This book is not for the faint of heart, but if you like a dark crime thriller with a touch of family dysfunction, this book is probably for you.

A series starter for Las Vegas Detective Maria Varela, this book goes back and forth between perspectives and time periods to tell the story of an elusive serial killer named The Desert Saint.

The point of view characters are Maria Varela and her father, Dominic, a retired detective. The crime is the murder of her brother by The Desert Saint, who hadn’t killed anyone in nearly thirty years. The search for this killer involves digging into Las Vegas’s seedy past as well as its more corporate sheened present.

The story is winding and perhaps a bit longer than necessary. One particular and important plot point strained credibility a little bit. The points of view are deeply centered in the perspective of the character which was well done and allowed me to see the story from very different sets of eyes. The past storyline is told through flashbacks which made the book easier to read. There are several very well done twists, and to be honest, I didn’t see the ending coming.

My Take: If you like twists, serial killers, and relentless female detectives, this is a good series.