This is the 5th book in a series and without reading any of the earlier ones I can say, this can easily be a stand alone book. The reader is slowly filled in about the past in an artful way, without being overwhelmed. 
    The opening of this book starts the reader off with a bang. I was immediately tense (in a good way) and it really pulled me in to the rest of the story. 
    I did enjoy the back and forth between the two main characters, Ellery and Reed. 

 I enjoyed the craziness of dealing with a serial killer. I enjoyed that the police weren’t looking for fame and seemed reasonable in their reactions to not wanting to give this vain serial killer more attention. It felt very real. 

Although I enjoyed reading/watching how Ellery and Reed worked together – I didn’t find the relationship and the riffs on why they aren’t/why they shouldn’t be together believable. It bothered me. On the other hand, the added tension between the two personally while they go on their little ‘adventure’ was an entertaining tension. So I wouldn’t remove it either.
     Overall, the feeling was ‘good’ and ‘okay’. The author does a good job building tension and anxiety as we go along. The readers are pulled along in this fast paced thriller without getting a moment to relax. This isn’t the type of book that I would go out of my way to read the previous stories in the series .. but .. I really enjoyed this one and I would recommend it.