The meat of the story is great. This is a lot more like a murder mystery, the kind McKevett has been layering with the characterizations. So why the 3 outta 5 stars? The story felt rushed in some ways and incomplete. For example, the use of CSI director Eileen is the same flat note that she always gets. There's no growth in the books, no matter the order of reading. The same goes for coroner Dr. Jennifer Liu. These are strong women, the foundation of the series, and yet totally underutitlized in this story.

Following the missing report of a teen who hangs out with a Paris Hilton kind of crowd, Savannah and Dirk start to look for clues. In the end, though, it feels more like a romance than their usual connection. Even the murder part of the mystery gets a little muddled. If the original story on the kidnapping had been the only mystery, the book would have been much stronger.

As it turned out, the story suffered with too many clues and repeated thoughts. Pity. I would have loved to see them really looking for Daisy without all the distraction and solidifying their friendship and partnership. Discussing their past, really discussing it. It'd be nice to see them beyond her P.I., when she was new on the force and scrappy. How that worked against Dirk's general gruffness. This was the perfect case.