(English title: Not Like He Seemed ) is the second installment in the Ilse Beck FBI Suspense Thriller series by Ava Strong . This psychological thriller follows FBI Special Agent Ilse Beck as she faces both a deranged serial killer and the dark secrets of her own past in Germany. Plot Overview

: Although she never intended to join the FBI, her unique ability to understand the psychology of killers through the lens of their survivors makes her an invaluable asset to the Bureau. Series Context

The FBI urgently requests Ilse's expertise to hunt down the a serial murderer who poses victims' bodies in the shapes of letters. As Ilse attempts to decode whether the killer is spelling a message or signaling his next target, she is simultaneously forced to confront her own traumatic childhood. She returns to the site of her childhood home in Germany, hoping to find closure, but the trip threatens to push her over the edge as she uncovers repressed memories. Character Profile: Ilse Beck

: A survivor of a traumatic childhood in Germany who moved to the U.S. to escape her past.