It seems a bit unfinished, like Chelsea Cain is a debut author who still has to find her style. Still I think it might be worth to check out the next book in the series.
Gretchen Whatsername is not Hannibal Lecter; this wouldn't make much of a difference if the author didn't clearly want her to be. The book succeeds not on the serial killer/intended victim-cop dynamic, but because you're genuinely rooting for the young reporter, enough so that when her climactic bit of trouble is kind of stupid, you're still turning pages hoping she makes it ok.
