Protector

Jane Perry is a hard-bitten homicide detective in Denver with no maternal instincts. Her latest case puts her beside nine-year-old Emily Lawrence, who watched her parents being murdered. Investigators believe the killings belong to a larger wave of crime, but Emily cannot recall anything about what she saw.

When the killers start hunting Emily, Jane's boss sends the pair to a remote town in Colorado. Jane goes undercover as the girl's mother, which makes her both guardian and cover story.

The job has a second part. Jane has to help Emily bring the memory back a piece at a time, without pushing so hard that it does the child more harm. The memory could identify the killers, and the killers are getting closer while she works.

This is a crime thriller with a child at its centre, following a flawed, prickly detective who is out of her depth with a frightened kid. It is emotionally heavy, with the threat of the pursuers running alongside the slow, careful work of recovering what Emily saw. It introduces Jane Perry as a lead character.