Last Words - Mariah Stewart

From Library Journal:

A serial killer with a penchant for swaddling his victims in plastic wrap is at work in peaceful St. Dennis. Police Chief Gabriel Beck agrees to call in the FBI for help, but attractive special agent Mia Shields isn't quite what he expected. Then the killings increase, and the two realize they must now use Mia as bait. The romance between Beck and Mia develops nicely, right along with the investigation, and while it doesn't get in the way of the mystery, it is important to the story. Second in Stewart's trilogy about the Shields family, this graphic woman-in-jeopardy tale is typical of her suspense novels and sure to keep her fans entertained. The final chapter in the series, Last Breath, will be out in August 2007. Stewart (Last Look) lives in the Philadelphia area.

So this Shields family is in quite a few Stewart book, but I found Mia less likeable than most of the other Shields folks. The book had a good storyline. The idea was good, it just never really came to that point of "good" for me. It was ok. I liked Beck, I liked most of the side characters. I found Mia to be a bit whiney. I think that Stewart had a good idea but I think maybe the battle with alcohol and depression was just a little ambitious for this book. There was a bit too much going on for her to be able to give that the attention that it needed. I read Mariah Stewart a long time ago, and I remembered liking her. I think (hope) that she has maybe evolved since this book, because I kept reaching out for something that wasn't quite there. I wanted to see Mia and Beck's relationship emerge, and it just didn't. In fact there were several times that I wondered if he even liked her. It was just o.k. for me.