The Book Diva's Reads

3.5 star read

Rachel de Luca and Mason Brown are back and in prime form in Innocent Prey. Mason is asked to look into the disappearance of a judge's blind daughter, Stevie, and keep it off-the-record. Mason enlists Rachel's assistance on the case because she adds a little something extra with her NFP (not-f***ing-psychic) abilities. The more they dig into Stevie's disappearance, the more they feel this is an abduction that has possible ties to the abduction last year of Rachel's assistant. Before they know it, this case isn't just the abduction of one young girl but of nine girls and all ties lead back to the judge.

Innocent Prey is the third installment in the de Luca and Brown series by Maggie Shayne. Rachel is in a no-holds-barred frame of mind and speaks her mind with no fear of the consequences. She's also finally adapting to the idea that her vision is here to stay. What she isn't adapting to is the possibility that she may have psychic tendencies, such as the ability to read emotions, and gain information from a simple touch. Her refusal to accept these abilities as being from the psychic spectrum gives rise to new nomenclature, NFP. In addition to Rachel's forceful attitude, this story shows the progression of Rachel and Mason's relationship. Both are afraid to use the L-word, but it quickly becomes clear that they do love one another.

I found Innocent Prey to be a fast-paced and enjoyable read. I particularly liked Ms. Shayne's inclusion of pop culture references and Rachel's snarky sense of humor. Innocent Prey is a great addition to the de Luca and Brown series and combines romance, suspense, the paranormal, humor, and family drama into one great story. If you haven't read any of the books in this series, you'll definitely want to read them all: Sleep With the Lights On (Brown and de Luca #1), Dream of Danger (Brown and de Luca #1.5), and Wake to Darkness (Brown and de Luca #2). I've enjoyed reading this series and I'm looking forward to Deadly Obsession (Brown and de Luca #4) scheduled for release later this year.