A Killer's Mind (A Zoe Bentley Mystery Book 1) by Mike Omer by L. A. Keller

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This is not a cozy mystery. The main character, Zoe Bentley is s forensic psychologist who is working as a contractor for the FBI in Virginia.  We learn who she is quickly and with an adept hand by the author.

I loved this line, "She went downstairs and slid into her cherry-colored Ford Fiesta."  The cherry color tells us she likes to be bold but she doesn't have money or doesn't manage what she has.  I'm not knocking the car but it's not known as one which is driven by a successful psychologist with lots of money to spend.

Zoe is dedicated to the point of obsession about the cases she works. But she harbors a secret from her past which influences her judgement. The author introduces the very likable Tatum Gray, FBI agent whose promotion is more of a punishment when he is transferred from California to Virginia and assigned to work on a prominent case in Chicago.  Despite the different locales, the book works well.

It's not always easy to introduce backstory without distracting the reader from the present but Omer does it well.  He seamlessly weaves in Zoe's dark past and shows us what drives her.  He merges Tatum's personal life (his wacky grandfather and mean cat) into the story and makes him a real person with flaws and a life outside of his job.

This book was fast paced from the beginning and kept me turning pages throughout. There were a couple of clues which make you think you know who the killer is but you might be wrong.  The ending was satisfying but also left something for you to want to read more. The attraction between Zoe and Tatum is one of the better ones I've read in that it was believable.  Both are focused first on their jobs and secondly on the rest of their lives - they don't rush into a relationship nor are they thinking the other irresistible. You want to cheer them on to catch killers and, maybe in a book or two down the road, become closer.

I will definitely be getting the next book in the series to see how Zoe develops, overcomes her fears and obsession and where Tatum's story line goes.


Happy Trails,

Leslie


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