By Carrie Stuart Parks
Evelyn (Tavish) McTavish is a mess and her life is just as bad off as she is. Her Grandmother's death left her devastated and now with the suicide of her fiance she just feels as if her life is coming undone. She is unconvinced that Andrew killed himself but everyone thinks it is just her mental state trying to allow her to cope.
When a local shelter calls insisting Tavish pick up her dog (a dog that she has never owned), Tavish has no choice but to rescue the poor dog that they are threatening to put down. To her surprise, she actually knows this dog having recently been commissioned to do a portrait of both the dog and her owner. But returning Marley is easier thought than accomplished - as Marley's owner is most obviously dead. And worse someone knows that she knows and after her recent experience with the police she knows that they'll never believe her.
Seeking answers Tavish heads to the archaeological dig that John Coyote said he worked at but only more questions are raised as everything she thought she knew about Marley's owner thrown into doubt. And one of the two archaeologists on site Sawyer Price is more than he claims but he is more than interested in what Tavish has to say about John Coyote.
Sawyer has been working undercover trying to determine how artifacts are being removed from the dig and when Tavish shows up with an unusual story about a murder, an unknown archaeologist, and is linked to a recent art theft he is convinced she is the key to his case. There is just one problem shortly after Tavish disappears and he is more than a little concerned as his investigation seems to be heading into even more dangerous territory. What exactly has this young woman stumbled into and can he find a way to protect her before she too becomes a victim to this case?
This is a standalone novel that takes more twists and turns than one expects for a satisfying conclusion. And until towards the climax, it is difficult to get a true feeling for just who might be guilty of what. At times it is hard to get a true grasp on just how much time has passed between incidents. I'm not sure if this is an aspect of Tavish's personality coming through or not. At times it feels as if everything occurs in a relatively short period of time and then a seemingly random comment references an event that seems as if it occurred longer ago than the few days everything appears to be taking.
About the Book:
Stolen art.
A New Mexico archaeological dig.
An abandoned dog.
And a secret that's worth killing for.
Evelyn McTavish's world came crashing down with the suicide of her fiance. As she struggles to put her life back together and make a living from her art, she receives a call that her dog is about to be destroyed at the pound. Except she doesn't own a dog. The shelter is adamant that the microchip embedded in the canine with her name and address makes it hers.
Evelyn recognizes the dog as one owned by archaeologist John Coyote because she was commissioned to draw the two of them. The simple solution is to return the dog to his owner-but she arrives only to discover John's murdered body.
As Evelyn herself becomes a target, she crosses paths with undercover FBI agent Sawyer Price. The more he gets to know her, the more personally invested he becomes in keeping her safe. Together, they're desperate to find the links between so many disparate pieces.
And the clock is ticking.
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~ Blooming with Books