Marketed as a free novella, this is, at best, a short story with very little closure but still a nice glimpse into the progression of the Brown/de Luca romance.

The Good: The suspense was actually pretty good. I was honestly scared for Amy and was afraid she was certainly going to meet her end. Perhaps it was because I'm a fan of The Walking Dead where they tend to kill off their regular cast with, well, regularity but I was really thinking they'd find Amy all butchered by some whackadoo serial killing team. Shayne did a great job with the nail biting aspect of this story. Also, I liked seeing Mason and Rachel back and see their potential relationship grow closer to an actual relationship.

The Bad: The overall shortness of the story left some dangly bits that I felt should have had some closure. At 67 pages, this was almost half the length I'd expect from an actual novella. Maybe more words could have had this feeling more complete than it ultimately was. As a fan of the characters, I was already fully invested in them after reading Sleep With the Lights On but someone who hasn't read that book and only read this one may find the character development virtually non-existent and the plot wrapped up too quickly.

In a Nutshell: An OK addition to the Brown/de Luca series but only for those who have already read the first book. So, read the first book then pick this freebie up for an extra glimpse into Rachel and Mason's relationship. ( )

Obviously I should have read the 1st book before this, as this novella contains spoilers of course, but I still enjoyed it and would like to read more. ( )

This novella fits into the series after SLEEP WITH THE LIGHTS ON and before WAKE TO DARKNESS. Rachel's assistant Amy disappears on the way to Thanksgiving Dinner with her family. Her plans had been to take her new boyfriend home with her. Rachel never liked the guy; she feels that something isn't right about him. So, she snaps a picture of his car showing his license plate when he takes off with her.

When Amy's mother calls the next morning to say that Amy didn't arrive, Rachel's first call is to Mason who drops everything to help her. They quickly learn that Rachel was right about the boyfriend. He was married and cheating on his wife. He says that he told Amy about it the night before and she - very angrily - broke up with him.

Mason and Rachel decide to retrace her steps and soon find her abandoned car. I like the relationship between Mason and Rachel. Neither one is in a place where they feel comfortable starting a relationship but the chemistry between them is hot. I also like Rachel's relationship with her blind bulldog Myrtle. She may talk tough but Rachel has a heart of marshmallow for the dog.

This was a nice bridge between the first two books in this series as it has Rachel show her affection for Amy and lets the tension build even more between Mason and Rachel. ( )