Debra Webb, Faceless

Faceless

Debra Webb

St. Martin ' s, Aug 2008, $6.99

ISBN: 0312942249

Fifteen years have passed since the senseless slaughter of his family in Alabama, but in spite of his current position as a Deputy District Attorney, Carson Tanner has not received any closure; the case went cold a long time ago. He still thanks his girlfriend's father Senator Drake for taking care of him back then when he was a teenager suddenly alone with tragedy and trauma; however putting it behind him remains impossible. That is until apparently now when serial killer John Stokes confesses that he killed the Tanner family.

Carson does not feel like his nightmare is over. When he meets Annette Baxter, they fall into each other's arms for one wild night. However, he soon learns she is a problem fixer for the affluent, including someone under investigation by Tanner's office. Soon afterward, leaks suddenly appear re the Tanner family homicides that lend credence to a rumor of a false confession. Carson begins to wonder what role Annette has played while she understands the only survival to the threats to their lives means escorting the ADA into a world of dishonesty.

This is a fascinating investigative romantic suspense thriller starring two opposites at least on how each sees justice. Carson was shaped by the deadly traumatic incident and goes out of his way to stay legal as he feels the law is above reproach; Annette has no qualms gleefully going outside the law and is proud to do so. They make the tale as together they might swim out of a small-town cesspool polluted with toxic corruption and murder; separately they will be the next two statistics.

Harriet Klausner