The DCI and his team of investigators are called in again to solve a murder of an entire family. What they find will surprise and shock even the most seasoned among them. As the investigation deepens and they uncover secrets that lead down a twisty road, the obvious suspect just doesn't seem like the right suspect. So, who could do this heinousness crime?

Fast paced and with a surprising ending. Loved the whole ride. This series always delivers! ( )

This is the 11th book in the Scottish crime series featuring Detective Chief Inspector Jack Logan.

The Major Investigations Team from Inverness, made up of Detective Inspector Ben Forde, Detective Sergeant Hamza Khaled, Detective Constable Tyler Neish, Detective Constable Sinead Bell, and Constable David Davidson is called once again to the Fort William area, in Glen Coe, after another grisly murder. “I swear, they must be putting something in the water down there,” as the Detective Superintendent in Inverness allows. This time, police discovered four bodies - two adults and two children - both young girls.

In this installment, the murder of two kids is especially upsetting to the professionals, and causes them to reflect on what they do. As Logan observes to Shona, the pathologist:

“However familiar you were with death, however comfortable you thought you’d become with it, it still had the power to catch you off guard. To floor you with a sneaky gut-punch out of nowhere. And kids would hit you hardest of all.”

And so they joke and laugh a lot, not because they are callous, but to create the shared delusion that all was fine. Logan thinks: “You laughed, and you joked, and the demons were kept at bay. For a while, anyway.”

Tyler and Sinead, just married less than forty-eight hours previously, have their own demons to battle. Tyler has been diagnosed with a condition that must be treated immediately with surgery, but he is afraid.

Ben, still recovering from the loss of his wife, begins to bond with someone new, and Logan and Shona acknowledge a change in their relationship.

As all of this develops, the team gets closer to the truth, runs into life-threatening situations, and generate a lot of humor, especially when their former Detective Superintendent Bob Hoon is added into the mix.

Evaluation: This book continues to delve into the personal relationships of the team and among them. This series is addictive for those who appreciate thrillers. ( )