#Thursday Review - Stalked by Elizabeth Heiter #Thriller #Mystery @ElizabethHeiter @HarlequinBooks

Series: The Profiler # 4
Format: E-Galley, 384 pages
Release Date: December 27, 2016
Publisher: Mira
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Thriller, Mystery


"If you're reading this, I'm already dead."

That's the note seventeen-year-old Haley Cooke leaves behind when she disappears from inside her high school. FBI profiler Evelyn Baine is called in to figure out who had reason to hurt her. On the surface, the popular cheerleader has no enemies, but as Evelyn digs deeper, she discovers that everyone close to Haley has something to hide. Everyone from estranged parents, to an older boyfriend with questionable connections, to a best friend who envies Haley's life.

Secrets can be deadly…

One of those secrets may have gotten Haley killed. If she's still alive, Evelyn knows that the more the investigation ramps up, the more pressure they could be putting on Haley's kidnapper to make her disappear for good. It's also possible the teenager isn't in danger at all, but has skillfully manipulated everyone and staged her own disappearance. Only one thing is certain: uncovering Haley's fate could be dangerous—even deadly—to Evelyn herself.

Stalked, by author Elizabeth Heiter, is the fourth novel in The Profiler series. Evelyn Baine is a Special Agent & Profiler who works for the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. She excels at her job, and has gone above and beyond her actual job description in order to solve some really dangerous cases. One could say that Evelyn has stepped in it a time or two, but her desire to do her job better than anyone is why I continue to read this series, and will until Heiter winds the series down.

Stalked deviates a bit from the previous three stories Hunted, Vanished, & Seized. How you ask? This time out Heiter puts you in the shoes of Special Agent Kyle McKenzie formerly of HRT, and current boyfriend of Evelyn's for the past 6 months. This difference makes for an interesting twist, especially now that Kyle is working at the Washington Field Office, and has a partner who readers are familiar with if they've read this series from the beginning. 

This story is also different for another reasons as well. This is the first case that Evelyn has had to put herself in the shoes of a kidnap victim, rather than a serial killer, or dead body. This time around she has to solve the case of a missing 17-year old girl named Haley Cook, and work with a partner, Detective Sophie Lopez to find the girl before she turns up on the coroner's table. While Evelyn and Sophie are tracking down leads, and sussing out suspects, Kyle & Jimmy Prescott are running down their own leads after being to a hospital where a young college student lies badly brutalized. 

Kyle & Jimmy come to the realization that this case may involve Human Trafficking on a campus setting. But, does his case and Evelyn's case lead down the same path? There is a whole lot of working parts that happen to be going on at the same time. Yet, I wasn't overly worried that I would miss out on something important. Heiter has become one of my favorite authors because she does research. Her characters and story highlight that research time and time again. Human Trafficking is one of those stories that needs to be exposed more in the media, and others. 

I am glad that Heiter took a chance and used it as part of her story. It actually worked really well. To truly expose the horror of Human Trafficking and the fact that so many of are young women are taken and sold off for sex and even more disgusting things, we as a society need to be more aware of what is happening around us. We need to speak out when we see something bad happening so that the FBI and other agencies can bring it to a halt.  

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#Thursday Review - Vanished by Elizabeth Heiter (Mystery, Thriller)

Series: The Profiler # 2
Format: Paperback, 400 pages
Release Date: December 30, 2014
Publisher: Mira
Source: Library
Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Sometimes the past can haunt you...

Eighteen years ago, FBI profiler Evelyn Baine s best friend, Cassie Byers, disappeared, the third in a series of unsolved abductions. Only a macabre nursery rhyme was left at the scene, a nursery rhyme that claimed Evelyn was also an intended victim. Now, after all these years of silence, another girl has gone missing in South Carolina, and the Nursery Rhyme Killer is taking credit. But is Cassie s abductor really back, or is there a copycat at work?

Sometimes the past is best forgotten...

Evelyn has waited eighteen years for a chance to investigate, but when she returns to Rose Bay, she finds a dark side to the seemingly idyllic town. As the place erupts in violence and the kidnapper strikes again, Evelyn knows this is her last chance. If she doesn t figure out what happened to Cassie eighteen years ago, it may be Evelyn s turn to vanish without a trace

Vanished, by author Elizabeth Heiter, is the second installment in The Profiler series. The Profiler series features 30 year old Evelyn Baine who works for the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. Evelyn has seen a whole lot in her short career. As one of the BAU's rising stars, she's profiled serial killers, arsonists, bomb makers, child abductors, terrorists, and faced her own mortality in Hunted. But, there is one case that refuses to go away no matter how hard she tries. It is what drove her to becoming an FBI profiler in the first place.

18 years ago, 12 year old Cassie Byers, best friend to one Evelyn Baine, disappeared without a trace and evidence revealed that Evelyn may have also been the the Nursery Rhyme Killer's next victim had the serial killer not stopped when he did. In the present, Evelyn gets a surprising phone call from Cassie's mother Julie saying that the Nursery Rhyme Killer has returned and claimed another victim. Upon arriving in the Rose Bay, South Carolina, Evelyn isn't necessarily welcomed with open arms. In fact, there are those who believe she's allowing a personal vendetta to get in the way of finding the victims.

But, Evelyn won't allow anyone to stand in her way of finding out what happened to Cassie. Not her own boss at the BAU Dan Moore, not her mentor and sometimes partner Greg Ibsen, and not her romantic interest Kyle McKenzie who works for the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team but seems to be set on being Evelyn's bodyguard as well as her potential love interest. Evelyn is a very interesting character who I have come to embrace over this series, and yes, that means I have read all three books. Just not in order.

She's got a deep seeded secret of her own that hasn't been fully resolved regarding her mother (which I hope Heiter explores soon), has had Cassie's disappearance hanging over her had for almost two decades, and now she's back in the town where prejudices tend to raise their ugly heads to those who are "between" skin colors. Even though Evelyn is far from the perfect profiler that one would expect from one with her drive and determination, she doesn't allow stupid mistakes to stop her from solving her cases.

But, readers will sill ask themselves questions. Will Evelyn's personal ego get in the way of solving Cassie's case before another victim pays the ultimate price? Will it come down to making the least amount of errors, or being in the wrong place at the right time? By the time this investigation is over, will Evelyn still have a job at BAU, or will her career come crashing down around her ears? After 18 years of wondering and pushing herself to the limits to be the first one in, and last one to leave, will Evelyn be able to deal with what she finds in her investigation? Will she have the courage to move on once Cassie's fate has been revealed?

I do believe there are enough twists, suspense, and sudden direction moves that will keep everyone on their toes. You really have a whole lot of characters to choose from before deciding who the actual Nursery Rhyme Killer really is. I dare say if you guess wrong, don't feel bad. I was kind of shocked when the truth finally came out. I have enjoyed this series because I honestly adore Heiter's actual research into the subject of being a profiler. There are plenty of books, and even Criminal Minds to compare this series to, but Evelyn's character, her strength, and who she really is, makes picking up one of Heiter's book well worth the money.

 

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#Thursday Review - Hunted by Elizabeth Heiter (Thriller, Mystery)

Series: The Profiler # 1
Format: Paperback, 368 pages
Release Date: December 31, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Mira
Source: Library
Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Terror stalks a small Virginia town.

FBI rising star, criminal profiler Evelyn Baine, knows how to think like a serial killer. But she's never chased anyone like the Bakersville Burier, who hunts young women and displays them, half-buried, deep in the woods. As the body count climbs, Evelyn's relentless pursuit of the killer puts her career - and her life - at risk. And the evil lurking in the Burier's mind may be more than even she can unravel.

Terror is closer than she thinks.

The Bakersville Burier knows he's got an FBI profiler on his trail. He knows who she is and where to find her. And he's biding his time, because he's planned a special punishment for Evelyn. She may have tracked other killers, but he vows to make this her last chase. This time it's her turn to be hunted!

Hunted is the first installment in The Profiler series by author Elizabeth Heiter. The Profiler series follows Special Agent Evelyn Baine of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU). Evelyn has an impressive record for closing cases that are assigned to her. She is currently the youngest agent in the BAU, which causes some resentments, and friction between her and other agents, but especially her boss Dan Moore. As I learned by reading the third book in the series, Seized, Evelyn has spent the past 17 years totally focused on being the best she can possibly be. 

Then, and only then, will she have the chance to solve the one case that has never been solved. 17 years ago, her best friend Cassie Byers was taken in the middle of the night, and never seen again. The uneasiness of Cassie's disappearance hit especially hard for Evelyn since she was also a target of the kidnapper. But, before Evelyn can move on to dig deeper into Cassie's case, she first has to face a challenge that may have life or death consequences for her. The Bakersville Burier is on the loose, and Evelyn will need to use every ounce of her training to not become his next victim.

I am really glad that I was able to go back to beginning of this series thanks to an inter-library loan from a library in Tennessee. I really like Evelyn. I like her drive, her determination, her reason for being a profiler. Evelyn was a violet crimes agent for 5 years before transferring to BAU. I liked how Heiter flipped the switch and made the hunter, the hunted. I liked how Heiter put Evelyn through trials and tribulations and didn't let her off the hook until the final page is turned. 

I like her would be romance with Kyle McKenzie, even though it is forbidden for those who work together in the same division. Readers will discover that Evelyn and Kyle eventually grow even closer, but for now, they are dancing the dance of the tempest, and never quite allowing themselves the pleasure of each others company. 

I can't imagine getting into the heads of a maniacal killers, but that is what profilers do for a living. This is what research does. It allows a writer like Heiter to go into depths about what a profiler actually does. Evelyn faces other difficulties as well. As we are all aware of, society isn't the most welcoming towards those who don't fall into a certain category. With Evelyn being bi-racial, she faces unfortunate instances of racism and distrust. Especially since she is so young, and small in stature.

I have put in a request for the second book in this series called Vanished. Apparently, it is the book that will finally allow Evelyn to explore the one case that has driven her for 17 years. The disappearance of Cassie Byers.  

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#Saturday Review - Seized by Elizabeth Heiter (Mystery, Thriller)

Series: The Profiler # 3
Format: E-Galley, 384 pages
Release Date: December 29, 2015
Publisher: Mira
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Genre: Thriller, Mystery

Danger is all around her…

What should have been a routine investigation for FBI profiler Evelyn Baine turns ominous when she's kidnapped by a dangerous cult of survivalists. As her worst nightmares become a reality, she begins to question what she's seeing. Because the longer she's inside their compound, the more she realizes this group is not what it seems to be.

The next terrorist threat is right beside her…

As the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team closes in, Evelyn suspects she's stumbled onto an emerging terrorist threat—and a cult leader who has a score to settle with the FBI. If Hostage Rescue breaches the compound, Evelyn's dead for sure. If they don't, the cult may unleash a surprise attack that could leave the whole country shattered. 

Seized is the third installment in author Elizabeth Heiter's The Profiler series. Picking up shortly after Vanished left off, FBI Special Agent & criminal profiler Evelyn Baine is in a funk. Ever since she found the (Nursery Rhyme) killer who took and killed her best friend (Cassie Byers) 18 years ago, she's been picking up fairly mundane cases thanks to disobeying her bosses orders. One of those mundane cases sends Evelyn to visit a convicted bomber in a Montana Prison who believes there's a copycat bomber. This mundane case, turns into so much more after a fellow FBI Special Agent Jen Martinez asks her to come and visit a compound that she believes is up to no good. 

Upon arriving at the Butler Compound, Evelyn and Jen, who has had an intuition that something is off kilter, are taken hostage, and so begins a struggle for survival, a test of strength and the courage to move forward when your brain is telling you that your job is no longer worth the trouble. The story intermingles with several other characters as well as Evelyn's which gives the reader an idea about what is happening inside and outside the walls of the compound while Evelyn is a prisoner of a group of Anti-Federalist who may or may not be up to something really big. 

Even though Evelyn is clearly a prolific and top notched profiler, her own mind is her worst enemy at times. She knows she did what she thought was best by disobeying Dan Moore's orders to solve Cassie's murder. Perhaps she has got to the point where she worked so damn hard to get to where she is, that one has to face an internal struggle about what to do next. Does she give up the past 8 years as an FBI agent and walk away? Or, does she continue to do her job the best way she knows how? 

I liked that there are others who are standing right besides her giving her faith to carry on in the job she's good at. Perhaps the author could have tied up that loose end a bit sooner in the story, until waiting for the Epilogue. In the previous installment, Evelyn started a secretive romance with Hostage Rescue Team Member/Special Agent Kyle McKenzie. She even went on vacation with him. But, as the story unravels, that relationship is on thin ice because of Evelyn's internal struggles and something that puts Kyle's career on ice. Therefore, there is no hint of romance anywhere in this book.

I do think it is perfectly acceptable to read this book without knowing how the previous installments wrapped up. If you really want to get a clue about the previous two books, read the synopsis. One of the things I like about Heiter as an author is that she is very good at researching how the FBI goes about doing things. She understands that the anti-federalist movement isn't something that just popped up because of who our President is. It's is too bad that the media and every day Joe-Schmo couldn't understand that as well. I won't sit here and get all philosophical on you. I'm just saying that history has been rewritten so many different times that we forget about the Battle of Lexington, or Ruby Ridge, or Waco, or the Oklahoma City bombings. We need to understand and not erase history so we can be better as human beings.

**I received this book for free from (Publisher) via (NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

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