Vendetta by Lisa Harris

I like a well written police procedure novel and this is a good one.

This is the first novel about Nikki Boyd. She's with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on the Missing Persons Task Force. She signed on for the investigative work nearly a decade ago, after her younger sister was abducted and never found. She is called in to head the task force when a teen goes missing.

Harris has given us a good mixture of police work, psychological insight, and just a hint of romance. Nikki is driven to find the missing teen as she battles with her memories of her sister's abduction. But then the current case takes on a twist when a photo of the terrified teen is uncovered – just like a photo of her sister was left. Could it be the same person, silent for ten years? Is her own life in danger?

Harris has given us a good female protagonist. I like the way Nikki's character is developed. We are privy to her troubled thoughts but not enough to detract from the action. The secondary character in the book Tyler. He had been married to Nikki's best friend who died a year ago. Nikki and Tyler talk quite a bit about guilt as both feel somewhat responsible for the deaths of their loved ones. I trust that is just setting the stage and both of them will move forward in the next novel. There is a hint of romance between the two, something I look forward to seeing develop.

I always like to learn something new when I read a novel. This time it was about hiking in the Smoky Mountains. I also learned about how easy it is to fake an identity on social media sites for the purpose of attracting teen girls. That aspect of the novel is a wake up call to parents of teens.

The only aspect of the novel that makes it less than perfect was the suspense near the end. I loved the build up. I was surprised at the identity of the bad guy. The resolution of the suspense I thought was just a little unrealistic, too convenient. But that was a minor flaw in an otherwise great book. I recommend it to those who like suspense with a strong female protagonist.

My rating: 5/5 stars.

Lisa Harris and her husband live near the Indian Ocean in Mozambique where they work as church planting missionaries. She is a Christy Award winner and the winner of the Best Inspirational Suspense Novel for 2011 from Romantic Times, having authored nearly thirty books. You can find out more about her at http://www.lisaharriswrites.com/ and follow her blog at http://myblogintheheartofafrica.blogspot.com/.

Revell, 304 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an independent and honest review.