Strong, Sleek and Sinful [Mass Market Paperback]

Lori O'Clare nails it with Strong, Sleek and Sinful. FBI agent Kylie Donovan is undercover to catch an online child predator. Because of her youthful appearance, she is able to pretend to be a college student doing a thesis on teen behavior. Perry Flynn is a police detective that knows there is a connection between the teens popping up missing or murdered in his town but for some reason his chief is blocking him from fully investigating this.

Perry is a dedicated hero and he will do anything to prevent his nieces from ending up a victim. In the age of twitter,blogs and other social websites,he knows his four nieces are vulnerable to the sexual predators who use the internet to lure out young females. He is immediately suspicious of Kylie a college student from Kansas who has befriended Dani, his most rebellious niece.

The story was really interesting as Kylie tries to keep her identity a secret from Perry since the killer could very well be an officer on the force. Perry and Kylie's relationship didnt have any of the funky weirdness from her previous two FBI novels and for that I was grateful. The portrayal of Perry's nieces was very realistic even while their behavior was occasionally foolish. The teen fights, name callling and pout sessions brought back many a childish memory of my own. The plot was strong enough that I was sucked in and thoroughly enjoyed this.

spoilers for a few cons******




Ok there were a few tiny things that bugged me. Perry's chief behaved in a manner that was guaranteed to put his men on alert while he tried not to let them know that the FBI suspected a police as being the killer. He was so over the top visiting them late at night and checking there computers which could have put the FBI's case in jeopardy. Didnt seem like realistic behavior for a veteran officer on the force. Kylie insisted longer than necessary in her head that Perry could turn up as the killer when it was clear from their first meeting that his nieces were important to him and that he was going to put away the killer when he found him. Lastly when they noticed the black surbaban with fake tags and followed it to the potential killers house they basically did nothing. Kinda ran around like chickens instead of Kylie contacting her people to plan a way to catch the killer. Instead this is explained away by saying they cant check a police officers house without being extra careful but they never got a warrant or checked the house and computers officially which I think could have been done since the tags matched car that had been after Kylie . They snuck around themselves instead which was a waste. Oh well, still much better put together and a much more solid read.

The characters are great. The tension between them exciting.
But the plot holes. You could drive a 747 thru them. Everyone decides early that a local cop is involved in the disappearances. The heroine is stalked by someone in a Sururban. How hard is it to get a list of all local cops owning a Surburban. How hard is it for real FBI cyber expert to eliminate some of the cops in the local group. After all, this is a local precinct, not the entire Chicago police department. Then there are the teens. Teenage girls are not this stupid. Savvy teens with a cop for an uncle, finding out that girls are being lured to meeting from someone they met on the internet, deliberately agreeing to meet someone from the internet. No way. If they were playing Nancy Drew Maybe, but Nancy always came with a pack of helpers.

Spoilers
Also how did the killers hook up? Never explained. (or else that was in the parts I skipped.)
And the end. Problem solved, and the heroine goes off to Central America for 2 months without resolving her issues.

In Mission Hills, two female high school students have disappeared in the last year. One remains missing; the other is dead. Police Lieutenant Perry Flynn strongly believes a sexual serial killer using the Internet is on the loose stalking teenage girls; having four cherished teen nieces who he is helping raise he vows to end the predator's reign of terror.

FBI agent Kylie Donovan goes undercover as a college student investigating the same case. Kylie and Perry meet with each attracted to one another but each suspicious of the other. Kylie fears the psychopath is a cop while he wonders if there is a sinister deadly reason she befriends his nieces. As Kylie concludes someone is setting up Perry for the fall, she vows to keep him and his family safe.

This is an exciting police procedural that focuses on some of the modern day dangers with Internet enticements and stalking. Fast-paced from the moment Perry confronts his boss with evidence that the perp lives in Mission Hills, readers will enjoy the tango between the two law enforcement officials although he can be brutally nasty protecting his family from the woman he loves.

Harriet Klausner

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