Abandoned: A Thriller by Cody McFadyen Search Amazon for other books by or about Cody McFadyen. Rating: Reviewed by: Bob Walch

It isn't quite what people would expect when they attend a wedding. One of FBI special agent Smokey Barrett's colleagues is getting married, but the ceremony is totally disrupted when a woman wearing only a nightgown staggers down the aisle.

Incoherent and emaciated, the mysterious woman turns out to be a former cop who has been missing for eight years. The woman had been imprisoned in a dark cell by an enigmatic captor whom she didn't know and who seldomly spoke to her. Why she was kept alive and, more to the point, why the woman was let go in time to disrupt this festive occasion is just part of the story.

Smokey and her investigative team quickly discover they are up against a crafty and cold blooded criminal. Their adversary provides a service to men who wish to have their "problematic" wives discreetly disposed of. Oddly enough, he doesn't enjoy inflicting pain or killing his victims. In fact, he looks upon what he does as nothing more than a lucrative business arrangement.

Trying to outsmart this individual will be a challenge, but if he's not stopped quickly the budding entrepreneur plans to increase his customer base, which doesn't bode well for the women he's been hired to deal with.

Cody McFadyen's three previous novels, The Face of Death, Shadow Man, and The Darker Side, have all been very well received. This latest thriller is just as compelling as its predecessors but, as you'll see, its unusual villain is more than a match for the author's likeable, albeit complex, heroine.