Paradise Valley (Cassie Dewell #3)

Paradise Valley by C.J. Box is the third book in his series featuring Cassie Dewell, a police investigator working (currently) in Bakken County, North Dakota. In this case, two of Cassie’s previous cases will collide, endangering a boy she cares about and involving a man she has been hunting for years.

Dewell, with the aid of an FBI task force and a district attorney from the East Coast, has set a trap for a serial killer who uses the highways as his hiding place. The Lizard King has been at large for years. He has been questioned twice but has not been arrested for the suspected murder of dozens of women across the country. He is a long-haul trucker working on his own and traceable by no one.

Over the years, Dewell has posted jobs on a board for truckers looking to fill empty space as they drive. The only way the independent drivers make money is by hauling a full load. Now, finally, the man for whom she has been searching has agreed to pick up a load. Better yet, they have surveillance of him picking up a woman as a truck stop – a woman who did not leave the truck before the truck drove away. If they time it right, they can catch him and save the woman.

On the same day as the setup, Kyle Westergaard, age 15, disappears along with his best friend. Did they run away like a note says or did something else happen.

Dewell is a character who follows her instincts, even when logic dictates otherwise. Read this series for an enjoyable mystery / suspense series.

Box, C.J. (2017). Paradise Valley. NY: Minotaur.