The table is set for family dinner; roast chicken, wine for them and juice for their darling boy, and a vase of fresh daisies from the garden for decoration. But the food is cold, and the flowers are wilting. You might think they were sleeping in the next room if it wasn’t for the blood dripping crimson onto the carpet…

FBI Agent Val Costa is drawn out of retirement once again when the Cramer family is found dead in their home in Red Rose County. She falls to her knees in despair at the sight of little Michael Jr., curled up on the couch. What monster would take the life of an innocent child? Val vows to find justice for the mother, Stephanie Cramer, who survived the attack but is fighting for her life in hospital.

Interviewing neighbors uncovers no leads, but Val knows there’s a message in the way Mike Cramer’s body was left, tied to a chair, with stab wounds all over his body. It seems that the mother and son were collaterals, and Mike was the real target. But why? Working in an auto shop between taking his boy to karate class, Michael was a perfect family man. There are no signs of a robbery, and all Val has to work with are small-town whispers about the age gap between him and his wife.

A break in the case comes when a secret phone is found hidden in Mike’s car and GPS reveals he’d been making late-night trips out of town for weeks before his family was attacked. Her team quickly suspects an affair, but Val’s instincts tell her it’s something far more sinister.

As more cracks in the perfect Cramer family picture begin to show—arguments, money troubles—Val must work around the clock to stop this twisted individual in their tracks. But does she know someone is watching her every move? And when a dark secret in Mike’s past surfaces, can Val stay ahead of her stalker long enough to catch the killer before another precious life is taken?

An absolutely pulse-pounding crime thriller with unputdownable suspense, perfect for fans of Mary Stone, Kate Gable, and L.T. Ryan.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

…he’s having a go at being a ruthless drug lord. Maybe he’s watched Scarface one too many times.

My Review:

My interest in this well-paced series hasn’t waned due to the wily author’s crafty writing style, one that keeps the little pea in my brain itchy, engaged, curious, and primed to gather the meager clues sprinkled throughout the several active and carefully constructed storylines. I am enjoying learning more about the primary and secondary characters as they become more comfortable with each other. I see trouble brewing in the next installment as the enigmatic serial killer appears to be prepping for another strike.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Maisie stroked her hair, and for a moment, I believed in saints, and that Maisie was one of them. She cared for all the vulnerable souls that came to her, protecting them as best she could.

Most people tended to think that serial killers or other violent criminals had green skin and wild hair, like monsters in a movie. It simply wasn’t true. Predators looked like everyone else.

Sometimes knowing was worse, but not knowing was a torture that lasted a lifetime.

My Review:

Despite the harrowing undercurrents of the various storylines, the writing was easy to follow and kept me engaged. The little pea in my brain scooped up the wily author’s carefully parsed breadcrumbs and devised and discarded several theories during perusal, most of them incorrect. The story was well scaffolded and told from multiple points of view, which I always enjoy.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

I liked to believe that good things happened sometimes. This was something I had to remind myself of, having such a dark and dangerous job. We profiled the worst of humanity…

Once hopeful the authorities would actually do their jobs, my faith in the police was once again tarnished like old silverware at a garage sale.

You know, sometimes we can’t choose our path— sometimes it chooses us. Think of this as a beginning to something new.

My Review:

This was my introduction to the compelling storytelling of H.K. Christie and I picked a winner to start with. The writing was easy to follow, written from multiple points of view, hooked me early, and kept me reading despite the disquieting and nettlesome subject matter. I found the main character of Val Costa to be well-scaffolded. She was recently wounded yet still a badass. Val was well-conjured, authentic, realistically flawed, complicated, admirable, well-textured, and someone I want to follow in subsequent installments.

Favorite Quotes:

Taylor’s affected rangy stride as he entered the room made Eleanor wonder if his ego was even more bloated than she’d feared. Or if he’d sat on something akin to a cactus.

I dream of you and me. Of me keeping you safe. And making you happy. And watching you grow into whatever you want to be. Of me somehow being the best husband since husbands were invented. Which is still less than you deserve.

…an open heart gives an open face, and yours is like a picture book.

‘He probably keeps a record of all my blunders to delight in chiding me over one day.’ ‘Regrettably not, my lady.’ Clifford’s eyes twinkled as he waggled his leather notebook. ‘Due to insufficient pages to record them all.’

My Review:

I have read every installment of this delightful series and deem this volume the best one yet. Team Verity Bright has more than perfected their characters and excels at producing authentic, well-conjured, and smoothly-polished tales that are sumptuously detailed and brimming with clever wry wit, endearing and daring hijinks, humorous repartee, and amusing observations. I have come to adore every quirky character.

About the Author

The BRAND NEW feel-good read from MILLION COPY BESTSELLER Judy Leigh ‘We’re celebrating life,’ Rose said. ‘Life, every single minute of it. Tell me, girls – is there ever anything better to celebrate than that?’

Favorite Quotes:

It’s almost poetic— while he sleeps, he finds peace, a respite from the turmoil that consumes him when he’s awake. Not that most people see it. He’s too careful, too calculated, a sociopath with a day planner.

She probably organizes her spices alphabetically and considers skipping church on Wednesday night an act of rebellion.

Edith’s house is old and suffocating, and it smells of mothballs and something else, something stale, like disappointment.

Edith’s shadow looms large in this house, her presence like a bitter aftertaste.

My Review:

My shoulders were in my ears while I perused this consuming, gripping, evocative, and tautly written tale. Each page had my beloved Kindle thrumming with tension. I cringed, flinched, and grimaced at the realistic recounting of various forms of abuse, yet I couldn’t put this monstrous story down.  I don’t read horror stories yet Britney King always manages to turn me inside out and upside down, and I keep coming back for more from this crafty wordsmith.  A phenomenon that continues to leave me more than a bit perplexed and pondering… what does that say about me?!?