DiAnn Mills is one of my favorite suspense authors because she always manages to keep us guessing until she’s ready for us to know the answers. In Burden of Proof, we can assume the answers, but how we get there is a spine-tingling ride.
FBI Special Agent April Ramos is emotionally drained. She has just lost a negotiation with a man determined to jump to his death, and she is reeling. Wearing her FBI jacket, she enters her favorite coffee shop to grab a donut and some coffee. A woman with a crying baby asks her if she’s really FBI. When April says yes, the woman shoves the baby into April’s arms and leaves.
Carrying the baby, April goes outside to try to find the woman. Unsuccessful, she heads back to the front of the building only to hear, “Stop! You have my daughter!” She turns to see a man jogging up to her. “Why did you kidnap my daughter?”
April tells him she’s an FBI agent and a woman gave her the baby. The man demands the baby—April refuses until she knows who he is and whether he has custody of the baby. The man, a fugitive, shows her the gun tucked under his jacket, and we’re off! April is in a negotiation for her life and that of the baby. How the issue is resolved—well, you’ll have to read Burden of Proof.
Suffice it to say DiAnn has created yet another pair of memorable characters. She’s drawn April Ramos to a T, and Jason, the escaped fugitive and the baby’s dad, is a totally sympathetic person. I loved the interactions as April tries to work out the best solution to the problem. Another five stars for DiAnn!
DiAnn Mills is a much-awarded author, who writes action/suspense/romance novels. She’s won two Christy Awards and been on numerous best-seller lists. Burden of Proof is the first book in her new FBI: Rapid Response series. DiAnn lives near Houston where she crafts her highly researched yarns.
Tyndale gave me a copy of Burden of Proof, but I was in no way obligated to write a review.