After the fun I had reading The Sorority Murder by Allison Brennan, I read the follow-up novel, Don’t Open the Door. You likely can read these books out of order, as the mystery in the first novel has nothing to do with the second, but you would miss out on some of the character development, such as the warm relationship between former U.S. Marshal Regan Merritt, and her father. He’s a very minor character in the novel I’m reviewing today, but their relationship gives a greater sense of humanity to our protagonist, Regan.

Don’t Open the Door commences with Tommy, a U.S. Marshal working in Virginia who is long-time friend, and new lover, of Regan. He has compiled evidence that may solve the mystery of why Regan’s son was murdered ten months ago. They know who killed her son, but then the killer was murdered in prison, leaving Regan and her now-ex-husband, Grant, reeling without answers. Grant has always assumed the bullet was meant for Regan because she had a dangerous job, an accusation that crushed Regan. Was she the cause of her son’s death? With a pile of evidence, Tommy doesn’t think so. Except Tommy is taken out by a sniper in front of his own home, and the evidence seized. When Regan gets the call that Tommy is dead, she leaves Arizona and heads to Virginia.

Don’t Open the Door takes place over seven days, from the time of Tommy’s murder to the conclusion. The central story of the novel is Regan finding out not only who killed Tommy, but having to retrace his investigation and analyze the evidence he already pieced together. In the mix is the ex-husband, Grant, still devastated from their son’s murder, which was the reason Regan left Virginia and quit working for the Marshals. Despite not having a position with the Marshals, Regan’s old boss helps her in any way he can, getting Regan access to a prisoner, the lead person on the case at the FBI, and a computer terminal with case information.

Regan’s role as ex-Marshal never feels forced; author Allison Brennan doesn’t write Regan as a maverick with a revenge motive. In fact, Regan’s practical personality is what caused her divorce in the first place: “She had always been methodical. Surprises unnerved her. And she wasn’t romantic — she was too practical, she supposed, to find whimsy or love in flowers or food.” Grant, on the other hand, was more spontaneous and passionate, even growing angry when he had a problem and Regan laid out solutions like options on a menu. They provide a believable foil for the novel; Grant drives you nuts with his emotional reactions while Regan is steadfast in both her grief and the procedural process.

Brennan knows how to flesh out a novel with small chapters from the points of view of minor characters, such as the terrified nurse who may have witnessed something important, or the for-hire assassin whom readers know from the second chapter shot Tommy. A small role, but the assassin, Nelson Lee, is a full character who adds a dose of dark humor to the novel:

Nelson Lee stared at [redacted’s] corpse. Good riddance. This man was partly responsible for Nelson missing the farmers market today. Now he had to wait a full week to enjoy the freshest, most flavorful produce on the East Coast. He was angry and, he could admit to himself, quite a bit sad.

As the end got closer, we readers know what’s happening: who hired Nelson Lee to murder Tommy, who killed the imprisoned man who murdered Grant and Regan’s son, and all the people in between who are involved. However, I still didn’t expect the ending, as an emotional event changed the way I felt about two of the characters, and nothing was quite as tidy as I expected.

I know I’m about twenty years behind on the Allison Brennan bandwagon, but I’ve definitely climbed aboard (well….not her romance-thrillers). Typically, I’m someone who doesn’t like mysteries because I can’t follow along with clues. I admit there are a couple of things I didn’t quite follow in Don’t Open the Door, but that doesn’t matter. The procedural aspect of the book laid out evidence, clues, motives, etc. with logical reiteration, making me immersed.