The Wicked Flee by Matthew Iden

The Wicked Flee is Matthew Iden’s fifth in his Marty Singer series.  Singer is an ex-DC cop who retired to fight his cancer.  Now a PI he uses his skill set, contacts within law enforcement and new found empathy to solve other people’s problems.

Singer’s friend and current DC police officer, Chuck Rhee pounds on Singer’s door in the middle of the night.  Rhee’s teenage sister, Lucy has disappeared and he fears she may have been abducted.  He can’t wait for the bureaucracy within law enforcement to help him find her… she could already be out of local jurisdiction.  Together Marty and Chuck roust Lucy’s former boyfriend and his pals.  After busting some heads they learn Lucy is with a dangerous dude known for sex trafficking.  Without his name they begin searching for and rousting the sex offender’s known accomplices.

   

Meanwhile, rookie Maryland State Trooper, Sarah Hayesworth abducts a perpetrator disposing of a young woman’s body… a sex for hire gig gone wrong.  She knows the perp can lead her to the prostitution ring but her boss makes her turn over the case to the local county sheriff.  Haunted by the prospect of young women being abused, she decides to work the case on her own time.  Her investigation leads her to a rundown hotel used to house the hookers.  In the lobby she finds a young DC cop and an aging PI ‘pressuring’ the night clerk for information.  After learning the likely whereabouts of Lucy and her abductor, the three join forces in a sprint to the finish to save Lucy’s life.

The Wicked Flee is the fastest paced Marty Singer novel to date.  In fact the character of Marty is not expanded upon at all… you have to know him from previous works.  Instead the hook here is the chase itself… will the heroes get there in time to save the day?  I’m impressed by Iden’s skill to keep that suspense in play to the end… a true page turner.  What I do miss from Iden’s earlier work is the vulnerability factor in Marty Singer… that thing that makes him appealing and significant.  Maybe we’ll get more of that next time… I’m in either way.