Something must have happened with the download. I do not have a NetGalley copy, so I will not be reviewing here.

Two-goody-shoes girl playing by the book. Reformed bad boy playing by the instincts. Both are Special Agents. And there is a killer on the loose - or more of them? Is this the serial killing, or the copycat murders?

This is layered police procedural novel with various levels of issues touched - crime, family relationships, trust in God.
The psychological ones are covered better in my opinion. Dysfunctional families hurt. The lack of backing up from your closest ones hurts. And it is important to talk about these issues, because this kind of pain goes deep. The domestic violence topic also deserves the talk and I am glad for this to be covered here well.

I quite like Thatcher, who is very sensitive and caring guy, and can be this way while staying manly. Bethany sees that and her inner walls start to crack - good for her!

As for the mystery - there is too much mentally unstable villains and too much chances taken for me to be able to fully enjoy the ride, to be honest. I am a lover of the good mystery, and this one is unfortunately missing the good structure and the believable reasoning for all the crimes.

And I am going to be honest here now. So bear with me, while I say this, because it saddens me: this novel contains a few not positive comments about Bethany´s previous denomination, which is the current denomination of her family (from which she was "excommunicated", which is a serious issue). The religion is not named, but it is related to nuns and Bethany´s family is Mexican. So I feel safe to guess: Catholicism. First, excommunication: there is never mentioned any reason for this so-called "excommunication". Being Catholic myself, I know several reasons for that and they are of grave nature (surely not a bitter family relationships), so the term is used incorrectly here in my opinion.
Second and more important: above all, this denomination topic is not related to the content of the novel, so I don´t understand the need for the discussion about the "right" denomination here in the Christian fiction. What if Bethany was Catholic? Might there be any problem with her chacter and/or relationship to God? Just a question.

Having said all that - I see Ms. Mills´s effort to go for the deeper topics and I applaud her for that. We all need more food for thought.

Award-winning author DiAnn Mills continues her contemporary romantic suspense series featuring FBI agents in the Houston area.

In Deadlock, Special Agent Bethany Sanchez is anxious to meet her new partner, Special Agent Thatcher Graves. She is a follower of the rules while he has a reputation for operating on instinct -- that should make for an interesting work relationship!

Graves is also the man who arrested her brother. Bethany’s family has never forgiven her for her part in her brother’s arrest and time in jail. Now Lucas is home -- they continue to make excuses for him while excluding Bethany from their family circle. Has he returned to his old habits to make money, and are her parents covering for him?

As Sanchez and Graves try to determine whether two recent homicides are the work of a serial killer or a copycat, they find the clues drying up until they enter the crosshairs of the murderer. Will they be able to keep family and professional work separate while they work together to solve the case before they become the next victims?

Mills does an excellent job of plot and character development in this inspirational suspense series. Multiple plot twists abound as these unpredictable story unfolds. The characters are realistic, and the distractions are many, as the tension builds until the last page is read.