There is something about this series that has me really hooked.
It could be the main character, Detective Ellie Reeves, or the other recurring characters, all of who add massively to the stories.
It could be the setting, a small town at the start of the Appalachian Trail, with its unique inhabitants and visitors.
Or it could be the well thought out, well written crimes.
It’s probably a combination of all of those things.
This book starts like a Stephen King story. A flash back to 30 years ago, a little girl hiding whilst she witnesses her mother being murdered. The killer finding her and taking her away.
Back to today and it’s Spring Break and all the madness it brings. A group of teenagers carrying out a TikTok challenge to film themselves in an abandoned “haunted” house.
The house is an old Orphanage with a bad reputation. When something spooks them they make a run for it but one girl falls into a pit. The pit is full of human bones, but how long have they been there.
Unsure weather this is a historic case, or even if it’s a crime scene Ellie is moved off the case when a very recent murder victim is found.
A woman has been the victim of a horrific murder, and she has had rough sex recently. In another twist the team dig into her past and can’t be sure the rough sex and the murder are part of the same crime.
The story follows the investigations into both crimes, and more as they happen. Inevitably the investigators start to wonder if there’s a link.
If there is, how long has this killer been active, and how many victims are there.
Rita Herron is one of those authors I wait for. I’m lucky enough to be able to read the books before they are published. When the notification pops up to say one of her books is available it goes straight to the top of my TBR list and is always the next book to be read.
I think that speaks volumes.
Print length 460 pages. Audio book 8 hours 58 minutes Narrator Tanya Eby. Publisher Bookouture. Available now.