When former forensic photographer Miranda Rhoads moves to the seaside town of Lost Beach, she’s decided to make her living as a wildlife photographer and put crime scenes behind her. But her plans are quickly upended when one morning, she comes across a couple sleeping in a canoe, entwined in an embrace. Looking closer, she realizes the man and woman aren’t asleep—they’ve been murdered.
Detective Joel Breda sets out to find answers–not only about the unidentified victims in the marshy death scene, but also about the aloof and beautiful photographer who seems to know more about his investigation than he does.
As they begin to unravel the motivation of a merciless serial killer, Miranda and Joel must race against the clock to make an arrest before the killer can find them first.
Release Date: Mar 30, 2021
Series: Texas Murder Files
Book: 2
Heat Level: Sensual/Hot
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $7.99
Miranda Rhoads left a job as a successful CSI specializing in forensic photography because of the anxiety the job was causing her. She is now taking a break in the small Texas seaside town of Lost Beach, taking pictures for a nature calendar when she discovers the bodies of a murdered couple. Detective Joel Breda is already short-handed when his department receives this case. When interviewing her as a witness to the case, Joel notices the investigative skills Miranda has and convinces her to take a temporary job with the Lost Beach Police Department. The summer tourist season is drawing near and things heat up when an unusual clue seems to tie this murder to a double homicide the year before. Things are also heating up between Miranda and Joel even though they are trying to ignore the spark they feel when they’re together.
Flight is the second book in the Texas Murder Files, but this book features different cases and different characters. This is the first book I’ve read by Laura Griffin and I really enjoyed this excellent romantic suspense novel which is part mystery, part romance. I like the intriguing plot of the book and that the parts of the book related to the investigation have all the details of a police procedural. It was nice to see that Miranda, Joel, and the other detectives on Joel’s team could look into different parts of the case on their own, but always compare notes with other team members afterwards. I like that nobody goes rogue and takes foolish risks to try to solve the case. There is still plenty of action and drama and for the most part, I like the way things turn out at the end. I think a few loose threads of the case are left dangling, which is disappointing, but all of the major aspects of the case are resolved.
For the romance part of the book, I think Joel and Miranda make a good couple. Joel is smart, confident, and a great leader, and Miranda is intelligent and talented, but vulnerable. I think they have good chemistry and in spite of Miranda’s misgivings about getting involved with a colleague, they really don’t have an in-depth conversation about it. They give into their attraction right away and it’s clear they each have intense feelings for each other early on in their relationship. I would say the heat level of the love scenes is Sensual to Hot. Overall, this is a fast-paced book with a nice mixture of mystery and romance. I like the characters and the author’s writing style. I would definitely read other books in this series and by this author.
~ Christine
Amazon | iBooks | B&N | Kobo | Google Play