Two Can Play by Kate Kessler

I started reading Two Can Play by Kate Kessler without realising that it is the second book in the series.  Usually books in a crime series can stand alone without reading the earlier books, but Two Can Play makes quite a lot of reference to the first book It Takes One that I felt lost at times. You will enjoy this book more if you have read the first book.

Psychologist Audrey Harte, the child psychologist introduced in Kate Russel’s first book in the series, has been hired by the prosecution to help out in the trial of 19-year-old serial killer Ian “Boy Scout” Monroe. When someone begins killing with Monroe’s mode of operation, it becomes evident that Monroe has an accomplice who is on the loose. Monroe’s sole surviving victim, Tori Scott, is the star witness and Audrey needs to assess whether Tori is fit to take the stand as the key witness to testify against Monroe. Keeping Tori safe is the main priority.

Audrey, who once did a stint in a juvenile facility for killing the pedophile father of her former best friend, is drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse, with the new killer taunting her to play a game. When someone close to her is abducted by the killer, she has no choice but to play.

It’s not very hard to figure out the identity of the accomplice with the clues dropped by the author but I was too engrossed to pay too much attention to the little clues  and was caught by surprise when the identity of the accomplice was revealed.

I really enjoyed this book. This was the first thriller that I have read in months and it puts me in the mood for more thrillers!