At this point, Laura Griffin’s books are a one-click purchase for me. I know that with her books I’m safe. I’ll have competent heroines, strong heroes and a great mystery. This book is no exception. Although, warning: there are cops.

Ava Burch is a corporate lawyer who has moved to a small town in west Texas. She’s been given custody of her dad’s search-and-rescue dog and she’s set up a small law practice with her friend.

Yes, an animal is involved…spoiler: the dog lives happily ever after, too.

As with all of Laura Griffin’s books, Ava’s backstory is revealed layer by glorious layer. Her complex relationship with her dad, her efforts to rebuild her relationship with her sister, her growth as a person – all of it is on the agenda.

Her search-and-rescue work brings her into contact with Grant Wycoff, a local detective. While searching for someone lost in a national park, Ava finds an abandoned campsite. She reports it but only Grant takes her seriously – especially when the campsite mysteriously disappears. Something is off. Could this be linked to the string of missing persons in the area?

The mystery itself is excellent. Even if there hadn’t been ample portions of emotional growth and depth of the character, the mystery would have grabbed me hook, line AND sinker. It’s well-plotted and so satisfying as each clue is revealed. Despite reading so many of Griffin’s books, and reading a lot of thrillers in general, I couldn’t predict the twists or the reveals. The novel maintains a great balance of surprising elements but nothing so outlandish that it didn’t seem probable.

Something that I struggled with but ultimately loved was that Grant didn’t share details of the case with Ava. I wanted her to know and be special and be in the loop, but I also… I want Grant to do a good job. Sharing details of an investigation with civilians is poor form. Grant is just as competent as Ava when it comes to work and it makes me happy. While Grant focuses on standard police procedure, Ava uses her legal knowledge and experience to do some digging on her own: online searches, impromptu conversations with people of interest, that kind of thing. As the reader, we get the best of both worlds as we see the developments from Grant’s perspective and so we’re privy to the knowledge he isn’t sharing with Ava. Ava follows a different set of clues and we are given her insight as well. It’s a great suspense builder!

Their chemistry is palpable and there’s no shortage of suspenseful moments, but the emotions are richer than that. There’s vulnerability and growth and shy moments, just as there are kisses and desperate car chases*. The evolution of their relationship has the integrity to stand on its own as the central plot of the book without the added drama of the mystery. The emotional development and character growth focuses mainly on Ava. Grant remains pretty solid/stable throughout. We do have his perspective, but it’s mostly about him falling in love and also giving us as the reader insight into the investigation that Ava doesn’t have access to. His point of view scenes do a great job of building suspense.

*There is sort of a car chase, sort of a normal chase. I don’t want to give too much away…

So, to recap:

Emotionally rich romance? Tick.
Suspenseful mystery/procedural? Tick.
Interesting, competent characters? Tick.

If you are looking for a romantic suspense that you can trust to tick all the boxes, give this book a shot.