COUNT TO TEN marks the launch of one of Headline's next new brand authors, the incomparable Karen Rose. A young boy and his brother are abandoned by their mother and end up in the foster-care system. Let down by everyone who should have looked out for them, the boys fall prey to the abusers they meet. Is it any wonder one of them loses his mind and develops a taste for matches and revenge? Years later, Reed Solliday, of Chicago's Fire Department, is determined to find an arsonist whose actions have just escalated to murder. With the police now involved, Reed is paired with Detective Mia Mitchell, on her first assignment since her father's death and her partner's shooting. Solliday and Mitchell know the violence is escalating and the death toll is rising. With no apparent connection between the deaths, they are at a loss until their attention focuses on a young offenders institution and the misfits within...Take a breath. Count to ten. And watch their world explode.
This book was really slow to start but I'm glad that I stuck with it because I ended up really enjoying it. The villain was crazy pants and I guessed who he was pretty early on but that didn't stop me from enjoying the book. The romance between Reed and Mia was pretty great and I bought it all. Reading this book was a lot like watching an episode of Law & Order and I like that show so I was a happy camper.
