Red Flags (A Locard Institute Thriller #1)

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Black launches a pulse-pounding new series with a taut, compelling forensic thriller that introduces Dr. Ellie Carr and Dr. Rachael Davies, who must combine their expertise to solve deadly crimes . . .

When D.C. crime scene analyst Dr. Ellie Carr is called to investigate the case of a missing baby, she’s shocked to discover that the child’s mother is her own cousin. Close during their childhoods, Ellie and Becca eventually drifted apart. Becca is now half of a Washington power couple, and she and her wealthy lobbyist husband, Hunter, have been living a charmed life in an opulent mansion—until their infant son is taken.

A reluctant Ellie is teamed with pathologist Dr. Rachael Davies, employed by Hunter to help with the investigation. Rachael is assistant dean at the prestigious Locard Institute, named in honor of the French criminologist who inspired the profession. But in this case, what seemed like a simple ransom grab reveals links to a lobbying effort to loosen regulations on a billion-dollar gaming empire. Unless they can piece together the evidence before the Senate hearing, Becca’s son—and others like him—will face an unthinkable fate . . .