Book Review: End Game (Capital Intrigue #1) by Rachel Dylan

End Game (Capital Intrigue #1)

Author:  Rachel Dylan

Publisher:  Bethany House (2020)

313 pages

Genre:  Romantic Suspense

First Lines:  "I think they might be keeping dead bodies in their condo!"  Bailey Ryan sat beside her friends in an Arlington, Virginia, diner and took a big bite of salad as Layla Karam continued to tell her animated story."

Summary:  In End Game, we meet Bailey Ryan, an agent in the Criminal Investigative Division of the FBI, who has just received a call from her partner letting her know that they are on a new case.  She is being called to the Medical Examiner's office to view a body that just came in.  It is the second murder in just a few days that was done using similar methods.  It turns out that the second victim was a Navy SEAL.  That means that the FBI will have to partner with NCIS on this case.  

NCIS Special Agent Marco Agostini will be leading the investigation.  Bailey will have to work with his team at Quantico.  They have very little to go on and are working against the clock fearing that another murder will take place.  Are the murders random acts of violence?  Could they be the work of a serial killer?  Or is something more sinister involved?  

My thoughts:  This was the first book I have read by Rachel Dylan and it won't be my last!  She does a great job of building some solid characters in Bailey and Marco.  Throughout the story we get to know each of them a little better and learn a little about their pasts.  But it felt like there was a lot more to tell, so maybe that will happen in upcoming books.  There were some great secondary characters as well.  Bailey's friend Layla, who works for the CIA, Izzy, a twenty-something newby at NCIS, JAG Attorney Lexi Todd and Army CID Special Agent Jay Graves are all characters that I hope to meet again in future books.

The book takes place in Washington D.C., however it is not the city that we really get a feel for, rather it is the system that we see the inner workings of.  This was quite interesting to learn about different protocols involved in certain situations.  Author Rachel Dylan is an attorney, so she has a deep understanding of legal matters and that definitely comes through.

The mystery was complex and I often felt like they had very little to go on until it was solved and things came to light.  And there was plenty of danger along the way.

The relationship between Bailey and Marco was just right and developed as they had to spend time together working on the case.  There were a couple of other romances blossoming between secondary characters that will be fun to follow up on in future books.

I enjoyed Rachel Dylan's writing style and look forward to reading more from her.