Suspense

To be reviewed over at Fresh Fiction! ( )

4.5 stars.

Stalked is a mesmerizing addition to Elizabeth Heiter's The Profiler series starring FBI Agent Evelyn Baines. Although this newest release is the fourth novel in the series, it can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend the previous installments as well.

Seventeen year old Haley Cooke has been missing for a month when profiler Evelyn Baines is assigned to the case after the teenager's mother, Linda Varner, finds a troubling note in her daughter's room. With Detective Sophia Lopez's help, Evelyn re-interviews the key players in the case and although there is no new evidence, several of the people in Haley's life appear to be less than forthcoming about the missing girl. Evelyn cannot put her finger on anything specific but something about Haley's stepfather Pete Varner seems a little off. Haley's college boyfriend Jordan Biltmore is obviously upset about her disappearance but his smug attitude grates on both Evelyn and Sophia. Haley's father, Bill, is clearly angry and bitter over the divorce and Evelyn cannot help but wonder why he is convinced Haley has run away from home. Haley's best friend Marissa Anderson reveals her suspicions that Haley was cheating on Jordan with his best friend Nate Stokes but both Evelyn and Sophia have doubts about her claim.

Evelyn's boyfriend and fellow FBI Agent Kyle "Mac" McKenzie and his partner Jimmy Drescott are looking into a troubling attack on local college student Tonya Klein. Their investigation of her claim she was forced into human trafficking reveals a few inconsistencies with other human trafficking cases they have worked on. However, they have no reason to doubt her story and following her death, neither Jimmy nor Kyle are quite ready to give up looking into her case. Surprisingly, their investigation intersects with some of the principals in Haley's disappearance and raises questions about whether there is a connection between the two cases.

Evelyn and Sophia know that with every passing day Haley's chance for survival drops so they are under intense pressure to find the one clue that will break the case wide open. They feel certain that one of the people in Haley's life is responsible for her disappearance but they are frustrated by their inability to uncover any new evidence. Evelyn is also quite concerned that her objectivity might be comprised since she is struck by similarities between Haley's life and her own childhood experiences.

Stalked by Elizabeth Heiter is a suspense-laden mystery that is full of unexpected twists and turns. The investigation takes on a heightened sense of urgency after Kyle's and Evelyn's cases converge. When it appears that someone will go to any lengths to stop them from discovering the truth about Haley's whereabouts, Evelyn and Sophia know they are on the right track. Will Evelyn, Sophia, Kyle and Jimmy put the pieces of the puzzle together and rescue Haley before it is too late? ( )

This tangled tale of a missing teen is so weighted down with multiple suspects and backstory on the FBI profiler assisting with the investigation that it never manages to create any sense of urgency or suspense. ( )

I'm a sucker for a good suspense/thriller/mystery - definitely one of my guilty pleasures- so when I saw [b:Stalked|29095400|Stalked (The Profiler #4)|Elizabeth Heiter|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1469409465s/29095400.jpg|49331398]I was totally intrigued and had to indulge. I'm not at all familiar with this author, in fact, I've never read anything by Elizabeth Heiter before and when I picked up Stalked I wasn't aware that it was book four of the Profiler series but I took a risk and read it anyway and this book can absolutely be read as a stand alone. I'm sure that had I read the series in order I would have a better understanding of some of the characters and their backgrounds but I understood what was going on perfectly well and there were no holes in the storyline or missing pieces that I was able to pick up on. I don't want to giveaway much about this because I think it's one of those books you're better off going into without a lot of expectations, if any, and if you like this genre you can already get a feel for what the book will be like without knowing and specific details. Overall this was your typical suspense/thriller/mystery novel with a strong, professional female protagonist and a bit of a romantic interest tied in with some twists and good old edge-of-your-seat reading to make up a really good book. This is one of those books that is fun to read, doesn't require a lot of brain cells and isn't going to improve intellect or stimulate literary development but it's a very entertaining read. It was a quick read although fairly long, nearly 400 pages I believe, but it was fast paced and I got through it in just a couple of days.

I gave this book four out of five stars because I really enjoyed reading it and I look forward to reading more books in this series and by Elizabeth Heiter. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys this genre and if you like books by
Patricia Cornwall or Tana French definitely check out [b:Stalked|29095400|Stalked (The Profiler #4)|Elizabeth Heiter|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1469409465s/29095400.jpg|49331398] by [a:Elizabeth Heiter|7114626|Elizabeth Heiter|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1380299553p2/7114626.jpg]. ( )