Melanie (MELNELYNN) reviewed on 3/15/2009 + 669 more book reviews

Mallory Russo used to be the lead detective on the Conroy Police force until something happened and she resigned. Mallory is writing a book when her former friend and police chief, Joe Drabyak, sends Father Kevin Burch to her. Father Burch is from the school "Our Lady of Angels" and asks her to get a P.I. license and investigate a park shooting.

Over two weeks ago, on a Friday night, four high school seniors - three boys and a girl - enter Conroy's small park. The next morning, two of the boys are found shot to death, and the girl and third boy have disappeared. There are no witnesses and no leads. Conroy's police force is busy with a sniper and have put the case on hold. This is just the type of case Mallory loved to bite into. Father Burch's secretary is the grandmother and legal guardian of the missing boy. On her behalf, Father Burch convinces Mallory to look into it.

Detective Charlie Wanamaker left the Philadelphia force and returns to his childhood home in Conroy to help his own family with a couple of problems. His first assignment with the Conroy Police Department is the park shooting. Charlie quickly realizes that the initial investigation left many questions unanswered. Unofficially, he teams up with Mallory to find out what really happened that fateful night and locate the two missing teens.

This is the first book of a new series about The Magellan Project, a select task force of private citizens with backgrounds in a variety of law enforcement fields who solve cold cases. In this book, readers witness the creation of The Mercy Street Foundation. There is a secondary plot, involving the foundation's owner, that is mentioned often but left dangling (open) for future parts in this new series.

This story is very well written and captured my attention almost immediately. There is a blooming romance between Mallory and Charlie, but no hot bedroom scenes. This story remains focused on the homicides and missing persons investigation. The reason Mallory left the force creates a lot of tension with former coworkers and rivals. This makes the action even more intriguing somehow. All-in-all, another winner from the Queen of Romantic Suspense, Mariah Stewart! Highly recommended.

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