When the tortured body of a young woman is found in a dumpster, her eyes swollen shut and her clothes soaked with blood, Detective Erika Foster is one of the first at the crime scene. The trouble is, this time, it’s not her case.
While she fights to secure her place on the investigation team, Erika can’t help but get involved and quickly finds a link to the unsolved murder of a woman four months earlier. Dumped in a similar location, both women have identical wounds – a fatal incision to their femoral artery.
Stalking his victims online, the killer is preying on young pretty women using a fake identity. How will Erika catch a murderer who doesn’t seem to exist?
Then another girl is abducted while waiting for a date. Erika and her team must get to her before she becomes another dead victim, and, come face to face with a terrifyingly sadistic individual.
Erika Foster is back on a new case. The thing is, she
isn’t supposed to be on this case. Erika pushes herself onto the crime scene by
pulling rank on Peterson and taking advantage of their growing relationship.
(That was a little nasty on Erika’s part.) A woman is found in a dumpster. Once
Sparks, the primary, is on the scene, he and Erika have words, and she is sent
away. Erika is upset because she is a good investigator, but department
politics has her on a desk instead of in the field. However, events pull Erika
into the investigation officially. It doesn't take long for the team to
recognize that this is a potential serial killer.
I am a big fan of this series. I love the characters and how they all interact,
both good and bad. Erika often hurts her own cause by stating her feelings
bluntly. She is a “what comes up, comes out” person, which doesn’t help anybody
in their career, least of all a woman. This characteristic puts her in
management’s crosshairs. Fortunately, she has a team of colleagues who admire
and follow her without question.
I enjoyed seeing Erika’s lighter side. We don’t get this very often. It is
difficult for Erika to move on from her husband’s death despite her feelings
for Peterson. Fortunately, Peterson is a good guy and understands Erika’s
dilemma. I love Moss. She is the type of person everyone wants on their team.
She is hardworking, loyal, and puts the team first.
I like that the murderer is known from the start. We get in his head and learn
firsthand how evil he is. In my opinion, this is more a villainous character
study than a whodunit. While I believe Last Breath works as a
standalone novel, I believe it is important to start the series from the
beginning for all the backstories. Erika will rub some readers the wrong way,
but for me, it is her abrasiveness and tunnel vision in solving crimes that
make her a realistic character.
I can't wait to get to the next book.
4.5 STARS
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