Trailhead

FBI special agent Eleanor Peters eagerly gave up her hollow life to go deep undercover in a crime syndicate family. Work was the only thing Eleanor had until the operation blew up in her face. Then, she had nothing.

Eight years later and hiding behind a new name, Kate Hall lives on the other side of the country from her past. Nicknamed Angel Kate, she provides a haven for weary Pacific Crest Trail hikers at Hostel Hall. The constant flow of strangers gives her all the company she needs.

But when her bloodhound, Jenny, finds a backpack with designer drugs inside and Reese Carson, special agent with the National Park's Investigative Security Branch, shows up to investigate, Kate's solitary life is turned upside down and inside out.

Convinced her deadly past has found her, Kate must decide if she should disappear again and protect the woman she loves or confide in Reese and fight a killer together.

©2025 C. Jean Downer (P)2025 Tantor Media

Decent mystery plot

First the positive…it was a decent mystery with a plot twist I did not see coming so that’s always fun. I was rooting for the characters and their HEA was sweet. It is barely spicy so if you are looking for that, this is not the book for you. The potential complexity of the character arcs are not deeply explored so in my mind it was a very light read. Sometimes that is all I want though so I enjoyed it.

All that said, The book did not blow my mind and I bought it on sale for $2.99. I think I would’ve been disappointed if I had spent a credit on it. I did not like the narrator. The pacing of her main narration voice was a bit too pleasantly monotone if that makes sense. She had some range on the other characters, but I probably would pass on any other book narrated by her. Other reviews said they had to return the book and read the hardcopy because of the narrator.

A great storyline with twists you won’t see coming.

I enjoyed the storyline. Intrigue starts early as an FBI undercover agent guards a mob princess, and ends almost as quickly. A bomb takes out the princess but the undercover agent somehow survives. Now the agent must go into witness protection until enough evidence is found to prosecute the mob. Meanwhile the mob is still in business and looking for the agent. I listen to audio books while driving, and being retired I don’t drive far or much. This storyline caused me to put the EarPods in and listen in the evenings. It’s that good.

Disappointed

I loved the ebook but was disappointed with this because, to me, the narrator’s voice sounded too old for the characters she was representing.

highly intrequeing

This a was a great mystery. it was highly intrequeing in many twist and turns. Well written. and great a mystery.

Drawn In

Intriguing story that drew me in. As a Pacific Northwest native it was nice to have the setting be predominantly in such a beautiful part of our region -- the North Cascades. It was also great to encounter a story that's well researched and developed, plus the evolving emotional bond between Reese and Kate was lovely (wanted more :) Also appreciated both the pacing of the narration (wasn't rushed) and that the characters were cast in a more mature way. Look forward to more from this author and narrator.