A Trace of Death: a kidnapping mystery

A Trace of Death by Blake Pierce is the first book in the Keri Locke mystery series. Keri Locke is a detective with the Missing Persons division of the LAPD. She is haunted by her own daughter’s abduction, years before, never to be found. Still obsessed with finding her daughter, Keri buries her grief into her cases. When a routine call from a worried mother strikes a cord with Keri. Even though the teenager, Ashley, has only been missing for two hours, something in the mother’s voice tells Keri to investigate. Ashley is the daughter of a prominent California senator and is hiding secrets, as teenagers do. But Keri feels there is something more than just a teenager keeping secrets. When all the evidence points to a runaway, Keri is ordered off the case. But Keri won’t give up. Despite the pressures from her superiors, the media, and all trails growing cold, Keri refuses to let go. She knows that she only has 48 hours for any chance to bring Ashley home safe and sound. Will she find Ashley in time? 

A Trace of Death is a fast-paced thriller which I read in one day. It was an easy read without overly complicated clues and misdirections. I have read several of Blake Pierce’s mysteries and while A Trace of Death wasn’t as exciting as the others, I was still hooked and thrilled as I read. Keri is a typical cop who is tormented by personal issues that haunt her but makes her a brilliant detective. I particularly enjoyed the camaraderie between Keri and her partner, Ray, a former boxer turned cop. There were a few exchanges between the two that I laughed at and could see happening between friends. And there is the typical superior who can’t stand the troubled but brilliant female detective and has to eat humble pie later when Keri is proven correct. Overall, I enjoyed A Trace of Death. It was a nice, easy afternoon read. I liked the fact that I could read and enjoy the mystery without getting a headache from the over-the-top and difficult to read herrings that I’ve experienced in other mystery thrillers. If you enjoy mystery thrillers, you will enjoy A Trace of Death. 

A Trace of Death is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook