Define paranoia.
Meg Gillis lives with it. It's the sixth sense that's kept her alive -- a necessary evil, a part of her baggage.
Meg used to be a cop.
She's put that behind her the best that she can. She and a friend, ex-cop Michael Johnson, own a security business on the fringes of Beverly Hills, and Meg's found she can bury herself in the details, the day-to-day operations. She's turned her back on the cop life, but Mike hasn't quite. He still hangs out with cops, still does the odd favor. Sometimes very odd, but Meg doesn't ask, doesn't want to know.
Until the day Meg catches a phone call meant for Mike at the office -- something about a possible kidnapping -- and that night Mike doesn't get home.
He's a big boy, he doesn't have to tell Meg where he's going. That's what she says to Sergeant Joe Reilly of the Beverly Hills PD Special Tactics Unit, who seems to think Meg knows more than she's telling. The problem, of course, is that she might.
Define paranoia at the edge of the jungle.
Meg's been there, you see. Known crooked cops. Knows how things operate, knows not to trust. Someone's playing games -- cop kinds of games -- and everything Meg has that she loves is at stake.
Put herself out there as bait?
Yes, if that's what it takes.
She learned a lot in her cop days. She can handle herself and a weapon. She's not so sure about her emotions, but this is do-or-die time, and Meg doesn't plan to die anytime soon.
With the authenticity that only an author who has worked behind the scenes in law enforcement could provide, Bait introduces a dynamic new sleuth in the witty, sharp-edged Kinsey Millhone tradition. Meg is both tough and vulnerable, and her creator, C.J. Songer, is a bright new talent sure to win acclaim for her accomplished debut.
