Danger in Numbers by Heather Graham is a highly recommended thriller/procedural.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent Amy Larson and her experienced partner of two years, John Schultz, are sent to investigate a horrendous ritualistic murder on the edge of the Everglades. The FBI quickly joins the investigation because of a similar ritualistic murder that occurred. FBI special agent Hunter Forrest join the two. Hunter has information and knowledge that will focus the investigation as he specializes in ritualistic killings, extremists, and the occult. When John has a heart attack, Amy joins Hunter in investigating the murder. Amy sketches every crime scene and her sketches helped focus the investigation as she often captures subtle nuances that can be overlooked when viewing crime scene photos. Hunter and Amy work together and quickly determine the direction their investigation will take.

Hunter is a better developed main character, however Amy is not given the same character development. She is known for her proclivity to draw crime scenes, but her artistic ability seems to be a bit over-stated as a sketch wouldn't necessarily capture everything it is purposed to be able to do in the plot. Ask anyone who actually is talented at drawing. Hunter has a whole backstory to shore up his character and give it some depth. Both characters are portrayed as intelligent and insightful, as well as attractive.

While the investigation will hold your attention, there were not the twists or surprises that one expects in a procedural thriller. It is a very familiar plot with no real surprises. The key to enjoyment is simply to read, follow the clues, and reach the conclusion. The fact that a cult is involved does make it more interesting and frightening. The side story set set in 1993 actually raised the rating of the novel for me and added at least something beyond the unremarkable, familiar plot. Honestly, I could do without the partners attraction to each other as I would prefer the investigators to concentrate on the actual investigation. 3.5 rounded up

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of MIRA Books.
After publication the review will be posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Special Agent Amy Larson has to be strong of stomach when she approaches the crime scene of a ritualistic murder. Accompanied by her partner John Schultz, both of them agents for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, they can tell right away that this case is going to be very difficult. While at the crime scene, Special Agent Hunter Forrest of the FBI joins them.

Amy is annoyed right from the outset. This is a local or state crime, so why is a federal agent coming into the picture? As things unfold it proves to be the case that Hunter has a special interest - and past - in a case that proves evidence of a dangerous cult operating in the rural Everglades there in Florida.

John is beset with heart difficulties, leaving Amy and Hunter now as partners in this gruesome case. While the community is no doubt devastated by this murder, the deeper Amy and Hunter probe, the more secrets they begin to unfold. Amy spotted something at the crime scene that laid the groundwork for investigation into a dangerous cult that proves that more bodies will fall.

All the while, Amy and Hunter begin to draw closer together. They are are both skilled in the art of investigation and their unique skills play well off of one another. Amy has an amazing talent as an artist when it comes to drawing crime scenes and Hunter's perceptive skills play into his past, a past that is utterly chilling.

The people behind the murders are horrid, to put it mildly. So some of the scenes are rather difficult to read. Then this this fabulous story combines fast-paced action with a developing romance. Factor in all three of these things, as well as the fact that dangerous cults do indeed thrive in some environments makes for this read by Heather Graham to be a captivating story that was impossible to put down.

Many thanks to MIRA and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Danger in Numbers by Heather Graham is exciting, tense standalone murder mystery. We meet our heroine, FDLA Special Agent Amy Larson, who is on the scene of a gruesome ritualistic murder of a female in the Florida Everglades. The woman was on a pole, with violent slashes across her face and stabbed through her heart. Amy and her partner John, both from the Florida State Police, were disturbed, as well as worried if this was the start of more to come. The murder draws the attention of the FBI, and Special Agent Hunter Forrest, who has knowledge of how cults operate.

In a short time, Hunter will join the investigation with Amy as his partner, since her partner suffered a heart attack. Together Hunter and Amy made a sensational team, as they are both good at what they do. Early on there is another POV from many years ago, showing a family on the run from a cult and hoping for help from the FBI, leaving us unsure of how this effected the current case; halfway into the story, we do learn what and who was in that POV.

After another female is murdered, Hunter begins to see some similarities of previous ritualistic crimes. Amy and Hunter know that someone powerful runs a dangerous cult, and think nothing about putting women through horrific rituals. After meeting all the local churches and temples, they do further investigations on all of them to find clues as to who is the leader; and to find another missing woman before she is killed. But there were so many secrets that hindered their investigation, and because Amy is a woman, Hunter and another detective worry that she is in danger, too.

What follows is a tense thriller that will bring them into a commune of dangerous people who are blinded by a leader who will kill at whim. To say too much more would be spoilers, and I would ruin it for you. Danger in Numbers is an exciting, intense, dark story of murder and the cults that brainwash people. Amy and Hunter find themselves in dangerous situations that had us holding our breath if they would survive.

Once again, Heather Graham gives us a wild, mindboggling thriller, that kept our attention from start to finish. I did like that both Amy and Hunter started a slow build romance, that hopefully will give us more stories to come. They made a great team and couple. If you like intense thrillers, which is written so very well by Graham, then I suggest you read Danger in Numbers.

Amy and Hunter both want to stop what appears to be a ritualistic serial killer. Working together makes good sense, even if it creates more heat than they bargained for. But Hunter's past may be more than a memory as they move deeper into the case. Filled with plenty of twists, this one is sure to keep you turning the pages all the way to the end.

Florida State Police Agent, Amy Larson, never expected the sight she was about to see on the edge of the Everglades. Just off a remote road, but not far enough away that someone won’t see the horrible crime that has been committed and left for them to find.

This is some gory stuff going on here and it has the look of someone who has killed before. When the FBI jumps in with a similar case, we meet Agent Hunter Forrest. Yes, that is the name. He somehow has a lot of information on local cults and how they work and as we find out he also knows how to escape them.

There are plenty of suspicious characters. And none of them tell the entire truth, which leads one to think there is someone on the inside who they are all afraid of. But we never get enough information on that which could have been good.

This was not my favorite work by Graham. I didn’t feel I knew Amy at all and Hunter Forrest? That was predictable. What should have been a timely and thrilling story fell flat for me.

March 23rd, 2021 by MIRA

Great story with a gruesome crimes and fast paced action.
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I’m not sure what it was that captured me about this book. Maybe it was the setting. Maybe it was the uniqueness of the crimes that were being committed. The extreme detail. The grit and gruesomeness of the crime. Whatever it was, Graham has stepped it up a few notches with this captivating release.

In this book, she dives into cults and what people will do in terms of mind twisting and the religious fanaticism. The setting is creepy and perfect for the plot.

She adds in the right amount of pacing and ties in a romantic interest that I felt was well placed but a little downplayed. The character development was good, with plenty of questionable characters to keep you guessing along the way. The suspense level was just right and she captured me completely in this story. I could not stop reading!

Loaded with gripping detail and police procedurals that keeps you on your toes, Danger in Numbers balances the crime, heightened tension, and even ups the anxiety levels as you go through the story for a well developed and twisted read! Plus, the ending was awesome with a lead in to a future story. Hunter was an excellent character and I hope to see him in future reads! Well Done!

First off I want to say a huge thank you to the publisher MIRA-HARLEQUIN – Trade Publishing (U.S. & Canada), the author Heather Graham and to NetGalley for inviting me to join the blog tour for this book as well as letting me read and review it.Now on to my review of Danger In Numbers, when I first this I knew that I want to read it because its by Heather Graham and I love her book series Krewe of Hunters , so there was no way that I was going to pass this one up,it had a lot of the elements in that I love when you think of her books which are : good mystery with a layer of romance, while at the same time its a bit spooky and a dark theme to the story that helps set up the story line, the story follows together and you get to see the characters come to life, as well as the backstory to one of the main characters.

For previous crime thrillers I have examined how a book manages to either steer clear or fall into the well-worn traps of the over-saturated crime genre. I will do the same with this cult-based crime thriller: Danger in Numbers by Heather Graham.

My first criteria is to have an intriguing and interesting crime. Here I believe Danger in Numbers passes with flying colours. There are two main crimes which have a biblical element and are suitably gory in nature. There’s also a progression based on the four horseman and Revelations with the agents knowing what might come next and acknowledgement that the interpretation could be taken in any direction.

The second potential pitfall is the main characters. I have often spoken about the trope of ‘DI OldSchool GrizzleMan and his partner DC Woman WithIssues’ and I was a little worried at the beginning of the story that this would be the case here. However, very early into the book ‘DI OldSchool GrizzleMan’ is swiftly replaced by ‘FBI Agent Hunk McHottie’. This was a nice plot twist and kept Amy Larson on her toes whilst working with someone new. I liked Hunter Forrest’s (what a name!) backstory which is slowly explored throughout the book and makes him interesting and driven. Amy however, is less a woman with issues as she is a woman with no personality. She is good at drawing, which was a nice feature, although she seemed to be over-talented with a realism that felt forced (being able to accurately guess what someone looked like with hardly anything to go on was done far too often for my taste). She’s also a strong female character who can hold her own in a fight, however she didn’t seem to have much of a personality or backstory other than ‘that FBI guy sure is hot’ which was a shame.

The third pitfall is giving the series somewhere to progress – just enjoying the crime or the characters isn’t always a guarantee that a reader will invest in future books. The book felt like it played its hand a little too early here with Amy and Hunter together from halfway through the book. This takes away the ‘will they, won’t they’ element which is popular in other crime novels and would have been nice to include in future books. The little twist at the end set up a sequel but seemed to come out of nowhere and left me a bit confused.

My next criteria is a new one that I have included for this novel and that is the plotting of the story itself and here I saw the book very much fall down. With crime thrillers I’m very used to there being a big twist, a betrayal and a few red herrings which makes everyone a suspect and really challenges you as a reader. About a quarter of the way through, a character suggests a suspect who we have never met and doesn’t seem to be linked to any of the crimes, and then… that wild assumption ends up being correct. We only meet him right towards the end and they even start referring to him as the bad guy from around halfway through the novel. This was such a simple solution and was really disappointing. There’s a slight betrayal from one character but it was someone we weren’t overly convinced was on our side anyway. There’s also a missed opportunity with a hint that someone in law enforcement was helping them which sadly went nowhere. I was very much expecting the younger member of the FBI who kept being pointedly referred to as enthusiastic and diligent to be revealed as a member of the cult. This would have been a really nice twist and was sadly not used. The author just telling us who probably did it without introducing the reader to them or giving us a chance to be suspicious of them for ourselves didn’t make for a fun read.

Overall, Danger in Numbers was an ok read for me; there’s a nice set of crimes but two dimensional characters and a linear, uncomplex plot. Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin – MIRA for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐⭐⭐ + Stars
Ms. Graham has written many many novels, I have only read stories in the “Krewe of Hunters” series and I did enjoy what I read.
This story setting is near the Everglades in Florida.
Amy Larsen is a Florida Detective and Forest Hunter is a FBI agent; they are investigating the gruesome murders of several women whose deaths appear to be a cult ritual.
I am not a big romance fan but I did like the sparks that were flying between Hunter and Amy!

I liked the ending and loved the ‘tiny red horse’ teaser!!
Yep looking forward to the next Amy & Hunter ~ Heather Graham story!!😀

Want to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing (US & Canada) for this early release. This file was granted to me for an honest professional review. Opinions expressed are my own.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for March 23, 2021

Another great Heather Graham book. Amy Larson joins FBI agent Hunter Forrest to solve a ritualistic murder, that may be a sign of cults operating in the are. Small town secrets come to the surface as they race to bring this group down.

It was fast paced , a good story and the right amount of romance. It was a bit draggy at times but still an interesting. I liked the characters and look forward to more with this duo. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

Thank you to NetGalley, Heather Graham and Harlequin books for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

This one throws you right into the action at the very beginning and sucks you in so that you want more. The only problem is that this novel is go, go, go until about half way and then there is a bit of a lull. It's important for the novel to continue and it wasn't boring or anything - the change of pace was just strange for me. But then it picks right back up and becomes one that you are racing to finish. I really did enjoy the characters and the budding romance between the two of them really was an added bonus. Overall, it was very enjoyable and I would recommend.

Young girls are coming up dead in a small town and the FBI is sent to investigate. Clues have the investigators asking if this could be a cult, exacting revenge for girls who attempt to escape.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Graham crafted another good mystery with a layer of romance. Ritualistic murders have suddenly sprung up in rural Florida bringing together FBI Special Agent Hunter Forrest and FDLA Special Agent Amy Larson. They embark on a journey that takes them into the dark world of cults and discover that the gruesome murders are only the tip of the iceberg. It certainly grabbed my attention and held it throughout, which is what I really want in a mystery. The resolution of “whodunnit” wasn’t a complete shock by any means and there were certainly echoes of actual cult crimes that have been exposed in the storyline, but neither of those things were problems for me. Overall, a good procedural mystery with interesting investigators and crimes that you need to see justice done for.

Heather Graham knows how to spin a story that makes one’s hair stand up. Some of the characters in this suspense novel are sinister and odious. Two federal agents are hot on the heels of a huge case in the south. I liked,the constant action in the plot, there was no time to be distracted. Control, especially mind control, is a big theme. When one doesn’t toe the line, one must pay the price. I liked the diabolical situations. For some reason I can’t get enough of these kinds of books.

Amy is in Florida law enforcement and Hunter is FBI. Hunter has come down to their part of Florida because he suspects a body that has been discovered is connected to a case he was working on. There are indications that a religious cult is involved in the murders. Who can they trust? There is also a question whether local law enforcement may be helping the cult. The book has suspense, murder, trafficking and a romance. There is also a thread at the end of the story that suggests there will be a follow up novel. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Danger In Number is a police thriller.
I have read a little of Graham's books this one has to be a favorite of mine.
This was a hard book to put down.
The summary pulled Melvin and by the time I read chapter 3 I was hooked.
The characters feel real. And I like that.
This was a fast paced read. With a plot that intrigued me.

Two members of different branches of law enforcement come together to find the members of a cult they suspect of murdering women. The two work well together, on and off the job. While this was an interesting look into the organization and workings of a cult, the story itself just didn’t do a lot for me. I found myself wanting to skip to the end. I rode it out and the ending was ok.

This one gets an ‘okay’ from me.

While I enjoyed the cult aspect of the story and trying to figure out why the murders happened, the romance in this romantic suspense was a little ho hum. I mean…our two leads were…perfectly nice people. Yep. That’s it. Perfectly nice people.

The way everything ended was…fine.

Okay, honestly? There was just nothing standout about this one. This is an okay read populated by okay characters who solve an okay crime in an okay way and I want to read something else now…okay?

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

Near the Florida Everglades, young women are being found murdered in ritualistic ways. Amy and Hunter are agents investigating the awful killings in a community with a dangerous cult and people who are unwilling to cooperate with the police. Can they solve the murders before more women are kidnapped and killed?
For fans of mystery/thriller type novels this book starts out engaging and fast paced. The second half of the book dragged on and the ending was very predictable. I did like the main characters and the ‘finding love’ aspect. This is my first novel by this author so I may give another one of her books a shot.