LIGHT OF DAY

An outspoken young radio host teams up with a brave-but-secretive stranger to solve a missing-girl mystery.

Senior Gabby Perez is no naïve wallflower, but when a seedy club-goer sneaks roofies in her best friend's drink, it takes a hot, blue-eyed, square-jawed stranger to warn her to get away. A young Miami radio personality, Gabby uses her weekly show, Light Up the Night, to discuss what (almost) happened and thank the handsome stranger who came to the rescue. The following week, the mystery guy, who goes by "X," waits for her at the radio station and cautions her that she's getting involved in a dangerous sex-trafficking situation. Gabby suspects X is an undercover cop, and the two attempt to get the scumbag off the streets. As Gabby and X's chemistry becomes undeniable, she must deal with uncomfortable truths about his past and a kidnapping case involving a friend. Meanwhile, at home, Gabby struggles with rigid parents who seem to care more about why she broke up with her perfect ex than her talent as a DJ. Van Diepen returns to her On the Edge (2014) world—the tough streets of Miami—for another exciting story that delivers with a central relationship full of twists and surprising depth.

Readers who like their romance on the gritty side will fall for van Diepen's steamy thriller.