsolved. Questions like this keep the reader involved until the end - and it is not a disappointing ending. Occasionally, the first person narrative seems jumpy and clipped, but overall, Meg Gillis is a cool character whom you won't mind hearing from again.

--Martha Moore