The debut in a new series introduces Afton Tangler, a single mom of two girls, who works as a family liaison officer with the Minneapolis Police Department. Afton is out ice climbing in the frigid Minnesota winter when she gets a call about a kidnapped 3 month old baby girl. Little Elizabeth Ann Darden was taken from her crib at home while she was being watched by a sitter. The wealthy parents, Susan and Richard, are frantic as the local police, the FBI and other jurisdictions are called in on the case.
Afton becomes extremely involved in the actual investigation of the case, far beyond the scope of her liaison job. Although the reader knows who took the baby and has an idea of why, the crime investigators are without much to go on as they attempt to track down the abductor and rescue the baby. Yes, it's a bit farfetched -- the degree of civilian Afton's involvement partnering with a detective -- but it is a quick and entertaining read that has a lot of drama. The "bad guys" are nasty enough and Afton is clever and strong enough to provide a solid start to what will likely be a popular series. I enjoyed the details about the Twin Cities geography and the winter weather features strongly in the story.
I was turned down when I requested an ARC but the synopsis interested me enough that I obtained it elsewhere on my own.
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