Ratings1
Average rating5
Looking down at the familiar, pale and lifeless face floating in the salty waters of the marsh, her blood freezes. It’s a face she hasn’t seen for years, but used to know so well…
When Detective Casey White is called to a murder scene in the Outer Banks saltmarshes, she’s devastated to find the strangled body of her ex-husband—father of her missing daughter Hannah. And nearby, an older, unidentifiable body is buried too… but how are these bones linked to her ex?
Painful memories flood back as Casey desperately searches his apartment, surrounded by photos of them happy with their little girl. Finding a notepad with the name of the hospital where Hannah was last seen scrawled on it, Casey realizes her ex recently discovered something about their child’s disappearance. But who was trying to silence him?
Then forensics show the bones belong to a sweet young nurse who worked at the same hospital. Delving into hospital records, Casey is shocked to learn she once held Hannah as a little baby…
Her boss insists she can’t work such a personal investigation, but Casey is in too deep. Interviewing all the staff at the hospital, she’s sure one of the doctors is acting suspiciously… and that night, Casey wakes up barely able to breathe as flames devour her home.
Now she’s in the killer’s sights. To finally catch this twisted monster and learn what happened to her stolen girl, Casey will have to risk everything…
An absolutely unputdownable thriller that will have you gasping at the twists and turns. Fans of Karin Slaughter, Lisa Gardner and Robert Dugoni will be completely addicted.
Reviews with the most likes.
A Finale. Without going too deep into spoiler territory, by the end of this book the long-running mythos surrounding Detective White achieves a resolution - and not only that, but several other character arcs seem to be wrapped up as well. So much so that this book ends feeling like a series finale - until you hit the author note at the back, confirming that the author is working on the next book in this series. Which means that this book isn't so much series finale as “season” finale, and I for one can't wait to see what else the author cooks up from here.
As to this particular tale, yet again Spangler manages to craft a fairly inventive way to murder, and yet again the mystery here is quite wide ranging and explosive - and based on at least one real world situation that I am aware of, that went on at least as long before it was detected. (Though to be clear, I am not aware of any murders happening in the real world variant to preserve the secret... though it is at least theoretically possible.)
But the real stars of this series are White and her team, and here they yet again step up and provide much of what makes this series so great. Yes, Spangler is solid on the mysteries and murders, but it is in this part, in developing the entire cast of characters and their relationships, that Spangler truly excels and indeed (possibly arguably) overcomes the limitations and perceptions of this genre. Very much recommended.
Featured Series
11 primary booksDetective Casey White is a 11-book series with 11 primary works first released in 2020 with contributions by B.R. Spangler.