Book ~ "Kidnapped" (2006) Jan Burke

From Amazon ~ Sociopathic killer Cleo Smith has just murdered a graphic artist, Richard Fletcher, who was a member of a large, bizarre California family, but Smith's motive for the killing remains obscure. Five years later, Fletcher's adopted son was wrongfully convicted of the crime and is in prison, and Burke's resourceful and compassionate reporter heroine, Irene Kelly, has written a story about missing children that has prompted a host of inquiries from desperate relatives who have lost their own children. When more bodies turn up and further clues point to involvement of Fletcher family members, Kelly, aided by her police detective husband, Frank Harriman, puts her life on the line to exonerate the innocent prisoner and uncover the disturbing secrets at the heart of the Fletcher clan.

This is the tenth book in the series of eleven (as of 2011) ... I'm rereading the series.

As with most in this series, I find that there are way too many characters and I have a hard time keeping them straight. This one was especially tricky because there were so many in the Fletcher family. A family tree would have been helpful.

Ethan from the last book is still staying with Irene and Frank recovering ... he had such a inconsequential role that I wondered why he was even in it.

There were a few twists that I found a bit hard to believe but they had to happen to tie everything in, I guess.

I usually find kids in books annoying but the ones in this one weren't.

All in all, it was a good story ... it wasn't until about halfway through the book, though, that once I could remember who was who that I got into it more.