I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.
The Girl Who Lied by Shannon Hollinger Series: Chief Maggie Riley #1
Published by Bookouture on August 2, 2023
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Rain hammers the earth and a vicious wind rattles the trees. Then lightning strikes, the flash illuminating a young girl staggering out of the woods, her brown eyes wide with fright, a silent scream on her lips…
There’s a storm approaching the tiny Maine town of Coyote Cove when Chief Maggie Riley comes across the body of a man, blood seeping from stab wounds into the damp forest floor. As she desperately struggles to secure the evidence before the rain hits, Heather, a local teenage girl, emerges from the woods, shivering and unable to talk.
Maggie, once a high flying big-city detective, lost everything when her four-year-old brother went missing five years ago. Heart-broken, she’s never stopped searching for him: but now she is plunged back into the world she left behind.
The victim, Maggie discovers, knew secrets about everyone in isolated Coyote Cove. It seems there are more local suspects in this case than people she can rule out. And with Heather still traumatised, Maggie struggles to unravel her strange appearance at the crime scene. Until, following a faint, bloody trail deep into the forest, she’s horrified to unearth what the terrified girl’s been hiding…
But when Heather is kidnapped, the battle to identify the killer becomes a race to save an innocent girl’s life. And with the whole town terrified, Maggie is shocked to uncover that this twisted killer is much closer to home than she’d ever imagined. Battling her own demons and memories of her missing brother, how far will Maggie have to go to save Heather? Or will another innocent young life be lost forever...?
Twisty and addictive! I’ll admit, I had a slow start with this book and still am not sure that I like the author’s overly descriptive prose, but as the characters began to develop and we got into the heart of the scene I was really swept away and hooked until the end. I’m going to reserve judgement until I try out book two to see if the writing style is for sure for me. Sometimes too much description of scenes and characters comes across as long-winded rather than beneficial, so I have to see how the next book makes me feel.
Maggie is a strong character that was quick to keep me reading to see what her secrets were and whether she would solve this wily crime. I liked that she was good-hearted at the same time as being aware and skeptical of trusting.
I recommend this book to anyone that likes a bit of a diabolical thriller that takes you in several directions at once before finally revealing the truth.
