Archives for October 2024

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

A violent storm erupts over the small town of Kearny, bringing a devastating mudslide. Amongst the debris, the worn threads of a child’s blanket, hides the body of a young girl, her long dark hair matted with the fallen earth that killed her.

When the rescue team find rope marks around the ankles of the teenage girl, they call in Detective Delaney Pace. Fourteen-year-old Marilyn Littlewolf went missing five years ago after moving to Kearny from a local reservation. Fearing she was dead, nobody expected Marilyn to ever come home. So where has she been? And why is her body covered in bruises?

Delaney thinks Marilyn was held captive in the mountains that tower above the town, but with acres of remote wilderness to search, the investigation seems impossible. Diving into Marilyn’s case, one name stands out that makes her blood turn cold as ice: her friend and longstanding babysitter to her two adopted daughters, Skeeter Rawlins.

Racing to his home, she finds it in disarray, it’s clear he left in a hurry. In disbelief, Delaney takes in the empty whisky bottles and wonders if she was wrong to trust her reliable old friend with her darling girls?

As evidence piles up against Skeeter, Delaney’s heart shatters when another girl is reported missing. Tracing her to a remote cabin deep in the woods, she fears she’s about to finally uncover the truth about her once-trusted friend. But when she bursts into the disheveled shack nothing could have prepared her for what she finds. Was she wrong to suspect Skeeter as the twisted mind behind the missing girls? And is she already too late to save another innocent life?

A thrilling ride of mystery, terror and deceit! Hutchins keeps making Delaney Pace better with each book! When she first came on the pages she was haunted by the past and heart set on finding answers and retreating. She never expected to give her heart to her newly made family in such a deep way, and the depth she’s grown as a person while doing so is shining bright. This particular case hits a little too close to home and involves so many secrets and lies that keep sending her in various directions. I was hooked from the very start and enchanted until the end. I love Delaney and can’t wait to see what’s in store next with the secrets revealed at the end! Well developed storyline, relatable characters and plenty of drama to sink our teeth into. Loved it!

I highly recommend this book as well as the rest of the series to anyone that loves a strong female police lead who works diligently to bring the criminals to justice and keep those close to her safe.