A Seductive Young Woman Winds Up Pretty Dead in This Thriller from Gerry Boyle

This is another very entertaining entry in this series, featuring reporter Jack McMorrow. McMorrow is a stringer for the New York Times, even though he lives way off the grid in the woods near Prosperity, Maine. But Jack stumbles into a potentially explosive story when his girlfriend, Roxanne, a social worker, is sent to investigate a case of possible child abuse involving a very wealthy and prominent Boston family.

A church worker reports that the child, a little girl, has complained of being locked in a dark closet as punishment and there is bruising on the child's shoulders. Jack drives Roxanne to the couple's vacation mansion in Blue Harbor and waits outside while Roxanne goes in to interview the child and her mother. While Jack is waiting, he is discovered by the child's father, the wealthy and very personable David Connelly.

Connelly invites Jack into the house and before long, both Jack and Roxanne appear to have fallen under the spell of the Connellys. The mother, Maddie, blames the child's abuse on a nanny who has been fired and sent packing. Roxanne will have to chase down the nanny to hear her side of the story, but both she and Jack find the Connellys charming and believable.

The Connellys invite Jack and Roxanne to a party at their luxurious home. One of the other guests is an attractive and very seductive young woman named Angel Moretti. Angel works for the charitable foundation that the Connellys run and seems to have a strange power over the men who work there, David Connelly included.

Shortly thereafter, a body is discovered in the woods not far from Jack's home. As a reporter, he naturally senses a story and goes to the scene. He's shocked when he sees that the victim is Angel Moretti, and her death puts Jack in a very difficult position. As a reporter, he feels obligated to follow the story wherever it leads, but as a new friend of the Connellys, he's reluctant to draw them into what would certainly become a major scandal. As he tries to walk the fine line between his duty to his job and his obligations to his new friends, some seriously dangerous people will attempt to turn him away from the story and Jack will soon discover that he's head over heels in trouble and that he may be dragging Roxanne right along with him.

The books in this series just seem to keep getting better with each new entry. Again, Boyle has written a gripping story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats, right up to the powerful climax. An easy four stars.