Piper cycles off one hot Oklahoma evening for a sleepover with her new friend Miley from summer camp. But when she doesn’t come home, her grandparents raise the alarm.
Detective Kimberley King knows that the first twenty-four hours in a missing child investigation are the most critical, but with no witnesses, and darkness falling in the small town of Dead Woman Crossing, she begins to fear the worst. She longs to find the little girl with wide blue eyes and an infectious smile, but when her team discovers Piper’s body in a woodland clearing, lying on a bed of moss, something inside her dies.
Then she gets a call that chills her to the bone. Piper’s friend Miley has gone missing
Desperate to find the monster who has taken these little girls, Kimberley chases down all the leads she has. The summer camp counselor, who got too close to Piper and Miley and lost his job. Piper’s shifty uncle, who arrived back in town the day she disappeared…
And as another dark night descends on Dead Woman Crossing, Kimberley can’t stop thinking about Miley, trapped in the darkest place of all. With the clock ticking, Kimberley knows she must act fast before another innocent life is stolen.
A gripping, heart-wrenching crime thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat, holding your breath. Last Day Alive is perfect for fans of Rachel Caine, Lisa Regan, and Carol Wyer.
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
Barb was their first line of defense. But Barb was feisty, and Kimberley had recently learned she had a conceal and carry permit. She kept her Glock in her top desk drawer when she was working and then had it holstered on her hip, underneath her flowery, flowy blouses when she was off the clock. She had named it Helen. When Kimberley had asked her why the name Helen? Barb had replied, “Because Helen was an ex-friend that stole my famous chocolate chip cookie recipe, and she was a real bitch. It seemed fitting.”
“What do I got to do to get you to call me sir?” … “Build a time machine and take me back to the nineteen-fifties,”
Yeah, her name is Ginger. That’s not even a name. It’s a root… There was a chance I would have gotten back with him. We have kids together, for God’s sake…but now, not a chance in hell. He can have the skanky root vegetable.
He’s trying to woo her… You gotta woo before you do.
You just gotta be patient with Sam. He’s like a ten-thousand -piece puzzle without the box for reference. It just takes a little while longer.
My Review:
I am continuing to enjoy this series and new author. It is surprisingly enjoyable to read a story that incorporates a small rural area that I was once familiar with. I felt so engaged and familiar with the unfolding story that I was expecting to see family names and gossip of the actual denizens reported. The storylines were active, tragic, and tense with anxiety, grief, and frustration as the small rural county police force labored to find a missing child, only to experience the heartbreak of finding her body and then endeavoring past exhaustion to solve her murder with little to go on. So much for a peaceful downsized job after leaving the NYPD.
In addition to the murder case bonus entertainment value was provided by additional servings and tasty offerings of family drama, potential romantic considerations, and observations of small-town issues and the off-beat and eccentric characters residing there. I’m always eager to get the down-low on secrets and amusing sightings of quirk. But, of course, my favorite character continues to be Barb, the ever cheerful, spunky, genius baker, and gun-toting senior citizen who seems to be three steps ahead of everyone’s needs, both in and outside the office. We all could all use a Barb in our lives.
About the Author
Amazing review, I really want to check out this series it sounds so good.
I want it! excellent review.
Barb sounds like my kinda gal. Excellent review.