Heartbreaker by Julie Garwood - 3 stars

[Theresa]

Fr. Thomas "Tommy" Madden is hearing confessions on a hot humid afternoon in a parish in a poor section of Kansas City, doing so as a favor to the Monsignor whose parish it is. Just as the time alotted for confessions is running out, without a single person seeking absolution, a man enters the confessional. With horror Tommy hears someone claiming that he's tortured and killed one woman already and is planning another - Tommy's sister Laurant.

Thus begins this thriller in which Laurent, Tommy, and Tommy's best friend FBI agent Nick race to identify and capture a psychopathic serial killer before he strikes again. There are various subplots that create confusion and chaos but all eventually resolve with good winning over evil. And of course romance blossoms between Nick and Laurant.

This is far darker than the only other in the series I have read, Wired, and thus caught me by surprise. It was good and I will read more in the series, but not too soon as I'm not overly fond of this type of thriller. I did really like the whole interplay of a young priest as a character and much revolving around the church without being preachy or cloying, and in roles outside the religious.