The girl’s head is bent as if in prayer, her hands bound tightly together at the wrist. Her bare feet are still against the cold sand, the last thing she ever felt before she breathed her last…

When the body of a teenage girl is found in Rydal Falls’ churchyard, Detective Morgan Brookes abandons her own birthday to attend the scene. In the dim evening light, Morgan can just make out the girl wrapped in a pristine white sheet and is certain she’s been left here for them to find.

The autopsy identifies the girl as sixteen-year-old Shea Wilkinson, and Morgan’s heart cracks with sorrow. The beautiful teenager has been missing for weeks, could she have been suffering all this time? When she learns the sand on Shea’s feet is from a nearby island, Morgan leaves immediately, determined to find the killer’s hiding place and stop them in their tracks.

But scouring the windswept beach, Morgan can’t find any sign that Shea was ever there. And then her phone rings with devastating news. Another girl has gone missing, a young nurse called Milly with the same blonde hair and blue eyes as Shea.

Morgan won’t rest until she has returned the kind, cheerful girl to her distraught parents. But Milly was last seen chatting to one of Morgan’s colleagues on the force… Refusing to think the worst, can she trace the clues and get inside the mind of the most cunning killer of her career, before another innocent life is lost?

It’s been a while since I’ve dived into Morgan Brookes world. To be honest, I didn’t realise that there were 2 new books out in the series. I got some money over Christmas and spent a little on some Kindle Books.

This is book 7 in the series and what I know is that Rydal Falls is a hot spot for murderers! I don’t necessarily think that Morgan carries bad luck with her, or that she is a magnet for trouble. I tend to see her as more of someone who has the ability to think outside the box and make connections others can’t see.

The plot of this book was chaotic, only because there was so much going on. 2 murders, 1 missing person, 2 suspects. It was a lot to sink into.

The relationship between Morgan and Ben has solidified. It reads more comfortably now and they work more in balance. I was worried with the dynamics between the two of them because the jump between them admitting their feelings and suddenly being post 3-months in didn’t read very well and left me feeling at odds with the two characters.

Marc, who I was suspicious about in the last book still makes me feel uneasy. It appears that Morgan feels the same way. So, either I’m onto something or being lead on a merry chance!! The dynamics changed in this book. The actions of Marc pushed the team into new an unexplored territory. It worked well but I’m anxious to know his motive.

I did have a sneaky theory while reading that Morgan might be pregnant because there were a lot of hints pointing towards that, but it turned out to be just a lot of red herrings! Couldn’t tell whether I was disappointed or not at discovering that.

The reveal of the killer was average. I say that because it was a reveal where the reader had met the killer but with all that was going on I wasn’t focused on any one character. It was a fast paced reveal but I find that all the books in this series have that same adrenaline spike when the reveal happens. I think with a character like Morgan it’s impossible not to have an adrenaline fuelled ending.

I think, as the series continues, the series needs to focus less on individuals who are obsessed with Morgan or individuals who have some grievance against the team and more into murders that are interesting and diverse. I think there needs to be more character growth for those that are billed as main characters. This book had the potential to plateau – which I would hate – so I hope there is the room for that development to happen.

I give this book: ✨✨✨✨