Release date: February 11, 2020
Publisher: Minotaur
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Blurb:
Unable to trust his family with the details of his personal investigation, Reed enlists his friend, suspended cop Ellery Hathaway, to join his quest in Vegas. Ellery has experience with both troubled families and diabolical murderers, having narrowly escaped from each of them. She’s eager to skip town, too, because her own father, who abandoned her years ago, is suddenly desperate to get back in contact. He also has a secret that could change her life forever, if Ellery will let him close enough to hear it.
Far from home and relying only on each other, Reed and Ellery discover young Camilla had snared the attention of dangerous men, any of whom might have wanted to shut her up for good. They start tracing his twisted family history, knowing the path leads back to a vicious killer—one who has been hiding in plain sight for forty years and isn’t about to give up now.
This is the third book in a series and while I read the first one, I somehow missed the second one?! Who knows, but this read fine without reading book two anyway. This is a thriller blended with a classic police procedural, still very fast paced and exciting as you follow Reed and Ellery as he decides to look at a cold case from the 70’s. When he was just a baby someone murdered his mom while he was in his crib and he’s haunted by the fact that his mothers killers was never caught. Such a great premise, I love when a character has a deep personal connection to a case.
As much as this felt like a thriller it’s definitely heavily focused on the characters and their dynamics, especially their relationship with each other. Both Reed and Ellery are complex and have tangled pasts and I liked their chemistry and complicated relationship. The only thing I found to be lacking was the mystery itself, I figured it out on my own and it could best be described as a lighter mystery for me. Overall a mostly enjoyable read for me and one that I would recommend to anyone who isn’t as burnt out on thrillers as I am.
Overall rating: 3/5
Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.
