Deadly Bonds: A Detective Jackson Mystery

Wade Jackson takes the reader along on his own emotional roller coaster in Sellers's ninth mystery featuring the Eugene, Ore., detective (after Crimes of Memory). The conflicting demands of his personal and professional lives keep Jackson on edge in a busy novel that tends toward soap opera solutions. At a murder scene, Jackson finds Amanda Carter's corpse and her petrified three-year-old, Benjie, who attaches himself to the detective, his apparent savior. Jackson's difficulty in tracking down Amanda's relatives forces him to care for the toddler, only adding to his growing list of personal issues%E2%80%94so far including his 15-year-old daughter Katie's newfound streak of independence and his girlfriend Kera Kollmorgan's own misfortune in learning of her daughter-in-law and grandson's automobile accident. Jackson's short-handed team is further strained when Lara Evans is tasked with investigating the death of a star college quarterback, Logan Grayson. A violent attempt to kidnap Benjie endangers Jackson's family and adds urgency to his investigation of Amanda's murder. Unfortunately, Sellers wraps up his several story lines in an overly neat denouement. (Aug.)