Don't Look Back by Lynette Eason, a Mysterious Review.

Review: Lynette Eason's second Women of Justice romantic suspense thriller, Don't Look Back is heavy on the latter, a spine-tingling mystery featuring forensic anthropologist Jamie Cash and FBI Special Agent Dakota Richards.

Jamie is the younger sister of Samantha Cash, (introduced in the previous book of this series, Too Close to Home). At the age of 18, Jamie was rebellious, wanting nothing to do with authority or rules. Late one night when she defied Samantha and opted to walk instead of remain in the car, she was abducted. Handcuffed to a bed, the man who took her was brutal. He hurt her in every conceivable way. He would then give her drugs to ease the pain. He called himself her "hero." But, after two months of merciless treatment, he decided that the only real way her pain can be conquered is for him, as her hero, to kill her. Branding the number three on her shoulder, he intended to show the authorities she was his third victim.

But Jamie managed to escape. She had years of therapy, and received a doctorate in forensic anthropology, but was never able to forget her ordeal. Though she remains fearful of men, and being away from her home or office, she has formed a tentative friendship with Dakota, who has worked with her on and off on cases he's investigating. Their latest case, however, shocks her: the bones of two young women they've uncovered bear the same abuse that she experienced twelve years ago. There are even handcuffs present at the grave site. She knows that she can never find peace until her "hero" is captured … and, in a twist of fate, he has found her again through her picture in a newspaper. He's made it his mission to let Jamie know that he, too, is ready to renew their special relationship.

Don't Look Back is an intense novel, not a book to be read late at night if one expects to sleep. The characters are richly drawn and draw the reader in, as if they're part of the action as well. The strongly developed plot races forward, ever fearful but also ever hopeful. This is a solid sequel to the first book in the series, and will have readers anxiously awaiting the next.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Don't Look Back.

Acknowledgment: Baker Publishing Group provided a copy of Don't Look Back for this review.

Too Close to Home
Revell (Trade Paperback), April 2010
ISBN-13: 9780800733698; ISBN-10: 080073369X

A Killer Among Us
Revell (Trade Paperback), May 2011
ISBN-13: 9780800733711; ISBN-10: 0800733711

Don't Look Back

A Women of Justice Mystery by Lynette Eason