Thorns of Deceit (City of Fountains #1)

Two days before Thanksgiving Hannah Reitzell and Holly Kemp are attacked inside Hannah’s garage located in a trendy Kansas City neighborhood.  Both women are physically assaulted and Hannah is raped. This is the second attack for Hannah who believes it is related to a civil lawsuit she filed.  The two women are suing a high-end car dealership they formerly worked for due to sexual harassment they each endured.  The car dealership is owned by Marzullo Automotive Group, an organized crime family who is not very happy about the suit and is believed will do anything to make it go away.

About the time Detective Francesca Thomas thinks she has seen it all she gets handed this case.  Frankie is a single mother of two children, fourteen-year-old Danielle and eight-year-old Tyler.  She has a passion and talent for working sex crimes cases and struggles to balance work and home.  Normally Frankie works cases alone or with her partner Mia Boden, but for this one she is directed to team up with a detective from the Intelligence Unit and a Special Agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigations.  As the three delve into the criminal case it becomes very apparent the assault is not quite what it seemed and Holly is involved somehow.

As Frankie works the case she and her children are put at risk.  A suspected mobster follows Frankie and spies on her children as they leave the bus stop. It turns out the man following Frankie is involved in the attack and connected to Holly.

While working the investigation Frankie also stumbles across a serial rapist who is targeting women engaged in high risk behaviors such as prostitution and drugs.  Will she be able to solve both crimes with