The Other Girl by Erica Spindler

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Officer Miranda Rader is known for her dedication, hard work, honesty, and integrity—she's the steadfast leader in a crisis.  But Miranda wasn't always that way.  She grew up as a wild small-town girl from the wrong side of the tracks.  Working hard to earn the respect of her position as a police officer with the Hammond PD, Miranda has left 'Randi' in the past.  

A respected and admired college professor, Richard Stark, has been brutally murdered.  Stark's father happens to be the president of the college and he is putting tremendous pressure on the force to find out who killed his son.  Miranda is called for duty to investigate the murder and what looks like to be a crime of passion however something isn't sitting right with Miranda.  She is shocked not only at the horrific nature of the crime, but to find a newspaper clipping from her past also at the scene.

Then a retired police officer turns up dead—this officer is Clint Wheeler, the policeman that took her statement that terrible night from the newspaper article.  On the surface, these murders appear unrelated, but they have one commonality, Miranda.

Miranda becomes further involved when her fingerprints are found at the scene from the first murder.  Everything she has worked so hard for is in jeopardy as her character is questioned.  Is she being set up?  Is this related to what happened to her all those years ago?  Relationships are tested, truths become lies, and evidence tainted.  Will Miranda have to reinvent herself again, this time proving once and for all that she is innocent?

The story starts off strong, there is a nice hook, but it deflates quickly.  There were too many conveniences in the plot and this could have been avoided if the back story or side plots were fleshed out.  For a cop, Miranda is a little daft—she misses a lot of clues that are obvious to the reader.  I didn't find it overly psychological in nature, and the story was lacking originally and a good twist.  That being said, this was still an enjoyable read and I would definitely pick up this author again.