Book Review: On Her Watch by Melinda Leigh

On Her Watch
Author: Melinda Leigh
Series: Bree Taggert (Book 8)
Publication: Montlake (May 14, 2024)

Description: Sheriff Bree Taggert becomes a target when she follows the twisting trail of a serial killer in a bone-chilling novel of suspense by #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.

A pair of hikers find a tarp-wrapped body in a clearing in the woods. When a search in the surrounding area yields two more, Sheriff Bree Taggert knows they’ve stumbled onto a serial killer’s dumping ground.

With the help of investigator Matt Flynn, Bree works the case. They go to interview Jana, the best friend of one of the victims. But when they arrive at her apartment, it’s been ransacked and set on fire. And Jana is missing.

It’s clear the killer is escalating. To make matters worse, he threatens Bree’s family and a young mother vanishes. Will Bree and Matt uncover the link between the victims before more women die?

My Thoughts: Flu is running rampant through the Sheriff's Department when two hikers discover a body wrapped in a tarp in a clearing in the woods. Further investigation unearths two more tarp-wrapped bodies. There is a serial killer in the area. 

After managing to identify the newest of the victims, Sheriff Bree Taggert and Matt Flynn her investigator begin to try to find out who murdered her by trying to retrace her steps. All of the victims were small blondes between the ages of sixteen and twenty. Reporters and families with missing daughters are storming the sheriff's office asking for information.

When Bree and Matt go to interview the first victim's best friend, they learn that Jana has also gone missing leaving only a small blood trail in her apartment. Finding her before she too can be murdered becomes their first priority. Unfortunately, her body is dumped in such a way that it falls on Bree's official vehicle when she and Matt leave home one morning. 

The killer is getting bolder and more careless. Then when a woman Bree managed to talk out of an abusive relationship is taken, the team has only hours to find a commonality between all the missing women and saving the latest victim's life. 

This was another engaging and entertaining episode in the Bree Taggert series. I like the way becoming a mother to her orphaned niece and nephew is changing her. I also like the way her relationship with Matt is growing closer as they learn to depend on each other. 

Favorite Quote:

She depended on him on a way she'd never allowed herself to depend on anyone before. Her heart needed him. He was her sanity when life went sideways, her solace when times were hard, and he amplified her happiness when times were good. Everything was better and easier with him in her life. 

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.