I will preface this by saying I have never read of Kate Rhodes' other books.  Okay, that being said... I loved this story!  I will need to hunt down the books that introduced these characters first and read them, even it I will be out of order.  The mix of character development and plot was very well done. Even with the cast of characters who were out of the ordinary, to put it mildly, I never felt the descriptions were rushed or shallow.  The subject matter is disturbing, but the author handled it with dignity.  There was no introduction of gory details merely for shock factor.  It felt as though there was a reason for the introduction of characters and motivations.