Det. Archie Sheridan is still recovering from his last encounter with serial killer Gretchen Lowell.

As the story begins, Archie is at Mount Tabor Park. His unit are examining the body of Jack Kelly who was murdered, tied by his wrists to a tree and appeared to have been skinned from the neck down.

Archie's men are concerned about Archie and he admits to still being weak. He was almost killed by Gretchen who is now at Oregon State Mental Hospital. Then Archie gets a call grom Gretchen's shrink. She asks for Archie's help because a killer is after her child.

When Archie refuses to believ Gretchen's message, she gets Archie's friend, reporter, Susan Ward, to see her. She gives Susan an exclusive interview on tape where she admits to a murder in her past. In return, she asks Susan to tell Archie that she needs to see him.

Another body is found. This time it is a woman whose body has been burned. While Archie and his unit investigate these murders, there is something in Gretchen's message about having an associate in her killings and that it could be the same person responsible for the two murders he's now investigating.

The author writes an interesting story. The plot is a cat and mouse game in trying to find the killer before the killer can reach the next victim. The characters are correctly portrayed and the author gives the reader informatin about Gretchen's past which helps to understand her.

Chelsea Cain is a superb entertainer. I thought the conclusion was somewhat predictable but overall the story was clever and engrossing.