Book Review: Trapper Road by Rachel Caine

Trapper Road
Author: Rachel Caine & Carrie Ryan
Series: A Stillhouse Road Novel (Book 6)
Publication: Rachel Caine, LLC. (August 2, 2022)

Description: Sometimes danger comes from the most unexpected places.

Gwen Proctor has always been willing to do anything it takes to protect her kids. But there are some things even she can’t protect them from. When a violent incident at Connor’s school brings the press to Gwen’s doorstep, she agrees to take a case out of town hoping to keep her family out of the crushing media spotlight.

The case is that of a missing girl, last seen getting into a truck with a stranger before disappearing. Gwen has a reputation for finding those who are lost, but this time something is wrong. Her instincts are off, and every clue she uncovers only raises more doubts, not just about the missing girl and the circumstances of her disappearance, but also about the fragile safety Gwen’s created for her family.

The closer she comes to uncovering the truth, the more she unwittingly puts those she loves at risk. Someone from Gwen’s past doesn’t appreciate the new life she’s built for herself and is willing to do anything it takes to tear it apart. Except this time it isn’t Gwen in the crosshairs, but her partner Sam. Without her instincts to rely on, how can Gwen protect those she loves against an enemy she never sees coming?

My Thoughts: The sixth book in the Stillhouse Lake series finds Gwen and her family settled in Knoxville. She's working as a private investigator and the kids are in school and getting older and more independent. 

However, the problems that had them moving from place to place have not ended. She will always be the former wife of a serial killer and the kids will always have him as a father. And social media trolls will always blame them for what her former husband did. 

When Connor's only friend at school brings a gun to school and shoots a couple of fellow classmates, the court of public opinion is quick to assume that Connor had something to do with what his friend did. Connor is also spending time on the dark web in chat rooms about his father trying to find out more about him and bring facts to the various discussions. He knows his mother hates his father, but he remembers the good things about his father and is very conflicted about how he should feel about him. 

Lanny would like to put it all behind her and begin to live a more normal life. She is looking forward to a college weekend visit where no one will know who her father was. But the Lost Angels website isn't willing to leave her alone and sends along threats to harm her. 

Gwen decides to take a case out of town to get Connor away from the Press that won't leave him alone. Family friend and adopted daughter Vee goes along. The case is that of a missing person - a teenage girl - who has been gone for a couple of months. Gwen isn't sure what she can do. The police did all the right things including calling in the State investigators and the FBI, but they didn't find her. 

As Gwen, Connor and Vee investigate, they find some troubling things and run afoul of some other evil people. Meanwhile, Gwen's partner Sam is having his own problems when he goes to Stillhouse Lake where the home they were forced out of and are now renting looks like it has become a crime scene. Large amounts of blood are found in the house that tests show belongs to the man who took over the Lost Angels website and has a particular grudge against Sam. But there is no body. Also Sam should have had an alibi since he was with Lanny on her college visit but someone has spoofed cameras that track license plates making it look like Sam was there when the blood was deposited. 

I like that the story is told from multiple viewpoints. I also liked that it was packed with action and danger. I'm glad that Carrie Ryan was able to take over and finish this book after Rachel Caine died of cancer. There is certainly room for more stories in the series. 

Favorite Quote:

I remind myself of what my therapist likes to tell me: sometimes you have to give people space to make bad decisions. It's the only way they'll learn how to make good ones.

But damn, it's not easy.

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

Book & Audio Review: Truly Dead by Anne Frasier

Truly Dead
Author: Anne Frasier
Narrator: Natalie Ross
Series: Elise Sandburg (Book 4)
Publication: Brilliance Audio (May 30. 2017); Thomas & Mercer (May 30. 2017)
Length: 9 hours and 14 minutes; 335 p.

Description: In award-winning author Anne Frasier’s riveting thriller Truly Dead, homicide detective Elise Sandburg returns to Savannah with her partner, profiler David Gould, to track a killer who seems eerily familiar.

When a demolition crew uncovers several bodies inside the walls of a house where serial killer Frank J. Remy once lived, the discovery sends shock waves through the Savannah Police Department.

Homicide partners Elise Sandburg and David Gould were the Savannah PD’s dream team, solving uncrackable crimes and catching killers. But their last case resulted in their termination from the squad, until the coroner calls them back to consult, unofficially, on a body found in the wall of a house once occupied by Remy, a killer Elise’s own father sent to jail—a killer who died in prison. The MO seems uncomfortably similar to that of a serial killer wreaking havoc in Florida.

Does Elise have a copycat on her hands? Is Remy’s influence reaching from beyond the grave? Or is Elise making connections where there are none? When her father warns her to back off the case, Elise’s shadowy family history threatens to swallow her once again. But whatever force is at work, she won’t rest until the killing stops.

Now at odds with everyone she cares about and forced to acknowledge her worsening emotional state, Elise struggles to protect the people she loves as the body count rises.

My Thoughts: The conclusion of the Elise Sandburg quartet was another action-packed and emotionally intense thriller. Elise and David are called back to Savannah when bodies are found entombed in the walls of a house being demolished. They learn that the house was owned by a serial killer who preyed on children and who died in prison before his execution date arrived.

As they look into the case, they find a connection with Elise's father Jackson Sweet, and they also find some questions that lead them to wanting to exhume the body. When the exhumation is crashed by armed invaders who kill the lead homicide detective, wound the mayor, and make off with the casket, Elise and David are pulled back into the Savannah police department and back on the case. 

The casket is recovered, and it is learned that the body inside is not that of the serial killer. They, and Jackson Sweet, believe that the killer is still alive, still preying on children, and consumed with getting revenge on Sweet. The killer is targeting anyone who is close to him including Elise.

The story is engaging. The characters are well-rounded people who are all variously damaged by the things that have happened in their lives. The villain is chilling and elusive. The hunt to find him is thrilling and chilling too. 

This was a great series that should be read in order. I also recommend reading it back-to-back for the full impact of the story.

Favorite Quote:

It was always a surprise to accidentally stumble upon the thoughts that broke you, that wrapped around your heart and squeezed hard. She'd found them.

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

Book Review: Abandoned in Death by J. D. Robb

Abandoned in Death
Author: J. D. Robb
Series: In Death (Book 54)
Publication: St. Martin's Press (February 8, 2022)

Description: Homicide detective Eve Dallas must untangle a twisted family history while a hostage’s life hangs in the balance—in Abandoned in Death by New York Times bestselling author J. D. Robb.

The woman’s body was found in the early morning, on a bench in a New York City playground. She was clean, her hair neatly arranged, her makeup carefully applied. But other things were very wrong—like the tattoo and piercings, clearly new. The clothes, decades out of date. The fatal wound hidden beneath a ribbon around her neck. And the note: Bad Mommy, written in crayon as if by a child.

Eve Dallas turns to the department’s top profiler, who confirms what seems obvious to Eve: They’re dealing with a killer whose childhood involved some sort of trauma—a situation Eve is all too familiar with herself. Yet the clues suggest a perpetrator who’d be roughly sixty years old, and there are no records of old crimes with a similar MO. What was the trigger that apparently reopened such an old wound and sent someone over the edge?

When Eve discovers that other young women—who physically resemble the first victim—have vanished, the clock starts ticking louder. But to solve this case she will need to find her way into a hidden place of dim light and concrete, into the distant past, and into the cold depths of a shattered mind.

My Thoughts: This episode of the Eve Dallas In Death series pits Eve against a person who is kidnapping young women, murdering them and leaving them posed with a sign saying BAD MOMMY. The rush is on to identify and track down the killer before victim number three is found dead.

The flashbacks outline the motives of the killer and the switch to victim number three's viewpoint shows what she is dealing with. 

This episode is definitely a police procedural with the investigating and gradually discovering information about the killer. It still leaves plenty of time for Eve and Roarke moments. Eve is in fine form with her misuse of idioms and snarky attitudes. It also illuminates the fact that both Eve and Roarke survived BAD MOMMYs without turning into psychopaths.

I loved Eve's interactions with her friends in this episode. She has built herself quite a support network since this series began fifty-four episodes ago. 

The mystery was engaging and twisty and kept me reading long past my bedtime. 

Favorite Quote:

"Anyway, congratulations on the grandchild thing."

The ice melted into a kind of dreamy mist. "Thank you." She lifted a framed photo from her desk. "Isn't she gorgeous?"

Eve saw what appeared to be the result of a strange mating of a trout and a very angry, possibly constipated old man. She said, "Wow."

I bought this one on publication day. You can buy your copy here.

Book & Audio Review: The Body Keeper by Anne Frasier

The Body Keeper
Author: Anne Frasier
Narrator: Emily Sutton-Smith
Series: Detective Jude Fontaine Mysteries (Book 3)
Publication: Brilliance Audio (June 4, 2019); Thomas & Mercer (June 4, 2019)
Length: 9 hours and 10 minutes; 300 p.

Description: The Thriller Award-winning series continues as Detective Jude Fontaine finds a decades-old connection to missing children that will freeze her blood.

A boy’s frozen body is found trapped in the ice of a Minneapolis lake. The horrifying discovery leads Detective Jude Fontaine and her partner, Uriah Ashby, to more bodies in the ice, all of twelve-year-old boys missing for twenty years.

Then, in one of the worst blizzards the city has ever seen, a four-year-old is abandoned on Jude’s doorstep. The child can’t tell them where he’s from, who his parents are, or how he got there. He doesn’t even know his name.

But in his unspoken language, Jude reads something horrifying - a connection to the dead boys. Now a four-year-old with no name may be the only key to a twenty-year-old, very cold case.

My Thoughts: This third book in the Jude Fontaine series begins with the discovery of a body of a child under the ice in Loring Pond and leads to a human trafficking scheme. Things get strange when it is discovered that the body might be that of a child who disappeared 20 years earlier.

Meanwhile, Jude is ignoring letters from her lawyers regarding her father's estate and Elliot is becoming more and more a part of her life. He is especially important when someone drops off a four-year-old at Jude's door who almost dies in a blizzard because visitors need to be buzzed in at her apartment building.

As Jude gets closer to the child whose only name is Boy, she finds herself opening up to let more people into her life. And when her partner Uriah has a medical emergency, she learns how much he has come to mean to her.

The story had a nicely twisty plot and engaging characters. I enjoyed the narrator too.

Favorite Quote:

Jude had this unfounded theory that once something unusual happened in your life, you became a magnet for more. There was no escaping it. 

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

Book & Audio Review: Never Look Back by Mary Burton

Never Look Back
Author: Mary Burton
Narrator: Mary Robinette Kowal
Publication: Montlake (July 1, 2020); Brilliance Audio (July 1, 2020)
Length: 337 p.; 10 hours

Description: Expect the unexpected in this gritty, tense, and page-turning mystery from New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton.

After multiple women go missing, Agent Melina Shepard of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation makes the impulsive decision to go undercover as a prostitute. While working the street, she narrowly avoids becoming a serial killer’s latest victim; as much as it pains her to admit, she needs backup.

Enter lone wolf FBI agent Jerrod Ramsey. Stonewalled by a lack of leads, he and Melina investigate a scene where a little girl has been found abandoned in a crashed vehicle. They open the trunk to reveal a horror show and quickly realize they’re dealing with two serial killers with very different MOs. The whole situation brings back memories for Melina—why does this particular case feel so connected to her painful past?

Before time runs out, Melina must catch not one but two serial killers, both ready to claim another victim—and both with their sights set on her.

My Thoughts: Tennessee Bureau of Investigations agent Melina Shepard is just helping out a friend when she has a narrow escape from a serial killer. FBI Agent Jerrod Ramsey has been following the trail of that same serial killer for quite a while and hopes the Melina's information will be the tipping point to catching the guy. 

The two of them are called to a scene which brings back a lot of Melina's past. A little girl has been found abandoned in a wrecked car. When they open the trunk, they find a pickle jar filled with severed ring fingers. Somehow, they have managed to cross paths with two different serial killers, but it seems Melina is a focus for both of them.

Melina was abandoned on the side of a dirt road when she was five. She was found and adopted by a cop and a schoolteacher. She's had a good life with her adoptive parents but hasn't been able to find out much about her past. She's had her DNA sampled but is reluctant to go further.

But it seems that her past has come to her and now she needs to unravel all of the things that happened to her in order to keep it from happening to another little girl. Meanwhile, another serial killer is determined to track her down and finish the "date" he had planned for her. 

The story was exciting and fast-paced. The narration was well-done and enhanced the mystery and suspense building throughout the story. 

Favorite Quote:

"I heard you were a real charmer," Sheriff Jones said. "What's your nickname again? I forgot."

"There are a few, but my favorite is Glinda the Good Bitch."

I bought this one in Kindle and audiobook editions. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Curse of Salem by Kay Hooper

Curse of Salem
Author: Kay Hooper
Series: A Bishop/SCU Novel (Book 20)
Publication: Berkley (December 28, 2021)

Description: New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper is back with a brand new thrilling paranormal suspense novel in the Bishop/Special Crimes Unit series.

The small town of Salem has been quiet for months—or so Bishop and his elite Special Crimes Unit believe.  But then Hollis Templeton and Diana Hayes receive a warning in Diana's eerie "gray time" between the world of the living and the realm of the dead that a twisted killer is stalking Salem, bent on destroying in the most bloody and horrifying way possible the five families that founded the town.

The stakes are high, especially for new friends Nellie Cavendish and Finn Deverell, both members of the Five, and this time Bishop and his wife Miranda will lead the team to hunt down a vicious killer and uncover a dark and ancient curse haunting Salem.

My Thoughts: This is the twentieth book in a series that began in 2000. This time Bishop, his wife Miranda, Hollis Templeton and Reese Demarco, and Diana and Quentin Hayes find themselves returning to Salem at the request of Finn Deverell who is the Chief Deputy. 

Mediums Hollis and Diana have had a vision in the gray time which indicates that a serial killer is going to be killing members of the five powerful, psychic families that control Salem. When Finn calls them in because of a farseeing by one of the Elders, they are ready to respond in numbers. 

But Salem isn't their usual scene. Psychic powers don't work as usual. There is a lot of interference that has just gotten worse since the events of HIDDEN SALEM (2020). They do have other allies in town besides Finn. Nellie Cavendish is a powerful multi-talent who is a recent arrival in town and just getting used to her considerable powers - when she isn't trying to deny them. Even the crows are useful allies.

When a man who's had a fight with his wife disappears, and then is found tortured to death, and another man is kidnapped almost immediately after the first disappearance, the team begins to think that someone is really trying to destroy member of the five families. But that doesn't make a lot of sense since about 40% of the town is related in some way to the families.

Then Hollis has another vision and a young woman named Megan Hales comes to her and tells her she was the first. This comes as a surprise because everyone thought that she had left Salem to make a new life for herself after being jilted by her fiancé shortly before their planned wedding day. Being led to her buried body by the crows turns their investigation onto a new path.

The story is filled with all kinds of paranormal abilities along with being a police procedural. It was interesting trying to figure out who the villain was and to watch the team go off in all sorts of directions until they could focus on the correct villain. 

Fans of the Bishop/SCU stories won't want to miss this latest episode. 

Favorite Quote:

"Why grab a strong telepath, mess around with some kind of injection and oxygen tanks, and then hang him out like bait on a hook?"

"To offer us a puzzle?" DeMarco suggested wryly.

"Or just to see if he could lead us around by the nose?" She sighed. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Last Scoop by R. G. Belsky

The Last Scoop
Author: R. G. Belsky
Series: Clare Carlson Mystery (Book 3)
Publication: Oceanview Publishing; None edition (May 5, 2020)

Description: The scariest kind of serial killer—one you don’t know exists

Martin Barlow was Clare Carlson's first newspaper editor, a beloved mentor who inspired her career as a journalist. But, since retiring from his newspaper job, he had become a kind of pathetic figure—railing on about conspiracies, cover-ups, and other imaginary stories he was still working on. Clare had been too busy with her own career to pay much attention to him.

When Martin Barlow is killed on the street one night during an apparent mugging attempt gone bad, it seems like he was just an old man whose time had come.

But Clare—initially out of a sense of guilt for ignoring her old friend and then because of her own journalistic instincts—begins looking into his last story idea. As she digs deeper and deeper into his secret files, she uncovers shocking evidence of a serial killer worse than Son of Sam, Ted Bundy, or any of the other infamous names in history.

This really is the biggest story of Martin Barlow's career—and Clare's, too—as she uncovers the path leading to the decades-long killer of at least twenty young women. All is not as it seems during Clare's relentless search for this serial killer. Is she setting herself up to be his next victim?

Clare Carlson is perfect for fans of Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone and Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski

My Thoughts: Clare Carlson feels guilty when her old mentor Marty Barlow is murdered. He wanted them to get together but she was always too busy. She has a full-time job as the news director for television Channel 10. He was retired but still doing some investigations. He said he had the story of a lifetime; she still couldn't find the time.

After he dies, Clare begins to look into what Marty was investigating. First off, she finds he was looking at some buildings in New York City that have a number of problems. She finds that there is mob involvement and that the Manhattan Attorney General might be letting things go on. After all, Terri Hartwell is taking the political world by storm and is likely the next mayor of NYC. 

But there's more. As she looks through Marty's computer files, she discovers a hidden file which seems to indicate that there is a secret serial killer who has been killing women for more than thirty years. It all began with a murder of a 17-year-old girl in a small town in Indiana. 

Clare brings Marty's file to one of her ex-lovers named Scott Manning who now works for the FBI. She's still in love with him but he has gone back to his wife and is trying to rebuild their relationship. Clare is noteworthy for her difficulty with relationships. After all, she has been married and divorced three times and has any number of other short term relationships in her past. 

Besides her current investigations into Marty's investigations, Clare is also dealing with a media consultant who wants to make Channel 10 a better news organization and also with the on-again-off-again romance of the two main evening news presenters. 

To add even more drama, Clare is meeting with the daughter she gave away for adoption shortly after her birth when Clare was a college freshman. Linda Nesbit is now 27 with a husband and daughter of her own. As a child, she was kidnapped and Clare's coverage of that case earned her a Pulitzer. She followed the case again when the child, now known as Linda, was found again. She keeps meeting with Linda under the guise of doing a follow-up article. She hasn't confessed that she is actually Linda's birth mother. 

The story is broken into sections which each deal with a part of this whole story. It is told from Clare's first person point-of-view. I enjoyed solving the mystery along with Clare and liked Clare as a character. I enjoyed seeing behind the scenes at news gathering organizations and seeing the changes that the internet and social media has made to the business. 

I recommend this story and the first two in the series to fans of fast-paced stories. 

Favorite Quote:

Marty used to say no story ever works out exactly the way you expect. "You pull on a thread at the beginning, and you see where it takes you," he told me once back when I was a young reporter at that newspaper in New Jersey. "Sometimes it takes you places you don't want to go," Marty said. "But that's what being a journalist us all about. Following the facts, no matter what. And then you report the story, you report the facts, whatever they turn out to be. That's the job of a journalist."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.

Book and Audio Review: Bitter Falls by Rachel Caine

Bitter Falls
Author: Rachel Caine

Narrators: Emily Sutton-Smith, Michael Crouch, Dan Jon Miller, Lauren Ezzo, Will Ropp

Series: Stillhouse Lake, Book 4
Publication: Brilliance Audio (January 21, 2020)

Length: 11 hours and 33 minutes

Description: She’s investigating a cold case no one else could - by going places no else would dare.

In spite of a harrowing past still haunting her, Gwen Proctor is trying to move forward. Until a new assignment gives her purpose: the cold-case disappearance of a young man in Tennessee. Three years missing, no clues. Just Ruth Landry, a tortured mother in limbo. Gwen understands what it’s like to worry about your children.

Gwen’s investigation unearths new suspects...and victims. As she follows each sinister lead, the implications of the mystery grow more disturbing. Because the closer Gwen gets, the closer she is to a threat that looms back home.

In a town that’s closed its ranks against Gwen; her partner, Sam; and her kids, there’s no bolder enemy than the Belldene family - paramilitary, criminal, powerful, and vengeful. As personal vendettas collide with Gwen’s investigation, she’s prepared to fight both battles. But is she prepared for the toll it could take on everyone she loves?

My Thoughts: Gwen Proctor is trying to make a new life for herself. As the wife of a serial killer who has become a target for all sorts of creeps on the internet who can't believe she didn't know anything about her ex-husband's crimes, Gwen faces all sorts of harassment. Luckily, she has a job as a private investigator and a boss who believes in her. 

Her children Lanny and Connor also face a lot of harassment. Both are bullied at school. Things come to a head during an active shooter drill when the school admin is crazy enough to play sounds of gunshots and Connor suffers a PTSD episode and manages to break the jaw of one of the school bullies who was trying to get him to move. 

The broken-jawed bully happens to be related to the Belldenes who are the local drug dealers and who have a lot of influence in town. They pressure Gwen to move away immediately because her notoriety is bringing too much publicity and scrutiny that they fear will spill over onto their activities.

Lanny sneaks out of the house with her friend Vee to attend a party and finds herself in the middle of a scene where another local drug dealer has attacked a girl who owed him money. The dealer works for the Belldenes and now wants Lanny dead too. This adds to the pressure from the Belldenes to get Gwen and her family out of town.

Meanwhile, Gwen is working on a very cold case about the disappearance of a college student named Remy Landry. The young man's been gone for three years but someone has hired the agency she works for to look for him again. Gwen's investigation leads to a crazy cult related to the cult they already disrupted in Wolfhunter. And when the cultists kidnap her partner Sam and son Connor, Gwen has to find a woman who was involved with the missing college student before the cultists kill the ones she loves.

The story is told from multiple viewpoints: Gwen, Sam, Connor and Lanny. It is narrated by four people who each portray one of the viewpoint characters and who do a wonderful time elucidating their personalities and ramping up the tension in the story. The story was exciting and filled with action and with tension. It was an excellent story and very well narrated.  

Favorite Quote:

The internet enables and organizes hate very effectively; it lets people believe they're righteous warriors for justice when in reality they're just clicking keys. All the emotional hit of adrenaline, none of the risk.

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

Book and Audio Review: The Bone Jar by S. W. Kane

The Bone Jar
Author: S W Kane
Narrator: Matthew Lloyd Davies
Series: Detective Lew Kirby (Book 1)
Publication: Thomas & Mercer (July 1, 2020)
Length: 327 p.; 9 hours and 3 minutes

Description: Two murders. An abandoned asylum. Will a mysterious former patient help untangle the dark truth?

The body of an elderly woman has been found in the bowels of a derelict asylum on the banks of the Thames. As Detective Lew Kirby and his partner begin their investigation, another body is discovered in the river nearby. How are the two murders connected?

Before long, the secrets of Blackwater Asylum begin to reveal themselves. There are rumours about underground bunkers and secret rooms, unspeakable psychological experimentation, and a dark force that haunts the ruins, trying to pull back in all those who attempt to escape. Urban explorer Connie Darke, whose sister died in a freak accident at the asylum, is determined to help Lew expose its grisly past. Meanwhile Lew discovers a devastating family secret that threatens to turn his life upside down.

As his world crumbles around him, Lew must put the pieces of the puzzle together to keep the killer from striking again. Only an eccentric former patient really knows the truth—but will he reveal it to Lew before it’s too late?

My Thoughts: This first book in the Detective Lew Kirby series has him trying to figure out who killed an elderly retired nurse and left her body in the abandoned ward she supervised in the Blackwater Asylum.

The case has Kirby looking into events that happened more than 50 years earlier. Who wanted Ena Massey dead? And, how did they get her into the abandoned asylum. Kirby interviews a former patient who has been squatting in a caretaker's cottage on the grounds long enough to have earned squatter's rights. He also interviews the developer who wants to turn the property into luxury living spaces and those he has hired to guard the grounds. 

Kirby learns that there are a number of urban explorers who have made all sorts of visits to the Blackwater Asylum over the years including one young woman whose sister died there accidentally some five years earlier. Connie Darke has wanted to find out who was with her sister ever since the accident happened. She and her sister's boyfriend Ed are trying to solve that mystery when Ed himself goes missing. 

Then there is the adjoining property that was recently inherited by an heir from Australia who also has ties to the events at Blackwater Asylum.

While juggling his investigation, Kirby is also dealing with some problem that his mother is having that he fears is early-onset dementia. 

The story is nicely twisty and told from a variety of viewpoints including Kirby, Connie Darke, and Raymond who is the former patient turned landowner. As I listened and read this one, I was impressed by the variations and accents that Matthew Lloyd Davies used. I was also glad that I could follow along or check on parts of the story in the Kindle book because I'll admit that this Minnesota gal had trouble understanding some of the accents. 

Favorite Quote:

Over the years, Raymond had developed a strong sixth sense: trespassers, unwanted visitors, urban explorers, vandals, whatever you wanted to call them--he always knew when they were here. Over the past few months, however, someone else had been visiting regularly, and he'd seen them again last night.

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

ARC Review: Shadows of the Dead by Spencer Kope

Shadows of the Dead
Author: Spencer Kope
Series: Special Tracking Unit (Book 3)
Publication: Minotaur Books (August 25, 2020)

Description: The best tracker in the world, a man with a secret and a special set of skills, must find two nearly untraceable killers before time runs out for their victims, in Spencer Kope's Shadows of the Dead.

A woman―abducted and found in the trunk of a car after a high-speed chase―regains consciousness in the ICU to reveal two crucial pieces of information: the man who kidnapped her is not the same as the man who left her in the woods, and she's not the first victim―in fact, she is number eight.

Magnus “Steps” Craig is part of the elite three-man Special Tracking Unit of the FBI. Known for his ability to find and follow trails over any surface, Steps is called in on cases that require his unparalleled skills. But there’s a secret to his talent. Steps has a kind of synesthesia where he can see the ‘essence’ of a person―what he calls ‘shine’―on everything they’ve touched.

Brought in to track the driver through a dense forest after the blood hounds have lost his trail, Steps and his partner Jimmy find the driver laughing maniacally, babbling about souls, and hiding a pristinely maintained box of eight posed rats. Now the Special Tracking Unit must chase two villains―through not just the real world, but the dark web as well―tracking an enemy they can't see, as time runs out for the unknown victims.

My Thoughts: This is the third mystery starring Magnus "Steps" Craig and his partner Jimmy Donovan. Together they are two parts of a special FBI unit that is called in when someone needs to be found. Steps almost died when he was eight and was revived only to discover that he has an unusual power. He can see something unique about where a person has been and what he has touched. Each person makes a unique path that Steps calls Shine. They are keeping Steps' power a secret.

They are called in to track down a man when a woman is found bound in his trunk. They discover the man which only begins the mystery. The man has a mental illness which makes him delusional. He keeps talking about his partner - the Onion King - who lets him help with his kidnappings. He also tells them that the girl in the trunk is number eight. They aren't at all sure what is real and what is part of the man's delusions - until the girl wakes up and confirms that she was kidnapped by another man and left in the forest for our delusional character to find. 

Our delusional man is identified as Murphy Haze Cotton and, in the course of searching his home, a diorama of rats who are all wearing masks is discovered. Further investigation leads to an isolated cabin which is also a repository for mannequins in masks and a location where the remnants of bodies dissolved in lye are spread.

Steps and Jimmy along with a variety of police officers from a number of jurisdictions are in a rush to identify the missing women who were used to create the masks and track down the elusive Onion King. The case becomes even more urgent when another young woman disappears.

This was an entertaining story with a unique detective. I thought it was well-paced and exciting. 

Favorite Quote:

Criminal investigations are a bit like playing Ping-Pong in the dark with marshmallows; no one ever knows the score and you spend half your time searching for the marshmallows.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh

A Madness of Sunshine
Author: Nalini Singh
Publication: Berkley (December 3, 2019)

Description: New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh welcomes you to a remote town on the edge of the world where even the blinding brightness of the sun can’t mask the darkness that lies deep within a killer.…

On the rugged West Coast of New Zealand, Golden Cove is more than just a town where people live. The adults are more than neighbors; the children, more than schoolmates.

That is until one fateful summer—and several vanished bodies—shatters the trust holding Golden Cove together. All that’s left are whispers behind closed doors, broken friendships, and a silent agreement to not look back. But they can’t run from the past forever.

Eight years later, a beautiful young woman disappears without a trace, and the residents of Golden Cove wonder if their home shelters something far more dangerous than an unforgiving landscape.

It’s not long before the dark past collides with the haunting present and deadly secrets come to light.

My Thoughts: Anahera, betrayed by her husband and life in London, returns home to the beautiful West Coast of New Zealand that she ran from as a teen. She's temporarily abandoned her career as a pianist and wants to reconnect with her roots and old friends.

Will has also found at least a temporary refuge in Golden Cove too. He was a decorated police officer until things happened that almost destroyed him. He finds himself the sole police officer for the town and gradually getting to know the locals.

When a beautiful young woman with a bright future goes missing, everyone is a suspect. While the town rallies to search the the tangled bush and dangerous sea, Will tries to unearth long buried secrets. The disappearance reminds many of a time some years ago when three young female hikers disappeared from the area. Their cases have never been solved and were declared accidents at the time. Will starts to think that there is a serial killer in town - someone who has been under the radar for years.

I enjoyed the beautiful but dangerous setting for the story. I liked getting to know Ana and her childhood friends who all happen to be back in town. I liked the slow growing relationship between Will and Ana - two people who had both been hurt and who weren't looking for a new relationship.

The plot was well-developed as were the many intriguing characters. I liked that Ana and many of the characters were Maori. I have enjoyed the author's writing in other genres and was glad to find that she was also excellent at writing romantic thrillers.

Favorite Quote:

She was aware of Will coming up behind her, a large solid presence, and suddenly her body, which had been in deep freeze for seven months, decided to wake up. It liked the smell of this cop, liked the look of him, liked those moody eyes and the way he was hunting so hard for a girl many in his position would've forgotten.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Nothing Stays Buried by P. J. Tracy

Nothing Stays Buried
Author: P. J. Tracy
Series: Monkeewrench (Book 8)
Publication: G.P. Putnam's Sons (August 1, 2017)

Description: The Monkeewrench crew returns to face the city of Minneapolis’s worst nightmare—a rampant serial killer on the loose—in this electrifying thriller from the author of The Sixth Idea.

When Minneapolis homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth are called to a crime scene in a heavily wooded city park, everything about the setting is all too familiar. And when they discover a playing card on the victim's body, their worst fears are confirmed—there’s a serial killer operating in the city for the first time in years.

Across town, Grace MacBride and her unconventional partners at Monkeewrench Software find themselves at both personal and career crossroads. Weary of the darker side of their computer work for law enforcement, they agree to take on a private missing-persons case in a small farming community in southwestern Minnesota.

As the violence accelerates in Minneapolis, Magozzi and Gino soon realize their killer is planning to complete the deck, and they enlist Monkeewrench to help stop the rampage. As a baffling tangle of evidence accumulates, the cops and Monkeewrench make the unlikely connections among a farmer’s missing daughter, a serial killer, and a decades-old stabbing that brings them face-to-face with pure evil.

My Thoughts: There is a new serial killer terrorizing Minneapolis. His victims are brunettes who are running in parks. He leaves a playing card on his victims' bodies. Magozzi and Rolseth catch the case of the latest victim in Minneapolis. But he's also committing crimes in St. Paul.

Meanwhile, the Monkeewrench gang has decided to take a more personal case and look into the disappearance of a young woman from a small town in rural Minnesota. Strangely enough, these cases come together by way of drug cartels and long-past friendships and crimes.

I liked that Grace and Magozzi's relationship is getting closer now that Grace is nearly six months pregnant. I liked the Minnesota setting. I liked that some of the danger in the book come from Minnesota weather and summer tornadoes.

Favorite Quote:

As she had learned these past few years, things changed - life, people, animals - all without your permission, no matter how zealously you fought to maintain supreme control. 

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

ARC Review: Cold Woods by Karen Katchur

Cold Woods
Author: Karen Katchur
Series: Northampton County (Book 2)
Publication: Thomas & Mercer (August 13, 2019)

Description: Buried bones of the past rise to the surface in this chilling mystery from the bestselling author of River Bodies.

When the long-buried bones of a man turn up in the middle of December, Pennsylvania homicide detective Parker Reed knows he’s in for a cold case.

Trisha and her friends were teenagers when Trisha’s stepdad went missing. Now, thirty years later, his remains have been found in the mountains. The women have always known there was more to his disappearance than meets the eye, and they must confront their grim past. Secrets can stay secret a long time in the lonely Appalachian foothills—but not forever.

When Parker and his partner identify the remains, their investigation leads them to Trisha’s childhood home. But the deeper Parker digs into the crime, the more he realizes that the truth isn’t always simple. In fact, it’s so complicated that even Trisha and her friends don’t fully understand what really happened in those cold woods.

My Thoughts: Homicide detective Parker Reed is called in when the long-buried bones of a man are discovered in the Pennsylvania woods. He gets the call because he's his lieutenant's last choice. He's still dealing with the trauma of an earlier case.

Meanwhile Trisha Haines has fled her husband and life in Las Vegas to come home for the funeral of the mother of one of her best friends. She wants to try to rebuild relationships with her mother and the best friends she hasn't seen since the Spring of her Senior year.

When they bones are identified as Lester Haines - Trisha's stepfather, Parker is busy trying to find out what happened thirty years ago. We, however, have a pretty good idea because the story flashes back to the 1980s and tells how Trisha met her friends Carlyn and Dannie and what happened to Trisha's low-life stepfather. But maybe our idea is wrong...

We do know that Trisha was sexually abused by her stepfather and that abuse colored her self-image such that she looked for a husband who would continue on the abuse. We know that Trisha has carried the belief that she caused her stepfather's death. But, why are the police focusing more on her mother? And what secrets are her friends and their mothers holding close?

This was an engaging and twisty thriller. The characters were interesting and well-rounded - also, damaged in various ways. I enjoyed the story with all its twists.

Favorite Quote:

The only clue Parker could ascertain that she was nervous was from the way she gripped the leather case in her lap. "There are very few surprises in life. Wouldn't you agree?" she asked Geena.

Geena didn't answer her one way or the other.

"People surprise the hell out of me every single day," Parker said.

The corners of Carlyn's lips turned up slightly.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Hide and Seek by Mary Burton

Hide and Seek
Author: Mary Burton
Series: Criminal Profiler Novel
Publication: Montlake Romance (April 23, 2019)

Description: She’s hunting. He’s watching.

Special Agent Macy Crow is a survivor. After a vicious hit-and-run nearly kills her, she gets right back to work, and now she’s gunning for a spot on the FBI’s elite profiling team. As an audition, she offers to investigate the recently discovered bones of Tobi Turner, a high school girl who disappeared fifteen years ago.

While investigating with local sheriff Mike Nevada, a former colleague and onetime lover, Macy discovers a link between Tobi’s case and several others that occurred around the same time as her disappearance. As Macy interviews victims and examines old cases, she uncovers a sinister picture of a stalker who graduated to sexual assault—and then murder.

Macy and Nevada race to put this monster behind bars before he can come out of hiding. But the murderer’s had years to hone his skills, and soon Macy herself becomes a target. She’s no stranger to pain and terror, but will Macy’s first profiling case be her last?

My Thoughts: This first book in the new Criminal Profiler series stars FBI Agent Macy Crow who is still recovering from almost dying in a hit-and-run accident. She has spent some time during her recovery deep in an FBI basement doing computer work. When she is given a chance to become part of a new group, she is eager to prove that she is back and ready to work active cases again.

Macy is sent to Deep Run, Virginia, where she reconnects with Sheriff Mike Nevada who had come back home after burning out on harrowing FBI cases and run for sheriff because he was so disgusted that the current sheriff had let years of rape kits pile up without testing them. Testing them has revealed that the same man was involved with at least three of the cases but his DNA is not on file anywhere.

When the bones are discovered of a teenage girl who disappeared fifteen years earlier, Macy and Nevada are pretty sure that they have a serial killer in their town. As they investigate, old secrets are unearthed. Chapters from the murderer/rapist were quite chilling.

There is a possible paranormal twist as Macy has recurring dreams of another teenage girl who disappeared at the same time. Macy is concerned that her own near-death experience might have done something to her mind.

I liked getting the backstory of Macy and learning how she came to be the person she is. She was an intriguing, driven woman. I liked Mike Nevada too. Both are gifted investigators. I am quite curious to know where this series will be going next because I enjoyed the writing style and strong characters.

Favorite Quote:

A rape rarely lasted beyond the event for a rapist. But for his victim, the trauma could linger for a lifetime. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Wolfhunter River by Rachel Caine

Wolfhunter River
Author: Rachel Caine
Series: Stillhouse Lake (Book 3)
Publication: Thomas & Mercer (April 23, 2019)

Description: She can’t ignore a cry for help. But in this remote hunting town, it’s open season.

Gwen Proctor escaped her serial-killer husband and saved her family. What she can’t seem to outrun is his notoriety. Or the sick internet vigilantes still seeking to avenge his crimes. For Gwen, hiding isn’t an option. Not when her only mission is to create a normal life for her kids.

But now, a threatened woman has reached out. Marlene Crockett, from the remote town of Wolfhunter, is panicked for herself and her daughter. When Gwen arrives in the small, isolated rural community, Marlene is already dead—her own daughter blamed for the murder. Except that’s not the person Marlene feared at all. And Gwen isn’t leaving until she finds out who that was.

But it may already be too late. A trap has been set. And it’s poised to snap shut on everyone Gwen loves. Her stalkers are closing in. And in a town as dark as Wolfhunter, it’s so easy for them to hide…

My Thoughts: WOLFHUNTER RIVER was an appalling and pulse-pounding thriller. Gwen Proctor managed to escape from her serial killer husband Melvin Royal. She is trying to make a new, safe life for her kids Lanny and Connor, but she has been convicted of being his accomplice by the court of public opinion. She faces daily harassment from online bullies of all descriptions.

Her main nemesis is Miranda Nelson Tidewell. She is wealthy and obsessed with the idea that Gwen was involved in the death of her daughter. She is using her money currently to fund a documentary which will bring everything back to public awareness and encourage a new round of hateful fanatics. Gwen's boyfriend Sam was once a supporter of Miranda and her agenda. They joined forces when Sam's sister was identified as one of Melvin's victims. However, getting to know Gwen has enabled him to realize how wrong he was about her. He hasn't confessed his role in Gwen's harassment though.

Gwen has been getting something of an underground reputation for being able to help other women in her sort of situation. When she gets a call from a woman in Wolfhunter River, she thinks this is another one of those calls. But the woman is too frightened to tell her what is going on. The next time the phone rings from that number, it is the woman's fifteen-year-old daughter Vee who says she's standing over her mother's dead body and that she is afraid that "they" will be coming for her next.

Needing to get away from Stillhouse Lake while the documentary is being filmed there, Gwen, Sam, Lanny and Connor head to Wolfhouse River to see if they can help Vera. They find a town steeped in secrets. Young women are missing, the police are obviously corrupt, and assorted other villains are gathering there. And in the background is the possibility that six-year-old kidnapping victim Ellie White might be somewhere in the area.

The tension and suspense seemed to build with every turn of the page. I loved that the viewpoint shifted from Gwen, to Sam, to Lanny, and to Connor. I loved that there was no complete resolution to Gwen's problems. She'll always be under suspicion from some people regarding whether or not she had a part in Melvin Royal's killing spree. She and Sam have a lot of trust to rebuild after she learns of his involvement with Miranda's hate campaign against her. I do like the strong family that they are building though.

Favorite Quote:

"I look forward to the day someone destroys those children the way Melvin destroyed mine. Then I can rest, because the last trace of Melvin Royal will be gone from this earth."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Whispers of the Dead by Spencer Kope

Whispers of the Dead
Author: Spencer Kope
Series: Special Tracking Unit (Book 2)
Publication: Minotaur Books (April 17, 2018)

Description: A series of bizarre murders―the victims nearly unidentifiable―forces FBI tracker “Steps” Craig to match wits with the most cold-blooded killer he’s ever encountered.

There has been a murder, but not only is the identity of the victim unknown, most of the body itself is missing. All that’s been found is a pair of feet, stored in a portable cooler, and left in the house of a Federal judge in El Paso, Texas. The killer apparently broke into the judge’s house, left his grizzly message, and disappeared without a trace. With no clues as to the killer, the person killed, or the intent behind the cooler, all the authorities really know is that this likely isn’t the killer’s first―or his last―victim.

Magnus “Steps” Craig is an FBI agent and an elite tracker, easily the best in the world. Steps is renowned for his incredible ability to find and follow trails over any surface. As part of the three-man special team, FBI’s Special Tracking Unit (STU), he is called in on cases where his skills are indispensable. But there’s a secret to his skill. Steps has a kind of synesthesia, an ability that allows him to see whatever each particular person has touched in a unique color―what Steps calls ‘shine.’ His ability is known to only a few people―his father, the director of the FBI, and his partner, Special Agent Jimmy Donovan.

While the Special Tracking Unit tries to grapple with the gruesome scene in El Paso, they soon discover another, earlier victim. Once again, only the feet―in a disposable icebox―were left behind. With almost no clues besides the body parts, Steps and his team find themselves enmeshed in the most difficult case of their careers. And The Icebox Killer has only just begun.

My Thoughts: The latest case for Steps Craig and his partner Jimmy Donovan is a puzzler. They are called to El Paso because a Federal Judge has found a cooler with feet in it in his living room. Steps sees everyone in different colors which is very helpful in his investigations but needs to be kept secret. He can use his ability to see the shine of a killer and, by seeing the shine on multiple victims, know if the killer is a serial killer. However, his ability isn't evidence that can lead to a court conviction so he and his partner need to find conventional evidence too.

The first pair of feet leads to another pair of feet this time in the home of a defense attorney. Steps and Jimmy spend a lot of time on their Gulfstream jet traveling between crime sites. Their office assistant Diane holds down the fort at their home location in Washington State and is a computer guru who tracks down all sorts of evidence for them from State and Federal databases. Very few people know about Steps's special ability and Diane isn't one of them though she is getting suspicious.

Despite Steps's special ability which can only be muted by special lead crystal glasses and which causes massive headaches, Jimmy and Steps still need to do the ordinary police work of knocking on doors and traveling up and down I-10 from Texas to Albuquerque to follow the path of the killer they have nicknamed the Ice Box Killer.

What I enjoyed most about this book was the friendship between Steps and Jimmy and the way they work so well together. I also liked seeing Steps's relationship with journalist Heather growing. I thought the fact that he wrote her letters was romantic. I also liked that he felt that it was time to tell her about his special ability but couldn't quite bring himself to do it.

The writing was engaging as it was told by Steps who has a number of interesting personality quirks. The action was fast-paced. The mystery itself was nicely done with clues and motives gradually revealed. I recommend this series. Start with COLLECTING THE DEAD to get the whole story but this one does stand alone quite well.

Favorite Quote:

I'm not interested in the ice box; I'm keeping my distance. Styrofoam freaks me out. I don't know why, it just does. I have issues, okay?

The only thing that freaks me out as much as Styrofoam is your standard everyday forest. Anytime large numbers of deciduous and evergreen trees start milling about together, you know it can't end well.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

First Paragraph/Teaser Tuesday: Whispers of the Dead by Spencer Kope

Every Tuesday Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posted the first paragraph of a book she is reading or planning to read. In 2018, Vicki from I'd Rather Be at the Beach is taking over this meme.

Here's mine:

Darkness -- nearly complete.

Overwhelmed and surrounded, a single incandescent bulb pushes back defiantly against the stygian black. Its feeble light barely reaches through the emptiness, but what illumination it brings reveals the length of a man secured horizontally to a low bench with leather straps and restraints.

 

Link up here. It is very easy to play along:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

Here's mine:

"Go ahead and collect all the police tape," Jimmy tells the officer. "Close down the crime scene; we're done here."

This week I am reading Whispers of the Dead by Spencer Kope. I got this eARC from NetGalley. Here is the description from Amazon:

A series of bizarre murders―the victims nearly unidentifiable―forces FBI tracker “Steps” Craig to match wits with the most cold-blooded killer he’s ever encountered.

There has been a murder, but not only is the identity of the victim unknown, most of the body itself is missing. All that’s been found is a pair of feet, stored in a portable cooler, and left in the house of a Federal judge in El Paso, Texas. The killer apparently broke into the judge’s house, left his grizzly message, and disappeared without a trace. With no clues as to the killer, the person killed, or the intent behind the cooler, all the authorities really know is that this likely isn’t the killer’s first―or his last―victim.

Magnus “Steps” Craig is an FBI agent and an elite tracker, easily the best in the world. Steps is renowned for his incredible ability to find and follow trails over any surface. As part of the three-man special team, FBI’s Special Tracking Unit (STU), he is called in on cases where his skills are indispensable. But there’s a secret to his skill. Steps has a kind of synesthesia, an ability that allows him to see whatever each particular person has touched in a unique color―what Steps calls ‘shine.’ His ability is known to only a few people―his father, the director of the FBI, and his partner, Special Agent Jimmy Donovan.

While the Special Tracking Unit tries to grapple with the gruesome scene in El Paso, they soon discover another, earlier victim. Once again, only the feet―in a disposable icebox―were left behind. With almost no clues besides the body parts, Steps and his team find themselves enmeshed in the most difficult case of their careers. And The Icebox Killer has only just begun.

ARC Review: Killman Creek by Rachel Caine

Killman Creek
Author: Rachel Caine
Series: Stillhouse Lake Series (Book 2)
Publication: Thomas & Mercer (December 12, 2017)

Description: Every time Gwen closed her eyes, she saw him in her nightmares. Now her eyes are open, and he’s not going away.

Gwen Proctor won the battle to save her kids from her ex-husband, serial killer Melvin Royal, and his league of psychotic accomplices. But the war isn’t over. Not since Melvin broke out of prison. Not since she received a chilling text…

You’re not safe anywhere now.

Her refuge at Stillhouse Lake has become a trap. Gwen leaves her children in the protective custody of a fortified, well-armed neighbor. Now, with the help of Sam Cade, brother of one of Melvin’s victims, Gwen is going hunting. She’s learned how from one of the sickest killers alive.

But what she’s up against is beyond anything she feared—a sophisticated and savage mind game calculated to destroy her. As trust beyond her small circle of friends begins to vanish, Gwen has only fury and vengeance to believe in as she closes in on her prey. And sure as the night, one of them will die.

My Thoughts: The story begun in STILLHOUSE LAKE comes to its heart-pounding conclusion in this book. Gwen has survived the trap set by her serial killer ex-husband but the safety that she found for herself and her children has been destroyed. She is no longer the meek, ignorant young wife who was unaware of her husband's crimes. But is she strong enough to finally take down the man who is haunting her life and threatening her children?

Gwen is going hunting for her ex-husband. Assisting her her is Sam Cade, who sister was her husband's final victim. He, too, has a strong motive to find and destroy Melvin Royal. Sam and Gwen are starting a romance but it isn't easy because Sam is just beginning to trust the woman he thought was her husband's accomplice.

The power of social media is a strong presence in this book. Gwen and her kids are targets of internet trolls and have been since her husband's crimes were discovered. Part of the story has Sam and Gwen trying to track down Absalom who first seemed to help Gwen when she was trying to start a new life but who was revealed as a minion of her ex-husband. Now Gwen and Sam learn that Absalom's internet harassment is only the tip of iceberg that hides child porn, blackmail, and snuff films in its depths.

This story is told from four points of view. Gwen, Sam, Lanny, and Connor all tell the story in their own chapters. Lanny and Connor both have interesting points of view. Lanny knows that her father is a murderer but she still remembers times when he was just "dad." Connor is even more conflicted. He was only seven when his father's crimes were revealed. He has even stronger memories of good times with his father. He now has a cellphone that he can use to contact his father which he has to keep secret from his mother and Lanny. He also knows that his father is a murderer but is still looking for a way to connect with his father.

This was an excellent thriller packed with action and dangerous situations. I was especially moved when videos surfaced that showed Gwen complicit in Melvin's crimes and which her children and Sam believed. Gwen was even more isolated after they were revealed and even more determined to kill Melvin and protect her children.

Read STILLHOUSE LAKE first and then read this excellent conclusion to the story.

Favorite Quote:

"Of course I want to go back," Gwen says, then takes a deep breath. "But I can't, can I? If I don't fight for my kids and protect them now, how can I ever look them in they eyes again? He's going to come for them. And I need to be in his way when he does."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.