The book was archived before our group could download it. We are sure that we would have enjoyed the book judging from the reviews it has received.

This is an intriguing story, one where a personality type we would normally associate with either a criminal or a very high achieving (but often unappealing) business person is in this case an FBI agent. While she would be hard to necessarily like a whole lot in real life, though admittedly probably not dislike either, she makes a very appealing character.

The plot relies a bit on those personality issues but is fully developed so it doesn't become a boring novel with only one thing going for it. Ultimately, we come to like and, more important, appreciate what the protagonist brings to the table. And while it wouldn't be reciprocated, we come to care for her.

Recommended for those readers who enjoy a good suspenseful mystery with a protagonist who has the cards stacked against her.

This was a gripping thriller that had me flipping pages. There was plenty of action to keep me engaged.
Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Agent Bailey is a sociopath. You might immediately jump to the conclusion she's the villain in this book. You'd be wrong. Most (there are thousands) sociopaths are hard-working, honest citizens. Most people don't realize how hard they have to work to come up to "normal." Extreme sociopaths (psychopaths) don't want to pretend they are anything but what they are: unable to empathize with other people's emotional responses. Love, caring, even hate are foreign attributes the sociopath must decide to either overcome by learning correct responses or give in and become a criminal.

While Bailey is the only character presented specifically as sociopathic, you'll discover the person causing all the problems Bailey is fighting to bring to justice is a sociopath of the criminal type. He, too, lives in society having every appearance of normality, but he also has a plan and it involves kidnapping, murder, and theft.

The elements of the plot involve a shortage of a rare metal essential to cell phones and encryption of the devices. Metallurgical scientists needed to find a substitute metal and an encryption specialist are kidnapped to further the aims of the villain.

Bailey has to figure out who is kidnapping the scientists, but first must figure out how the deaths and kidnappings of seemingly unrelated people are all tied together in a grand scheme. Her FBI bosses don't see any connection and tell her to do something else with her time. She can't shake the feeling that she's right and nobody is going to stop her from finding the connections and saving the kidnapped scientists from execution after they'd completed their work.

This is a fast-moving plot with just enough convolutions to keep you guessing. Despite Bailey's flaws, she's still a very likable character. The reader can sympathize with her efforts to appear normal. We all have our quirks we tamp down to operate in civilized society. Bailey just has a few more than average.

Excellent introduction of a new character in L.J. Sellers' growing troupe of cops and agents. Very readable. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys police procedurals and, of course, everybody who has read other Sellers' books in the past