Rookie FBI agent Kimberly Quincy is in the middle of the grueling 16-week academy training program. The murders of both her older sister and mother have given her the drive to follow in her legendary father's footsteps.

Georgia special agent Mac McCormack is in Virginia to take Quantico's 11-week National Academy course and to speak with a forensic linguist. Mac and his boss are afraid that a serial killer who has been dormant for three years is about to resurface, based on communications Mac fears are from the killer. The Eco-Killer struck several times over a three-year period in Georgia, kidnapping and killing pairs of girls when the temperature rose into the 90s. In the end, seven girls were dead, but one was found alive.

On a run through Quantico, Kimberly stumbles across the murdered body of a woman. That the killer penetrated the grounds is a direct challenge, and Mac immediately sees the similarities between this case and his old ones. Mac and Kimberly join forces to try to convince those in charge that at least one more girl is still missing. With the temperature rising, they decide that they will do whatever it takes to find the missing girls.

The return of characters from earlier books makes this creepy and terrifying story all the more compelling. Gardner has firmly established herself as one of the hottest suspense talents around Awesome! (Jul., 325 pp., $23.95)

—Jill M. Smith