by C. J. Songer

Trained by Navy SEALS, a graduate of Gunsite, Thunder Ranch, and similar venues where, according to the jacket copy on her first novel, 'street survival skills are measured, ' C.J. Songer is an ex-cop who could give Dirty Harry a run for his money. In Bait, her first novel, Meg Gillis's partner is missing, and Meg suspects the worst--even before her house is ransacked, her stolen car is found soaked in blood, and she's caught up in a deadly game of murder and deception where the cops make all the rules. They seem to think she's holding out on them--especially Joe Reilly of the Special Tactics Unit, who might have known Meg's husband Charlie before he was killed. Or maybe not. Charlie was a cop, too, and the details of his death have never been cleared up. Even paranoids have real enemies, and Meg's inside knowledge of dirty deals by dirty cops makes her inability to trust anyone perfectly plausible. While she's willing to put herself out there as bait to trap her partner's kidnapper, she's never quite sure who's holding the keys to the cage. It makes for a taut thriller, and the sexual tension between Meg and Reilly holds up all the way to the explosive finish. --Jane Adams