When teenager Nikki Jackson’s body is found at an amusement park, just hours after Fourth of July fireworks lit up the night sky, the Lost Creek police rule her death as suicide—a devastating final act from a girl who had lost all hope. But the absence of the knife used to make the wounds on her delicate wrists makes Detective Madison Harper think otherwise. And the partial fingerprint found on the girl’s face proves her right. Someone else was with Nikki in her final moments…

Back home in Colorado for the first time in seven years to investigate the murder of a woman with ties to the son she lost to the care system, the pressure is on for Madison to work both cases at once. Fearing the team has missed a vital clue, Madison searches the crime scene alone and finds the last thing she ever expected: a note proving the victims knew each other, and that the cases are linked. Is this a coincidence, proof a dangerous murderer is on the loose, or a trap set to lead Madison off the trail?

It’s only when Madison finally finds the knife used to harm Nikki, tucked in an almost impossible to find hiding place, that she knows she is closing-in on a twisted killer. But the last person she expects to see dragged into the department in handcuffs is her own missing son…

The second in the Madison Harper series and I didn’t think we’d be confronting Madison’s passed so quickly. however I guess it is something I should have expected.

I honestly didn’t know which way this book would go. There was so many avenues to take this book down and quite a lot of space for development of characters and placement of important plot bunnies.

Madison’s past trauma of being wrongfully charged with murder does make her an interesting character because on the one hand she’s jaded and looking for justice but on the other hand she’s still the new detective that wants to stick to the rules.

the partnership between Nate and Madison continues to blossom in this book they have quite a lot to learn about each other and while there could be room for something more in the future, exploring and expanding their friendship is what is currently needed.

There are a lot of dirty players in this book. It was hard to keep up with everyone at times.

This book had more adrenaline running through it and kept a quicker pace than the first book. I talk about a second book having the ability to make or break a series and this book definitely had gumption.

I’d say this series is one to watch. I’m currently reading on kindle, but this might turn out to be a series that I buy in paperback as well.

I scarcely mentioned the plot, I know, but it’s one of those plots that could be easily unravelled by one detail, and I’d hate to spoil the story for anyone else. If you’re fed up of reading those books where the main character has little or no character development or has a character with no complete back story, then this might be the book for you. I say this because the book does an incredible job of not only outlining Madison’s past trauma but bringing that trauma into the present and wrapping it around the murder plot to form the twisted storyline.

I think the reason why this series has been so interesting and enjoyable for me thus far is because it’s so different to anything I read before. both the characters of Nate and Madison feel very genuine and the experiences that they’ve suffered are believable to the characters created. Jaded characters can be difficult to write because there is a tendency to slip into stereotypes such as drugs and alcohol, mental health problems, issues with friendships and relationships, and more often than not a tendency towards violence. I’m not saying that these are bad traits for a character to have, I’m just pointing out that a fair number of jaded characters portray one or usually all of the above traits and that makes a character appear very overwhelming and can also make character appear fake and disingenuous.

I like that Nate and Madison are different. I like that they struggle, I like that they carry their past with them, I like the banter between them, and I really like the structure of how the book is laid out. sometimes with crime novels it can be difficult to tie all the story pieces together. This series as I’ve experienced in the first two books has three point of views running through the story. in this book we have madison’s past being told, we have the current murder, and we have the unknown victim and or murderer point of view. in this instance I actually appreciate all three narratives as they gel well together and create a structured plot line that has an easy flow.

I have however, read other crime stories that have multiple narratives that have felt disjointed and like separate parts of a puzzle instead of a finished piece.

Overall, reading this book gave me time to escape into another place and momentarily forget the ache of my recovering hand. both the plot and the characters help my attention, and I was pleased by the stories conclusion. I have of course, already got the third book in the series downloaded on my kindle and will probably try to read that soon.

I give this book: ✨✨✨✨✨