Depth Perception by Linda Castillo

Nat Jennings nearly died the night her family was murdered--and spent the next three years wishing she had. Now, she is returning to the sleepy town of Bellerose, Louisiana, where she will team up with a sexy ex-con and hunt for the merciless killer who nearly destroyed them both--and is now preparing to finish them off once and for all.

After reading Thicker Than Water by Maggie Shayne, I was in the mood for another romantic suspense, so I pulled this one off my shelf and dived right in. Or got sucked in, to be more accurate.

Nat Jennings was asleep in her bed when something woke her. She noticed her husband wasn't in bed and went to check on her son. When she found his room empty, she went downstairs, thinking they were raiding the fridge. Instead, she found her son bleeding on the floor, his throat slashed, and her husband a few feet away with bullet hole in him. The same person who killed her family attacked her, but he disappeared and she was knocked unconscious. When the police finally arrived, all evidence pointed to her murdering her family. In shock and wallowing in grief, she was taken to jail where she tried to commit suicide by slashing her wrists.

Two and a half years later, she awoke from a coma, still grieving, unaware that any time at all had passed. But she also awoke with a gift...the psychic gift of Trance Writing. Basically, her dead son was talking through her, trying to lead her in the direction of his killer.

Nick Bastille (I love the name Nick for heroes..I swear, it's got to be my favorite) was framed for murder and spent six of his twelve year sentence in Angola prison. He was let out early for good behavior and headed back to his home town to try and put his life back together. But Nick is barely human, because while he was sitting in a cell, his five-year-old son drowned, his ex-wife's negligence the reason. He's bitter, filled with rage, a bomb just waiting to explode.

And then Nat approaches him, and tells him that his son was murdered, not the victim of an accidental drowning, and Nick nearly goes insane. But she offers him irrefutable proof of her gift, and slowly, he begins to believe.

Together, they search for a killer, and fight an animal attraction between them.

I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to see how this one would play out. My heart broke for both Nat and Nick, and they trials they both suffered through. I was literally reduced to tears several times while reading about them both losing their children. And I was filled with rage as more children disappeared.

Most of the town still thought Nat had gotten away with murder, so they were suspicious and downright hostile. She was hassled by the cops, demeaned in public, and physically accosted.

This book was an emotional roller coaster. It had a few parts that made me smile, but for the most part it was dark and touching. And the killer? Totally shocked me. I had NO IDEA until the author revealed it.

Simply Amazing. I highly recommend this book. The ending wasn't traditional, either, which I enjoyed despite myself. Do yourselves a favor and pick this one up! You won't be sorry.

5 out of 5