Sophie's profiling skills are greatly enhanced by a paranormal sense which generates visions and images related to the cases she is working on. Triggered by dizziness, the visions generally occur without warning and she strives to keep them secret from her associates. It is a phenomenon that she chooses not to share.

She has come to feel that this expertise would be better utilized working in the field rather than in the Behavioral Division so Sophie has opted to transfers to the Los Angeles office for field work. Her last official day in Virginia is spent touring bestselling mystery author Loretta Black and her assistant Debbie Holt around Quantico.

Sophie has not yet reported to her new boss when Debbie Holt contacts her and begs her to come to Loretta Black's home. Black has been murdered in the same fashion as the victim in her last novel. At the scene of the crime Sophie meets local police detective Dave Sorrell who is not averse to accepting the help of an FBI profiler. When she finally meets her boss he is less than enthusiastic about her involvement with a local case but clears her participation.

Detective work reveals the victim received a fan letter just prior to her death. Subsequently, a second author is discovered murdered and again the death was preceded by a frightening fan letter. In a way, the murder is the same, as the murder is accomplished in the same fashion as outlined in the author's novel. When a third novelist is reported missing, the investigation seems to be spiraling out of control with law enforcement fearing the dreaded serial killer.

Visions blur reality and keep drawing Sophie back to the first murder. There are many suspects with motives and the author skillfully weaves an unusual and intriguing plot among them. The characters are very well developed and the relationship between Sophie and Dave carefully grows under the sustained tension of this well paced story. The growth of Sophie's paranormal skills is equally well nurtured leaving the reader without any doubt a sequel is on the way, almost certain to involve the Sophie and Dave team.

Readers are advised to find and read The Murderer's Club as it not only sets the stage for this novel, but there is a trickledown effect within this story that will be better understood.

--Thea Davis