Someone is brutally murdering women in the quiet community of Twin Lakes, Texas, and homicide detective, Barbar Hobkins, must stop him before she becomes the victim of "Doubletake."
The nightmare begins when the wife of the high school English teacher falls victim to a brutal murder. It escalates when a sixteen-year-old student is killed, and residents wonder what kind of evil crawled into their quiet little town when they weren't looking.
Detective Barbara Hobkins and her partner, Keith Reeves, work the case, following leads that go nowhere. When they finally get a break with evidence pointing to a young kid who'd been a frequent flier in the juvenile justice system, Barbara's convinced they have the wrong guy. But can she convince the Chief to let her follow her instincts?
Those instincts are telling her the murders in Twin Lakes are linked to similar open cases in Dallas. If they can trap that killer, they will close both cases. But her instincts almost fail her at the end as the killer comes for her.
Excerpt
A cold wind swept Keith's words away and rattled the brittle tree limbs overhead. Barbara strained forward to hear. She knew he'd soon start thinking of his daughter again, picturing her pink and while bicycle silently guarding a body in place of Aimee Nelson's. A heavy weight settled on Barabar's chest.
She cast about for something to focus on, and her eyes were drawn like magnets to the still form now being photographed. Each flash of Polaroid light brought out another aspect of the brutality inflicted on this poor girl. Barbara fought an urge to scream and rage at the demented thing that had done this. SHe held her elbows tight against her sides in defense from the cold wind and her rollicking emotions.
"Did you hear me?" Keith touched her arm. "Chief wants us at the house."
She nodded.
Professional Reviews
Dopubletake by Sutton Miller
Five Stars-Excellent
Women are being butchered in the city of Twin Lakes and Detective Barbara Hobkins, along with her partner Kieth Reeves, is assigned to solve the murders. The particularly grisly deaths have gripped her to the core. Barbara's gut feeling is that there is more to this case than meets the eye, but to get the department go believe her is a challenge. Chief of Police, David Broyles, is particularly adverse to the idea of women's intuition or sixth sense, even though the FBI considers profiling a science.
Sutton Miller takes the reader on a literary ride of a lifetime in this suspenseful and engrossing tale of murder and intrigue. This story is fast-paced and thrilling to the last word. Miller is very skillful at interweaving a great plot with fascinating characters, exciting moments, and unexpected twists. I highly recommend adding this book to your mystery library.
Review by Janis Wagner
Doubletake by Sutton Miller
Detective Barbara Hobkins is comfortable with her job in the Twin Lakes police force, respected by colleagues and she gets along with her partner, Keith Reeves. They are called to the scene of the brutal murder of a local schoolteacher's pregnant wife. More deaths follow, there are links tot he same high school, and the bodies are all wrapped in old quilts.
The police pursue a logical investigation and finally arrest a young delinquent, who happens to be a student at the school. Barbara, who makes good use of her intuition, believes that he is innocent and continues digging. At the same time, she pursues a growing relationship with the attractive high-school principal. Suspense builds as the real killer appears to be stalking her, breaking into her apartment and sending menacing notes in the mail.
The author does a great job of building an atmosphere of terror, while glossing over a few details of plot, such as the very cursory police investigation of the suspicious character at the first funeral.
Overall, Doubletake is a gripping read with an interesting heroine, good dialogue, and some surprising twists and turns of plot - don't read it late at night.
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