Book Description | A new home, a new marriage, a new family. It's a lot to sort out. But before medicolegal death investigator mattie can smooth out the unexpected chaos of her new life, duty calls. At the local er, a battered and bruised teenage girl has been brought in by a mysterious man who claimed she'd fallen out of a car. The staff is suspicious, but while they attend to the teenager, the unidentified man slips out. Then the girl dies--but not before informing social worker hildy schneider that the man had her little sister as well. Mattie's exam reveals forensic evidence of long-term iv drug use and physical abuse, findings consistent with hildy's suspicion that the girl was a victim of human trafficking. They are able to confirm her identity as a teen who went missing six months ago, along with her sister--facts that are deeply unsettling to mattie who now shares a home with her husband's teen daughter. Working closely with hildy and sorenson homicide detectives, including her husband steve hurley, mattie must delve into a dark underworld to stop the ruthless trafficking of human lives--before it's too late for another young girl |