Last year, I read and reviewed UNSUB by Meg Gardiner, and had a few challenges (ended up not being 100% positive about it). But I generally like Gardiner’s books, so I was pleased to receive a copy of Into the Black Nowhere, the second book in her new series featuring Caitlin Hendrix (thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Dutton and NetGalley). In UNSUB, we met Caitlin as a cop about to become an FBI agent, hot on the trail of a serial killer called The Prophet (modeled on the still unsolved Zodiac Killer murders). This time around, Caitlin is on the hunt for a charming serial killer (Ted Bundy, anyone?)

Caitlin’s adventure finds her assigned to investigate the disappearance of several women in Southern Texas. Caitlin and the FBI’s serial crime unit find a victim in the woods, laid out in a bloody white babydoll nightgown. Then a second victim is found in a white nightgown – and both victims are found surrounded by Polaroid photos, showing a woman laid out like Snow White waiting to be awakened by Prince Charming. Ugh.

Caitlin has a suspect, but there is only circumstantial evidence – and the UNSUB is killing more frequently, so there is a tension surrounding the game of cat and mouse that Caitline is playing with him.

As a standalone, this one is well done. I suspect anyone who loved UNSUB will be ecstatic with the further adventures of Caitlin. I happen to like the “plucky heroine” genre, so it was fun for me, and IMHO it is better than UNSUB, which did lay a solid foundation for Caitlin’s character development. Four stars.