Don’t Look Back

Craig’s overly complicated third Texas Justice romance (after Don’t Breathe a Word) follows FBI agent Brie Ryan as she tackles two separate cases that both hit close to home. Brie may be on leave from the bureau, but that won’t stop her from hunting the man who trafficked and murdered her half-sister. She goes undercover as a strip club waitress in Anniston, Tex., to dig up dirt while simultaneously working to root out the mole responsible for sabotaging her recent cases. Brie meets Det. Connor Pierce after her apartment gets tossed, and he and his team join her investigation into both matters. Brie and Connor bond over late-night pancake dinners, but they both carry emotional baggage that prevents them from committing to a relationship. Craig’s subplot-heavy story makes space for Connor to grow emotionally and open up to Brie, but doesn’t require Brie to do much changing on her end, despite having significant romantic hang-ups of her own. Craig delivers all the high-stakes situations series fans expect, but disappoints by miring them in a confusing and convoluted mystery. [em]Agent: Kim Lionetti, BookEnds. (Dec.) [/em]