Deep dark

Detective Reed Novak arrives at the scene of a murder in Austin: a young woman killed in her own home, with no sign of forced entry and no apparent motive. She does not look like the killer's first victim, and Reed expects more to follow.

His first lead is an anonymous text that points to a dating profile. The sender interests him as much as the clue does. Laney Knox is a white-hat hacker in the cyber investigation unit at the Delphi Center, where she searches the hidden corners of the Internet for predators.

Laney would rather keep clear of the Austin PD case. The killing resembles the brutal attack she survived years ago, though, and she cannot dismiss the parallels. She offers to help Reed.

He wants more than tips from her. He wants her trust, and she holds back. As the two grow closer, she is drawn toward telling him what she has kept to herself for so long. Those secrets could make her a key witness in a romantic suspense story, or put her in the killer's sights as his next target.