Cross and Burn by Val McDermid
This thriller takes place in West Yorkshire and moves around between several points of view, some of them members of the recently disbanded MIT investigative team of the Bradfield Police: Tony Hill, psychologist and police profiler; Carol Jordan leader of the MIT team, now ex-police dealing with her grief by pushing everyone away; and Paula McIntyre, formerly Carol's constable, but now sergeant for another DCI. The other main character we see the inside view of is the criminal, the man who is obsessed with finding the perfect wife for his needs, the man who is never satisfied, who chooses, stalks, kidnaps, and terrorizes his victims in his impossible to fulfill goal. And then we have the victims, well-dressed professional women, successful and attractive, but no match for his well-planned attacks.
The title seems to come from a quote that appears on the first pages of the book:
"The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn" -- David Russell
Paula is struggling with her new DCI, trying to be loyal, but believing that justice outweighs such loyalty. When someone she knows goes missing and she becomes involved with the woman's teenage son, it becomes personal. When someone she knows well is under suspicion for these brutal crimes against women, she is sure they have the wrong man, and that the right one is still out there somewhere, endangering more women it becomes even more personal. A fast-moving book that you won't want to put down.
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