When CIA observational and analytical wizard Kendra Michaels refers a client to her pal, private investigator Jessie Mercado, it's far from a typical missing person case. The vanished individual is Carl Ferris, partner with Owen Blake in a firm that provides unique services for those about to be imprisoned, everything from arranging physical protection on the inside to managing the minutiae of their lives on the outside. Although Jessie would prefer to work solo, her new friends-with-benefits relationship with movie superstar Jake Brice gives her some added muscle and perspective. Ricocheting from Ventura Beach to the desert east of L.A., their sleuthing plunges them deep into the world of corporate finance and for-profit prisons, where a well-connected executive employs deadly means to protect her secrets. As a key secondary player in the Kendra Michaels series, Jessie Mercado has been steadily coming into her own. Physically unstoppable, intellectually nimble, and emotionally grounded, Jessie deserves to carry the action in what promises to be a breakout direction for the prolific Johansen thriller franchise.

In this propulsive series spinoff from bestseller Johansen (the Kendra Michaels series), PI Jessie Mercado, Kendra's friend and occasional colleague, takes center stage. Michaels, "a San Diego music therapist whose powers of observation made her a go-to consultant in several high-profile law enforcement investigations," introduces Jessie to a new client, Owen Blake, the co-owner of an incarceration consultancy, which handles financial and personal needs for people who are serving prison sentences. Blake's partner, Carl Ferris, has disappeared, and he wants Jessie to find him. Though she suspects that Blake may be hiding something, she nonetheless agrees to take his case. She's assisted by her new boyfriend, "the hottest actor on the planet," who decides to put the skills he has honed working on Marvel Superhero flicks to good use. Kendra also lends a hand. When the first person Jessie questions about Ferris is murdered and she too is attacked, she realizes there's much more at stake than a missing person. Relentless action and dastardly villains keep the pages turning. Johansen, who usually collaborates with mother Iris Johansen, delivers the goods. Agents: Andrea Cirillo and Rebecca Scherer, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Feb.)Correction: An earlier version of this review incorrectly noted that this book was part of an existing series.