Indelible by Karin Slaughter

 

Sara Linton stops by the police office to see her ex-husband, Police Chief Jeffrey Tolliver.  As she walks back to his office she greets the other officers working there, the secretary who has worked there as long as Sara can remember and a group of schoolchildren on a school trip.  Suddenly, two men walk in and without much speaking, open fire.  Two officers are killed immediately and another is hunted down and shot.  Jeffrey is also shot, a shoulder wound threatening to take his life.

Outside, Detective Lena Adams is reporting back to work after a few years away.  She was the victim in a horrific crime and had taken time off, working security at a nearby college.  When no one else believed in her, Jeffrey did and he is willing to give her a second chance.  Lena is determined to do whatever she can to help the situation.

As the hostages huddle inside, there is little clue as to what the gunmen want.  Sara's thoughts drift back to the beginning of her relationship with Jeffrey and the time early in their lives together when he took her to his hometown.  They were trying to decide if they were serious about each other and Jeffrey wanted her to see where he came from and to meet his childhood friends.  But they walked right into a murder involving those friends and the strain of discovering the truth almost ripped them apart.  Now Sara wonders if this will finish the job of separating them forever.

This is the fourth book in the Grant County series and in my opinion, the best one so far.  The reader sees the beginning of Sara and Jeffrey's relationship and learns their backstory.  Jeffrey becomes a much more rounded character with his background revealed and it is obvious what brings the two together and makes it impossible for them to live apart.  As the hostage situation evolves, dark secrets from the past emerge.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.