Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A fast-paced thriller introducing an unforgettable heroine - Homicide Investigator Lucinda Pierce is physically and emotionally scarred by her job. She is angry and bitter, but her life is her work. Lucinda gets sent to investigate the brutal killing of Dr Kathleen Spencer. There seem to be links with other dead women: could it be the work of a serial killer? And will Lucinda be able to solve it or has she become too emotionally involved this time?

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

When eight-year-old Charley Spencer finds her mother's brutally murdered body, Lt. Lucinda Pierce catches the case. Pierce has been damaged both physically and emotionally by events in her life but has survived to become a stellar homicide detective, as she demonstrates in pursuing vicious killers. Fanning (Bite the Moon) provides plenty of forensic details, plot twists, and suspense. Though this near-perfect police procedural is not for the faint of heart, readers who like Kate Flora and Alex Kava will put it on their reserve lists. Highly recommended. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

After a long and soul-searching healing process following her last case, homicide investigator Lucinda Pierce is ready to return to active duty. Her first case back involves the death of a young mother, Dr. Kathleen Spencer, whose body was found by her two young daughters, Charley and Ruby, their mother's face unrecognizable after having been savagely crushed. The cop on the scene is Ted Branson, one of Lucinda's old flames. More dead bodies emerge, all killed in the same face-smashing manner, turning Lucinda's murder investigation into a serial-killer panic. Though she started out tentatively, Lucinda finds the work cathartic, helping her regain her confidence and womanhood. But will her emotional growth get her too personally involved in yet another case, so much so that she is put in peril? Fanning's true-crime writing experience gives the story added verisimilitude, and she has made great strides at tightening her storytelling. She is one to watch.--Wilkens, Mary Frances Copyright 2008 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

A physically and emotionally scarred detective gets a chance to change her life. Lucinda Pierce has recently returned to duty after being cleared in the accidental shooting of a child. Her face still bears the scars she suffered in the domestic violence case, which cost her an eye, but she's refused plastic surgery to fix the damage. When Charley Spencer finds the body of her brutally murdered mother, Lucinda is drawn to her. But she suspects that Charley's father, Dr. Evan Spencer, may be the murderer even though he was out of the country at the time. After a missing item of jewelry is found on another murder victim, Lucinda and her partner Ted conclude that they're dealing with a serial killer. Each victim was strangled; each one's face was brutally smashed after death; a piece of jewelry that belonged to a previous victim is found on each body. Dr. Spencer's unusual reaction to his wife's murder and the appearance of a strange woman at his house only spur Lucinda on to prove his guilt. When a victim manages to escape the killer and identifies her attacker as Spencer, the case takes a strange turn. After all, Spencer was in police custody at the time of the attack. Fanning (Bite the Moon, 2007, etc.) has produced an exciting, emotionally intense story with a complex heroine whose future adventures will be widely anticipated. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.