Alter Ego by Brian Freeman (Jonathan Stride #9)

"...he wouldn't change a day of his past or correct his mistakes even if he could. They were part of him. They were who he was. They were what made him Jonathan Stride."

A man is found dead inside a car on a snowy Duluth backroad -- he's got no identification but there's a recently fired gun and a copy of an entertainment tabloid in the vehicle. In addition, there's a report of a missing girl -- an intern who was working on the set of a movie being filmed in town. The Hollywood people are all there for THE CAGED GIRL and it stars one of the biggest names in the business -- and it so happens that this film is based on one of Stride's old cases. Eleven years ago 4 women were kidnapped at intervals and left to die alone in a soundproof cage. Luckily, Stride was able to find and rescue the last girl in time. Is there a connection between the dead man and the missing girl? Stride and his team are on the investigation. And what are these nasty rumors going around about the star of the movie?

Fast-paced and suspenseful police procedural thriller with a large cast of interesting characters. As this is the 9th book in a long-running series featuring Jonathan Stride, most of them are probably well known to fans. I have read only the first two and obviously missed a lot in the intervening books, but there was enough detail and backstory that I didn't feel lost.

I enjoyed this a lot, no spoilers, but I do have one huge irritation with the story. And that is Cat. Her actions and involvement just seemed over-the-top and completely triggered my disbelief meter. Other than that, I'd definitely recommend it and I want to go back and read the other books featuring these characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus for the e-book ARC to read and review.