And here I am on book #9 of the Lucy Kincaid series by Allison Brennan. Once again, the title, Best Laid Plans, makes little sense to me, even after reading the novel, but that doesn’t matter. It’s another great story, one that — again — does something unexpected compared to previous books.

We’re still set in the San Antonio, Texas, area because that is where Lucy was assigned after graduating from the FBI academy near Washington, D.C. In the previous book, Lucy and her boyfriend, Sean, were involved in an operation that took out two major drug and arms dealers. However, the consequences of their success are following Lucy in Best Laid Plans.

A highly-respected and well-liked businessman is found dead in a by-the-hour motel. The only witness is a cabbie who saw a young teen leave the hotel room and proposition him for paid sex. Could such an admirable businessman have had relations with an underage prostitute? And why would he fly spontaneously from Dallas to San Antonio to do it? Nothing adds up, and because he is married to a sitting congresswoman, the FBI are called in to assist local police.

Lucy Kincaid, still a rookie, is partnered with Barry, a seasoned agent who warns Lucy that she needs to compartmentalize work and home or she’ll burn out. Lucy is always thinking about cases, bringing work home, and telling her boyfriend, Sean, her theories, which inevitably leads to his involvement because he’s a specialized computer hacker and technology security professional. You’d think Lucy and Sean were partners, the way the novels go.

When the congresswoman is told of her husband’s death, which is ruled suspicious and likely murder, she doesn’t seem to flinch. Something isn’t adding up, and the FBI would give anything to find the prostitute who left the room. They do track her down after she steals the dead man’s cell phone and leaves it another client’s room in a respectable hotel with security cameras from which they get a clear shot of her face. Here is where author Allison Brennan takes us down a different route.

Brennan has more players that usual in Best Laid Plans. Not only does Lucy work with Barry, but her team from the previous book get involved because there is some local gang activity that seems related to the drugs and arms dealers who were taken out. Therefore, we have a several FBI agents, the local police, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. I started struggling to remember who was an authority, and with agency. I imagine Brennan’s narrative is closer to the truth; a rogue agent with a partner who doesn’t trust her is the stuff of movies, not real life. Therefore, I didn’t mind, but it did take more brain power to keep folks straight.

Then, we also get a tangle of suspects and villains, from the prostitute who’s new in town to the local madam, several henchmen types connected to the congresswoman and local gangs, and a ruthless leader called Tobias whom no one has seen — except Lucy in the previous book, which she can’t come out with because she crossed into Mexico illegally to save children held hostage, nor would it help to have a description but no real name or information about Tobias. Interestingly, Brennan weaves in Lucy’s past when the local madam implies she’s seen the video from when Lucy was eighteen and brutally assaulted, a crime that was published on the internet.

All the feelings related to being a perpetual victim interrupt Lucy’s personal and professional life. She feels inadequate as a partner for Sean, and she’s always questioned by seasoned FBI agents when she flinches in the face of sexual crimes. Plus, because she has family and connections in FBI leadership roles, her colleagues wonder if she’s qualified or pandered to. Once again, Brennan’s character, who is nothing like me, made me pause and reflect on my own life. In a recent Sunday Lowdown post, I wrote that I was struggling with some devastating news, though I was vague. I’m never vague for the sake of drama; most of my work in interpreting is confidential, but in this case, I was too upset to talk about it.

Some feedback I received about my interpreting ASL-English was that I have a good customer service face and that that I’m older, so I have more life experience. Neither comment pertains to interpreting specifically, so I wondered if I was doing the right career path or if I had been fooling myself. I also received a couple of comments about my hearing abilities, and much like Lucy, I wondered if I would always be a victim of my shortcomings. I am not.

I started emailing agencies and advocating for myself, and now things are moving forward again. When I told a friend that things had dramatically turned around in less than a week, it dawned on me how powerful I am when I take charge. Lucy is the same way, and for both of us, it is negative self-talk that takes us to dark places and sleep plagued with nightmares. It’s bizarre that an FBI crime/thriller series has “spoken” to me so many times in the past six months.

Lastly, Brennan ends her novel in a way she had not in previous books: without a conclusion to who and where Tobias is. Yes, some of the crimes are solved and people put in prison, but we’re led to believe that one character tricked the authorities down a rabbit hole with no solutions, and Tobias is still out there. Plus, frustratingly, some of the characters put in prison and awaiting trial are offered plea deals to give information about Tobias, suggesting no one will be punished long. I’m assuming the next novel will continue with the hunt for Tobias, whereas Brennan typically wraps up each story.