Ruthless (Faces of Evil #6) by Debra Webb

Three photos of three unknown women. Sent to Deputy Chief Jess Harris by the Player, one of the world's most sadistic killers. The Player is taunting her, and Jess is more than ready to take on his challenge. Only one thing could distract her from the Player's deadly game: the appearance of a clue to long-unsolved cases. For years Birmingham's children were vanishing-one per year, always on a full moon-until the disappearances stopped and the Man in the Moon case went cold. No leads on the children were ever found-until now.

Jess has no choice but to pursue the case. Someone is reaching out to her, sending her mementos of the missing children, and the citizens of Birmingham deserve justice. But after years of silence, has the Man in the Moon really resurfaced? Or is he just another pawn in the Player's game?

Type: Romantic Suspense
Heat: 1.5 out of 5
Rating: 4 out of 5

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Whew. This series just gets better and better. And lordy Ruthless got me all churned up. Not only is a serial killer continuing to taunt Deputy Chief Jess Harris but a long gone cold case of 20 missing little girls from 30 years ago has landed on her desk with a reappearance of the kidnapper. It's a lot for a girl to take on but dang was it captivating to watch it all unfold...



The mystery is the main focus of the book and, whew, like I said it was a gut wrencher. I felt like I was right there with the detectives dealing with the discoveries, the frustrations and turmoil involved with the search for the little girls and answers to who took them so long ago.

I really loved Jess's determination. She's an incredible heroine and even though she's dealing with some personal dramas she puts every single thing she has into tracking down the criminals and bringing justice to these families. She's really a heroine you can look up to and admire.

While there's next to no heat factor I was really happy to see more romance coming out this time. Jess and her boss Dan seem to be slowly moving forward now that they've admitted their feelings and I liked seeing the subtle changes and how they interacted. They really have an interesting relationship...

He reached for the quilt to cover her up but hesitated. He should be ashamed of himself but he couldn't help admiring those long, toned legs and the curve of her bottom. The desire to crawl in bed beside her was nearly overwhelming, but she was armed and he wasn't taking any chances. 

This is definitely one I recommend reading in order since it follows the same characters through different cases and they kind of build on the previous ones even though the particular story arc is solved each time. I really like that you learn more and more about not only the main lead Jess and Dan but each of the secondary characters that make up her team of detectives as well. It's really fun getting to know their quirks and how their relationships are developing.

All in all I'm really loving this series. It's not a hot and heavy romance but a very slow burning one that takes back seat to the murder mysteries but it's working for me now. Webb does a great job of pulling you in and keeping you invested in what's going on. If you like cop murder mysteries this is definitely a series to check out.

Have you read Debra Webb? What did you think?

Do you have a favorite cop/murder mystery series?