The Stolen Children by Kerry Wilkinson

"Just trust yourself and know where the lines are. It's not all black and white, there are shades of grey everywhere." Jessica Daniel is back, and in this outing she has been promoted to DI after her last case and after she took a little hiatus from policing. Her gang is with her, and the reparte is resumed. In this particular police procedural, Jessica and her team are tasked with figuring out who is targeting people with random attacks after a councilman is doused with acid at a political rally. There are quite a few threads in this story and it's hard to figure out where it is going with all the activity going on. Jessica seems back to her normal self and life with Adam is good. She's working hard, as usual, but appears to have her demons in check. I wouldn't say this is necesssarily tense or suspenseful, but it is a good example of investigative technique and the inherant difficulties in putting together a suspect after random crimes. The incidental inclusion of the "slasher" from a few years ago is only barely mentioned and not essential to the plot line. I think the point of this eighth in the series is to mainly get Jessica back on track after her breakdown. The original title, CROSSING THE LINE, is more reflective of the actual events that occur in the narrative. The kidnapped children barely get a mention -- the book synopsis on this page really isn't very accurate in describing what this book is actually about. I love the characters in this ongoing story and will always be eager for the next. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC to read and review. The new title for this is THE STOLEN CHILDREN but the book has little to do with that subject, honestly, and it should not be retitled. #8 in Jessica Daniel series