When Shannon Randall disappeared from her small South Carolina hometown and her blood was found on a shirt belonging to 18-year-old Eric Beale, the young man was tried, convicted and later executed for her murder, even though Shannon's body was never found. FBI agent Matt Ranieri, who was involved in the case, became a media darling, the "go-to" person for TV talk shows whenever a sensational crime was committed. Now, 24 years later, a prostitute is found shot and stabbed in Georgia, and she's positively identified as Shannon Randall.

The discovery sends shock waves through Shannon's town, as well as the FBI. But perhaps no one is more surprised than Dorsey Collins, an FBI agent in Florida, who gets a call about the case long before anything is made public. Dorsey's father just happens to be Matt Ranieri, and the Bureau would like Dorsey to break the news to him, despite the fact that they rarely speak to each other.

Meanwhile, Agent Andrew Shields gets the tricky assignment of investigating not only Shannon's murder, but now the older mystery of her disappearance, as well. Not only that, but he's assigned a partner -- Dorsey Collins. Andrew's boss figures it's better to have Dorsey working the case in an official capacity than running off and investigating on her own, potentially embarrassing the Bureau even further.

This is an engaging mystery with descriptions of summer in the South that will have you reaching for the iced tea. Andrew and Dorsey are a strong team, sharing a mutual respect and trading theories. There are just enough romantic sparks between them to be intriguing, while not getting in the way of the story. The two certainly need to rely on each other, since few people in the town seem willing to extend that famous "Southern hospitality" to the FBI. Some blame the agency for an innocent man's death; some are protecting secrets that have remained as hidden as Shannon Randall's identity for more than 20 years.

As an added treat for readers of Mariah Stewart's earlier books, there are references to some familiar names (the Shields family, in particular, has been featured in previous works), but this book definitely stands on its own as a smart, suspenseful read. This thrilling series continues in consecutive months with LAST WORDS (July) and LAST BREATH (August).

Book Summary

News that the body of a recently murdered prostitute—shot through the heart at close range, stabbed repeatedly and dumped on Georgia's Shelter Island—has been identified as Shannon Randall stuns the FBI, particularly Special Agent Dorsey Collins. Twenty-four years ago, nineteen year old Eric Louis Beale was convicted and later executed for Shannon's murder—and the agent in charge of the investigation was Dorsey's father. Now Dorsey is determined to find out where her father's investigation went wrong, what part he played in the death of an innocent young man, and where Shannon has been all this time.

The heat is on FBI Special Agent Andrew Shields to discover what happened to Shannon on that night decades ago, and to find out who killed her and why. Dorsey shadows Andrew's every investigative move, hoping to redeem her father's reputation and capture a cunning killer. Together, Dorsey and Andrew unravel a shocking mystery that will shatter one family, and rock an entire town.