Abandoned: A Thriller - Cody McFadyen

I was introduced to Cody McFadyen by the same friend who recommended Lee Child. That friend has never steered me wrong.

Abandoned is the fourth thriller in the Smoky Barrett series. Smoky is the leader of an FBI unit in LA that tracks serial offenders who perpetrate violent crimes. It happens that Smoky has been the victim of a similar crime herself where her husband and daughter were killed, and she was left with a large scar on her face.

The book opens with a wedding, and a victim of a serial offender dropped off at the wedding along with a note taunting Smoky, but telling her not to track him. Of course, she starts tracking him. Eventually she finds out someone is finding husbands on the internet who want to get rid of their wives, kidnapping the wives, holding them for SEVEN YEARS and then collecting the life insurance money.

It is an interesting premise, and Smoky is an awesome character. After four novels I've really grown to like her. She is a strong female character, an expert shot, and the group of people around her is interesting too.

As always, I'm really bothered by inaccurate gun talk. Unfortunately, McFadyen mentions Smoky making sure the safety is engaged on her Glock, and that isn't really possible.

I read this book in about 3 days, and about 50% of that was in 1 day. It was pretty awesome.

Up next is Yellow Medicine by Anthony Neil Smith.