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Thread of Fear (The Glass Sisters Series Book 1) Kindle Edition
Forensic artist Fiona Glass is the best in the business—which is precisely why she’s quitting. Her skill at mining victims’ memories to re-create the faces of sadistic criminals has left her haunted and wary, and only Jack Bowman’s dogged persistence convinces her to help him. The rugged police chief is hunting a serial killer who’s targeting teenage girls. But what seems like a simple assignment is fraught with complications, including a searing attraction to Jack that’s tempting Fiona to let her guard down in potentially dangerous ways.
Jack never intended for Fiona to become so deeply involved in the case—or in his life. But every instinct tells him she’s his best hope for finding a psychopath who’s lurking in plain sight, growing more ruthless with each passing day. And now that Fiona is right in the killer’s crosshairs, the only way to keep her safe is to unravel a small town’s darkest secrets, one terrifying thread at a time . . .
Praise for Laura Griffin:
“Never fails to put me at the edge of my seat.” —USA Today
“Excels at detailing the mystery and the chase, and forensic science junkies will love the in-depth look at intricate technology.” —Publishers Weekly
“The perfect mix of suspense and romance.” —Booklist
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPocket Books
- Publication dateSeptember 30, 2008
- File size3170 KB
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter 1
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Wednesday, 4:05 p.m.
Fiona Glass was trained to notice faces, but even if she hadn't been, she would have noticed this one.
The man watching her from across the crowded concourse was a study in contrasts, from his receding hairline to his youthful, ruddy cheeks. His hair was strawberry blond -- the same color as Fiona's -- and a smattering of freckles covered the bridge of his once-broken nose.
But it was his eyes that really captured her attention. They were brown and serious and fixed squarely on her.
Fiona halted outside the arrival gate, creating a pileup of deplaning passengers.
"Sorry," she muttered, tugging her black roll-on bag out of the flow of traffic.
"Miss Glass?"
She glanced into the eyes that had been boring a hole in her just moments before.
"Garrett Sullivan, FBI," he said.
A special agent. His charcoal suit and forgettable tie should have been her tip-off. Fiona draped her coat over her arm and hitched the strap of her attaché case onto her shoulder so she could shake the hand he'd offered.
"I didn't know someone was coming to meet me," she said, pulling her hand back. "I was planning to take a cab."
The side of his mouth ticked up. "Didn't want you to get lost."
"Aren't we going to the police station?"
"Change of plan." He commandeered her suitcase and led her into the river of people, creating a path for her in his wake. He wasn't tall -- probably five-nine -- but he was bulky in the way of an athlete who had let things slide.
"Any checked bags?" he asked over his shoulder.
"No."
He obviously wasn't going to fill her in yet, so Fiona simply followed him through the concourse. Glancing around at all the harried business travelers, she smoothed her French braid and adjusted her lapels. She didn't like suits, but she wouldn't dream of wearing anything else to a meeting with police and FBI agents, most of whom would be men. Those occasions called for drab, wrinkle-resistant clothes, which she kept in the carry-on bag that lived in her car. Today's gray suit was double-breasted and had the added advantage of concealing her figure. She looked tailored. Conservative. Professional.
She looked like Sullivan.
"We're going to the house," the agent finally explained. "The media wanted fresh sound bites for five o'clock, so there's a press conference scheduled at police headquarters in twenty minutes. Things are quiet at the residence now, and we thought it'd be a good time to get you out there."
"Okay." Fiona blew out a breath and mentally adjusted her expectations for the evening. She'd hoped to be thoroughly briefed on the case before she met with the child. She didn't want to go in unprepared. All she knew about this kid was that he was "highly traumatized," which could mean anything.
They passed the escalator leading down to ground transportation, and Fiona stopped. "Don't we -- ?"
"We're out here."
He led her to a roped-off area near a bank of metal detectors and X-ray machines. A line of passengers snaked back and forth, their boarding passes and IDs held out for inspection. A security guard gave Sullivan a crisp nod, then unclipped the nylon strap from the stand and waved them through. Less than a minute later, Fiona stood on the curb beside a white Ford Taurus that had been illegally parked in the passenger-drop-off lane. Sullivan waved at the orange-vested guard patrolling the sidewalk as he opened Fiona's door.
She slid into the car, discombobulated by the change of plan but grateful to be whisked away from the airport so efficiently. Fiona hated airports. They were inevitably bipolar -- filled with people either frantically stressed out or morbidly bored.
She fastened her seat belt and stowed her attaché and coat at her feet. The interior of the Taurus felt warm, meaning Sullivan couldn't have been waiting long inside the terminal. For some reason that came as a relief. Sullivan slammed her suitcase into the trunk and then opened the driver's-side door to admit a gust of chilly air. Georgia wasn't known for its bitter winters, but the entire South was in the midst of a cold snap. Even Austin was expecting snow tonight.
Fiona watched the agent settle in behind the wheel. She placed him at thirty-eight, maybe forty years old.
"Tell me about the case," she said.
He turned up the heater and pulled out into traffic.
"Shelby Sherwood. Age ten. Last seen by her brother Monday afternoon."
"And she was taken from her home?"
"Yep. Man came to the front door. Rang the bell, we think."
So far he was only repeating what Fiona already knew from CNN this morning. She typically avoided news broadcasts, but she'd been surfing for weather updates, and the story had caught her attention. At the time, she hadn't imagined that a few hours later she'd be abandoning her Survey of Western Art class to rush to the airport.
"Tell me about the witness," she said.
Sullivan twisted his body around to retrieve something from the backseat, all the while steering the car onto Interstate 85.
"Colter Sherwood. Age six. Was home from school watching Power Rangers in the living room when Shelby answered the door." He flipped through the file in his lap, taking his eyes off the road and making Fiona's heart palpitate. "First-grader at Green Meadows Elementary. Same school as his sister."
Sullivan unclipped something from the manila folder and passed it to Fiona. It was a color copy of Shelby's school photo, the one that had been all over the television this morning. Shelby's straight brown hair hung past her shoulders, and she wore a purple and pink striped T-shirt. The photograph made Fiona uneasy. Shelby's expression wasn't the carefree smile of a typical ten-year-old girl. Neither was it the sullen look you might expect from a middle-schooler. It was a tense smile, very self-conscious. Fiona studied the girl's tightly closed lips.
"She has braces?"
Sullivan glanced at her, startled. "How'd you know that?"
"You can tell from the picture. She's trying to hide them. What's with the makeup?"
His gaze shifted back to the road. "I noticed that, too. Not exactly age appropriate, huh?"
"For a fifth-grader? I wouldn't think so. Especially if her fifth grade is part of an elementary school like you said. You guys need to get a photograph of Shelby in braces circulating, pronto."
"We're working on it. Apparently Shelby hasn't smiled for the camera since the braces went on."
"How old is this picture?"
"September, I think."
Four months probably wouldn't make much difference in the girl's appearance, assuming she hadn't cut or dyed her hair recently. Still, they needed a photo with the braces.
A horn blared as Sullivan skated across two lanes of traffic. Fiona glanced over her shoulder.
"Are we late for something?"
"I'm trying to get you to the house while the media's distracted," he said. "No one knows you're here, and we'd like to keep it that way."
"That's going to be tricky when we release a sketch of the subject tonight."
"That's if we release a sketch. We're not sure the brother saw anything."
Fiona looked up from the photograph, surprised. "Then why am I here?"
"His beanbag chair was parked in front of the television, not fifteen feet from the front door, but he says he didn't see the guy."
"And why don't you believe him?"
"Because when the mother came home from work, the kid was distraught. Shelby was missing, and all he kept saying was, 'I didn't see him.' That's pretty much all he's said for the past two days. No one can get anything else out of him -- not his mom, not the cops, not the shrink we brought in. He's freaked out, so we're pretty sure he saw something. That's why we called you."
Fiona stared down at the school portrait and shook her head.
"What? You don't think you're up to it?"
She lifted her gaze, and Sullivan was smiling at her.
"Aw, come on," he said. "You're supposed to be magic with traumatized kids. It's all in your file. You're the rising star in forensic art."
Fiona pressed her lips together and looked away. "This is my last case. I'm retiring."
The car filled with silence as he digested this. She hoped he wouldn't press her on it. She didn't want to explain. All she wanted right now was to do her job and get back on a plane.
She glanced over. Sullivan was eyeing her with amused disbelief.
"You want to retire. You're what, thirty?"
"Twenty-nine."
He tipped his head back and laughed, and Fiona's spine stiffened. She didn't expect him to understand. But she didn't owe him an explanation.
"Who's home with Colter?" she asked, changing the subject.
His smile disappeared. "The mother and grandmother."
"And the dad?"
"Deceased. Drunk-driving accident about a year ago."
"Okay."
"Mom hasn't left the house since Monday night," he continued. "Doesn't want to be gone in case there's a call. She's convinced Shelby has her cell phone with her, although we haven't confirmed that."
"And is Mom a suspect?"
He cast her a sidelong glance. "Mom's always a suspect."
"You know what I mean. Any weird behavior? Boyfriends who don't check out?"
"So far, no. Everything we've got indicates a stranger abduction."
So Sullivan had leads he wasn't sharing. Fiona wasn't surprised. Her job was to provide information, both visual and otherwise, to investigators, but the information tended to flow one way. Most detectives she'd worked with operated on a need-to-know basis, and the artist didn't need to know anything not directly related to the drawing.
A muffled snippet of Vivaldi emanated from the pile near Fiona's feet. She dragged her case out from beneath her coat and rummaged around until she found her phone. The caller ID showed a Texas area code, the same one that had popped up on the screen three times today. It would be that detective again. He'd lef...
Product details
- ASIN : B0015DWL3K
- Publisher : Pocket Books (September 30, 2008)
- Publication date : September 30, 2008
- Language : English
- File size : 3170 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 385 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #78,534 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #283 in Police Romance
- #357 in Small Town Romance (Books)
- #4,113 in Contemporary Romance Fiction
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Laura Griffin is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty books and novellas. She is a two-time RITA Award winner, as well as the recipient of the Daphne du Maurier Award. Laura got her start in journalism before venturing into the world of suspense fiction. Her books have been translated into fourteen languages.
Laura lives in Austin, Texas, where she is working on her next novel. Visit her website at lauragriffin.com
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But when tragedy strikes, Fiona can't find it in her heart to say no to a new case - especially when the man persuading her is the ruggedly handsome Jack Bowman. Jack is the kind of man who tempts her to break all of her rules, making him oh-so-dangerous.
Jack wants nothing more than to catch the serial killer who is stalking the women in his jurisdiction and will do whatever it takes to convince Fiona to take the job. Once he gets to know Fiona, however, his protective instincts kick in, and he'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe and in his life.
That's easier said than done now that the killer has set his sights on Fiona...
Readers who love a great mystery with plenty of suspense will want to pick up a copy of Laura Griffin's novel THREAD OF FEAR. This is the kind of book that keeps you on the edge of your seat, turning the pages without cease until you reach the finale.
The suspense of the piece is definitely in the forefront, but the romance between Fiona and Jack is certainly there as well. Their love story provides a nice bit of light amidst the darkness of the criminal investigation.
Ms. Griffin delivers and intense storyline with plenty of oh-my-gosh moments that keep the reader guessing until the big reveal at the end. Along the way, we also experience some very emotional scenes with the story's lead characters and the key witnesses they work with.
THREAD OF FEAR is a gripping suspense story that will have readers eagerly anticipating the next book by the talented Laura Griffin!
**Courtesy of Wild on Books**
I took off a star because there were some odd parts that I'm confused about...
1. At one point in the beginning the main character gets a piece of hate mail. She send it to her friend (a cop) to look into. I don't recall it coming up ever again. I thought it would swing back into the story later with one of her cases or something since the cop was a recurring character, but unless I missed it, the letter turned out to not be relevant. The author made big enough of a deal of the hate mail and the characters reaction that I was expecting it to resurface later but it didn't.
2. The main male character. I understand that this is partly a romance book. I also understand that some romance readers/authors like male characters that are that manly, "take charge", kinda alpha male. Got it. I'm not sure it was a good idea, given the subject matter, making this main male character that sexually...what's the word....dominant? aggressive? Either way, I occasionally expected HIM to the be rapist because it felt sometimes like he had a little bit of that in him. Just not sure it was a good paring, that character and the bad guy plot line. It made me slightly uncomfortable, but maybe more seasoned romance readers will find that more normal than I. This is my first book that is considered (by Amazon anyway) to be in the romance category so I could be off base on this one.
3. The third person perspective was off in that the point of view was confusing. This author would detail the internal thoughts of the characters in such a way that I felt like the narrator was switching back and forth between characters, but wasn't the typical "all knowing" narrator. It was like the 3rd person narrator wasn't omnipotent and therefore, had to ask internal questions from the male, that the female already answered earlier, also in the narrator's voice. (Does that make sense?) The way the internal dialogue was written was just clunky at times because you had to remind yourself that you know the answer to what the male is thinking because the female already "told you", ALSO from the narrator's perspective. I'm clearly not an literature major, so I'm not sure how to describe this exactly, but it the first time I've ever had to remind myself of where in space/time I, the reader, am residing and who is doing the "talking". And not just once even, it was actually a common problem I had.
All in all, it was a good read and I did like Fiona a lot. I found I had a lot in common with her, personality-wise, so I immediately understood her. I would read more if the "Fiona Glass" character becomes a series. (Not so interested in the sister.)
Griffin manages to take material that on the surface has a "been there, done that" feel to it, but gives it a fresh voice, largely due to her writing ability. Her characters are compelling and flawed without being too distracting; her dialogue is realistic, and she even manages to tack on a surprise ending that many jaded readers won't see coming. The quality of her novels is so consistent that she has quickly become an author whose work I automatically purchase.
© Tracy Vest, October 2008
This was and interesting storyline with interesting characters. Just what I've been looking for. I really enjoyed the read.