Detective Constable Evan Evans and his new bride, Bronwen, are settling into married life in their little cottage above the village of Llanfair when they meet the daughter of one of the village's newest families, a sixteen-year-old Pakistani girl named Jamila. Bronwen and Jamila are becoming good friends when Jamila finds out that her parents have arranged a marriage for her back in Pakistan. Evans tries to convince her family not to enforce the custom, arguing that Jamila is a normal Welsh teenager. Just as tensions increase, the girl suddenly vanishes. Bronwen is distraught, but there's no trace of her.

At work, Evans is investigating the murder of a man shot to death through the open window of his home while eating breakfast. After the man's wife is jailed as a suspect, a second man is killed-- and then a third -- and Evans and his team are on the hunt for a serial killer. But they can't seem to find any connections between the three men....

Evans risks everything to solve the murders and discover what happened to Jamila.

With engaging and well-written characters this dual story line builds up to a climactic ending. The author utilizes her writing skills with deft ability/adeptness. Even though this is only one installment of a series, the book stands on its own. In many series you can not get a feel for the characters if you haven't read the previous books. It is not necessary to read the others to get a picture of the main characters (I haven't read any of the other books in this particular series). The story evolves at a good pace and keeps you guessing as to the possible motives and outcomes of the tale. I enjoyed reading it and wouldn't mind checking out the previous books in this series.

If you enjoy small town detective novel's, here's one for you.

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Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur; 1 edition (August 8, 2006)
ISBN: 0312349424
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