I don't normally go in for crime thriller mysteries. In that regard, it made this story refreshing. Well as refreshing as a crime procedural could be considering there's about a million of these types of shows on TV. Essentially, its a gifted program for teens run by the FBI to train them to profile killers.They don't just throw these kids out in the field and have them working active cases (view spoiler)[ Although they do end up in the field a bit because of course they do. (hide spoiler)] but they have them learning by trying to solve cold cases. In the realm of possibility, this seems plausible. 
 I liked the overall story and premise. I thought the action was well paced and it had enough twists and turns that I really didn't expect who the killer was in the reveal. (view spoiler)[Seriously! WTF! I really didn't see that coming at all. I had my money on that guy she meets breifly in the park. (hide spoiler)] Its great when a story is unpredictable. Much more fascinating. You could tell that Jennifer Lynn Barnes has a degree in psychology. All of the little excerpts of the killers thought process were super creepy and helped to set the macabre and mysterious tone of the story. 
 The only downside were the characters themselves. I didn't get the impression that any of them were really fleshed out. None of them really stood out as having something special about them. Cassie is just about the dullest heroine that I've ever seen. Yes, she's smart and has a gift at profiling but she has the personality of a plank of wood. It's beyond me as to why both Michael and Dean (because of course there's a freaking love triangle. UGH!) are going for her. The only explanation I could come up with was that she was the shiny new toy in the program and considering the competition, that's not really saying much. 
 Overall, I enjoyed this and will go on to read book 2. :)