crime thriller

Review: Crone by Keith Rosson

~ megs14malloy ~ Leave a comment

CroneCrone by Keith Rosson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

🖤💚🖤💚🖤💚🖤💚🖤💚🖤💚🖤

Keith Rosson captured my heart and my full attention last year with Coffin Moon. There was something so devilishly-good about that book. The setting, the grittiness of the plot, the characters; it was a whole mood. It all worked for me and has remained in my mind ever since.

To say that I was excited to get an early-copy of this novel, Crone, would be putting it so mildly it wouldn’t even register. I was stoked for this and as you can tell from my rating, I wasn’t disappointed for a moment.

This novel matches Coffin Moon in tone, so if you also enjoyed that one, I would highly recommend reading this as well. The big difference would be while Coffin Moon is a bit of a vampiric romp, Crone is for the witches in the crowd.

This continues the classic dark Crime Fiction feel that Coffin Moon brought, and is actually even set in the same area of the United States, just in a later time period.

This story follows Eli Lamp, an ex-detective, turned addict, turned ex-addict, whose daughter disappeared 10-years ago. Eli’s battled his emotions since Hannah’s been gone, but the guilt and grief frequently overwhelm him.

Due to a certain incident Eli got himself involved in while investigating Hannah’s disappearance, he’s also now indebted to a local drug gang, the Crooked Wheel. They utilize his skills as an enforcer. It’s a dark road he’s traveled.

We also follow a young woman named Avery. Avery was actually Hannah’s best friend, and the two were together on the night that Hannah disappeared. Like Eli, Hannah has also really struggled since that night. The guilt and shame she’s felt since Hannah disappeared has definitely defined the trajectory of her life so far.

Avery fled their small town as soon as she graduated high school, unable to stand the whispers and looks any longer. Recently though, she’s been having extremely vivid dreams of Hannah calling her back.

After the boss of the Crooked Wheel’s son is found brutally murdered, he asks Eli to investigate it, so they can bring the killer to justice. If Eli’s successful, he won’t owe them any longer. He’ll be a free man.

His investigation brings him into the orbit of Avery, recently returned to town, a girl he never thought he’d see again. Soon the two are entwined in a search for answers that all link back to the night their dear Hannah disappeared.

Contrary to everything they might believe in, signs point to a mysterious something lurking the woods. A something with a bent back, black eyes and claws. No one wants to say witch, but it’s a thought…

This is such a beautifully-devastating story. My heart aches with the weight of it. It’s gritty and violent, showcasing the worst acts that humans can do unto each other.

There’s also a rawness to it all, with humanity just bleeding off the page. Rosson does such an incredible job of examining dark emotions, such as guilt, grief and self-doubt, even hate. This is vengeance-fueled story, much like Coffin Moon, and I was completely invested.

I loved the direction Rosson ultimately went with this. I will say the way he laid it all out, it’s not a path I would typically enjoy, but I think in this case, just because of the overall emotion of the story, it actually worked. He pulled it off.

If you’ve never read Rosson before, you’ve got time. Pick up Coffin Moon before this one releases in September. If you like that vibe, you should absolutely pick this one up as well.

Also, I definitely recommend this for fans of Witchy stories, particularly if you’re itching for something opposite of all the Cozy Witchy vibes we seem to be getting lately.

This is full stop a Horror novel. It’s violent, gory and full of complicated topics and emotions. It’s absolutely stellar and I cannot wait for a hard copy to take residence on my shelves.

Thank you to the publisher, Random House, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This will definitely be making my Best Books of 2026 list!!!

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Review: Headlights by C.J. Leede

~ megs14malloy

HeadlightsHeadlights by C.J. Leede
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Headlights is an exciting blend of Horror and Crime Fiction that is both thrilling and horrifying. Set in Colorado, this story is sure to creep under your skin until its profound, and admittedly, head-scratching conclusion.

On what should be his last day as a Special Agent with the FBI, Danny Stansfield, gets an unexpected call that it’s happening again. This news forces Danny to return to Denver, a city he fled 4-years previously.

It’s difficult to describe the string of cases that this book features. They’re clearly all related, but he’s never gotten satisfactory answers as to the who and why. Basically, seemingly innocent people are found wandering wearing the skins of victims they have butchered.

These skin-wearers have no recollection how they ended up where they are, or how they could’ve done what they’ve done. It doesn’t make sense. The most disturbing detail, besides the skin suit of course, is that each is found with a strand of a stranger’s hair tied around their tongues.

These individuals have never even met the people that have been murdered, whose skins have been torn from their bodies. What are the connections, and if he couldn’t figure it out before, how can Danny solve these mysteries now?

In this latest case though, there seems to be a twist, a person left who may hold the answers he seeks. Danny is determined to find out.

The deeper he’s pulled back into the cycle of death and depravity, the more Danny is forced to face the demons of his past. Aspects of his traumatic childhood are popping up all around him in a truly haunting fashion.

Will Danny be able to piece it all together, before he, or someone he loves, ends up as the killer’s next victim?

Every time I pick up a C.J. Leede book, I feel like I’m getting a new peek into her breadth as an author. I think for me, as far as tone and set-up, Headlights has been my favorite.

I actually rated American Rapture slightly higher, with 4.5-stars, but reflecting on it now, I feel that had more to do with the emotions I was having after reading the Author’s Note at the end. That gutted me.

Overall though, this one is definitely the closest match to my reading tastes.

The audiobook, narrated by Andrew Eiden, fits the narrative so well. Eiden’s narration has a bit of an old Detective Noir feel to it, that I felt paired so well with Danny’s perspective. It brought the Crime aspect to the forefront, yet carried through nicely into the Horror as well.

I would recommend the audiobook format, should it be available to you. It helped pull me into the story from the very start, as I was so entranced by Eiden’s delivery.

In addition to Eiden’s delivery, Danny has such a compelling backstory as well. I loved piecing that all together over the course of the book. You could tell from the start that he is truly haunted by his childhood, and I liked how Leede chose to reveal all that entails to the Reader.

There was certainly plenty to unpack. There was a lot of sensory things that would trigger memories for him, which made me really empathize with him, as I think that’s something we can all sort of relate to in one way or another.

It was more than just places he had been, there was also a lot of music, or other media involved, and certain smells, just things that would immediately take him back to when he was a kid. It was all very interesting.

Additionally, there’s connections to one of my favorite novels of all time. I was quite surprised when those details started popping up, and I wasn’t sure if I was reading too much into it, seeing connections that didn’t exist, but before long, it’s clear you’re supposed to be picking up on those.

I can imagine some Readers getting to those moments, or hearing about them, and feeling this is Copy Cat, but IMO it felt more true to life that that, if that makes sense.

To me, it was that this character had found an inspiration in, or an explanation in, this novel and I feel like that’s something a lot of us have experienced before. The cool part about this, was that the novel in question, is a real novel, and it’s a popular one, to say the least.

I will say that towards the end, the direction it went, it left me with some questions. Now that’s necessarily a bad thing, I don’t mind things left open-ended, or anything like that, I just feel like in this case, it actually got a little rushed and maybe slightly confusing.

I do plan to get a hard copy for my collection though, and would love to read it again, so perhaps on reread, I’ll be able to piece together more of the bigger picture concepts.

At the end of the day, I had a great time with this. I would recommend it to any Horror Reader, but also to Readers of Dark Crime Fiction, such as The Chestnut Man, The Echo Man, Come With Me, or Bone White.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I’ll pick up anything written by C.J. Leede.

Keep ’em coming!

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Review: A Voice in the Dark (Benedict Hoffman & Helen Belle #1) by Barbara Nickless

~ megs14malloy

A Voice in the Dark (Benedict Hoffman and Helen Belle Book 1)A Voice in the Dark by Barbara Nickless
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

A Voice in the Dark is the 1st-book in the Benedict Hoffman and Helen Belle series from Barbara Nickless. This is an Adult Crime Mystery series that follows FBI Profilers.

Where my brain goes when I hear Criminal Profiler:

This book kicks off when a father, mother and son are killed in their Boulder, Colorado home. That same night, the family’s teenage twins disappear. Helen Belle is intrigued by the case as it mirrors one she worked on 5-year ago, where a boy killed his whole family and then went mute.

That case led Helen to a mysterious online figure known as the Midnight Man. That this figure may have played a role in that case, perhaps urging the boy to commit his terrible crimes, has never left Helen’s mind, but she and her partner on the case, Benedict, weren’t able to prove anything.

With this new case, and the clues that come along with it, Helen can’t shake the feeling that this confirms what she and Benedict were saying before. There is someone out there influencing these kids to commit horrific crimes, and this person needs to be flushed out and stopped.

Even though she and Benedict didn’t part under the best of terms, Helen reaches out to him with the details of the new case, to see if he’ll help her try to stop the Midnight Man once and for all.

Honestly, I had my ups-and-downs with this one. In the beginning, I saw it as a solid 3-star read, but the 2nd-half did pick up considerably for me and I loved the direction the author ultimately went with it. It felt very modern.

One thing I felt, particularly towards the beginning, was that I wished we were just getting Helen’s perspective, as opposed to getting both Helen and Benedict. I didn’t really care for Benedict. His personality just wasn’t appealing to me in the slightest.

However, by the end, he has started to grow on me. I’m still not completely sold on him yet, but we’ll see how we get on in the future installments.

I did appreciate how gruesome Nickless went with her details. She didn’t really hold much back, and I like that. I want to be uncomfortable. I want to be gripped, and the case in this story definitely had my attention. The twins that disappeared, particularly, Katelynn, I was worried for them and wanted them to be okay.

Overall, while I did feel like Benedict’s sections did slow down the pace of this one for me, it ended up being a fairly solid story. I will definitely be continuing with the series. I feel like it’ll only get stronger as it goes, and as I become more attached to the characters.

Even you, Benedict.

Thank you to the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

A Voice in the Dark will be available on July 1, 2026.

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Review: The Witch Hunter (Jessica Niemi #1) by Max Seeck

~ megs14malloy

The Witch Hunter (Jessica Niemi, #1)The Witch Hunter by Max Seeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

This was really good. I enjoyed it. I read the 4th-book in the series first, and then was intrigued enough to want to go back and read them all. That’s a good sign.

Jessica Niemi is an intriguing protagonist with a complex past. I knew that from the 4th-book, but this really filled in a lot of the details. Wow. She’s been through a lot, and for reasons I won’t get into here, needs to hide a lot of it from her friends and coworkers.

This mystery was cool as well. It starts when the murders in a popular author’s books start happening in real life. They seem to be random, but Niemi and the other other investigators know there has to be a connection.

I was wowed by the connection too once it was revealed. I could have never predicted it and the ties to Jessica and her life were definitely disturbing. I’m really wanting to continue with this series and have requested my library get copies of the 2nd and 3rd book.

Here’s hoping!

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Review: Other People’s Houses (DC Morgan #3) by Clare Mackintosh

~ megs14malloy

Other People's Houses: A Novel (DC Morgan, Book 3)Other People’s Houses: A Novel by Clare Mackintosh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Other People’s Houses is the 3rd-installment in the DC Morgan series by Clare Mackintosh. This is a Police Procedural Mystery series starring one of my current favorite detectives, DC Ffion Morgan.

I have really enjoyed the previous novels, and this latest in the series didn’t disappoint for a moment. I loved being back with Ffion and tackling another head-scratching case.

The mystery revolves around a luxurious, exclusive community known as The Hill. It’s the type of neighborhood many would desire to live in for it’s comfort and safety.

It seems that The Hill is now a target though, as some of the homes have been burglarized. DS Leo Brady, who Readers will recall from the previous books, believes that the criminal is looking for something in particular.

At the same time all of this has started to go down, across the lake from The Hill, DC Morgan is called to investigate after an estate agent’s lifeless body is recovered from the water. It’s clear she died under nefarious circumstances, but the whodunit and why are unclear.

As the two cases collide, Ffion and Leo end up digging deep into the lives of people who would prefer to keep their secrets just that, but it’s hard to solve the cases without the info. Therefore, against The Hill resident’s wishes, individual comforts will finally need to be sacrificed.

How is it all connected, and will our detective duo be able to find the culprit before anyone else loses any property, or worse, their life?

As with the other installments in this series, I flew through this and was completely engaged the whole time. As mentioned above, I do love Ffion and the backstory that Mackintosh has created for her.

I also enjoy her relationship with Leo and the strength of their partnership. They work very well together and it’s always fun seeing them be collaborative with their investigations. Ffion’s rescue dog, Dave, is back again as well and plays a big role in this story.

This mystery had a lot of moving parts, and I found it all very intriguing. The Hill was a fun backdrop for the investigation, as both Leo and Ffion were very much outsiders from that world. It was filled with juicy drama that I was eating up.

We also had some more forward progress in Ffion’s personal life, which I’m fully invested in at this point. I feel like I’ve really come to care for her as a character and I definitely want her to find happiness and fulfillment outside of her job.

I’m not sure how long this series is slated to be, but it seems like we’ll at least be getting a 4th-book. I’m certainly hoping so. There are so many great aspects to these books, and the combination of them all together, the fantastic characters, beautiful setting and always intriguing mysteries, sets this series apart for me.

I would definitely recommend this to any Reader who enjoys a Police Procedural Mystery. The audiobooks are also fantastic, and if you have access to them, are a great option for taking in this series.

Thank you to the publisher, Sourcebooks Landmark and Highbridge Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I love this series and hope it continues on for a long, long time. I’ll be ready for every one!

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Review: Blood Like Ours (The Blood Trilogy #2) by Stuart Neville

~ megs14malloy

Blood Like Ours (Blood Trilogy #2)Blood Like Ours by Stuart Neville
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Blood Like Ours is the 2nd-book in the Blood Trilogy by Stuart Neville. The 1st-book, Blood Like Mine, took me completely by surprise when I read it last year.

Initially, I thought that one was a standalone, so I was super excited when I discovered it was actually slated to be a trilogy. Since that time, I’ve been anxiously awaiting this installment and it didn’t disappoint.

These books are a stellar blend of Horror with Crime Fiction. It’s got such a tone to it. Dark, intense, and oh yeah, there’s a lot of blood involved.

Coffin Moon, which was a fairly-hyped Horror release this year, would be a fairly good comp in my opinion. So, if you enjoyed that one and are looking for more in a similar vein, you should check this series out.

Vein…did you see what I did there??

In this installment, we continue to follow Rebecca and her daughter, Monica, who she calls Moonflower. We also continue to follow FBI Agents, specifically, Special Agent Sarah McGrath, who’s very familiar with their case.

The cat-and-mouse dynamics from the 1st-book carry over here, but we also get a new perspective, an young Irish immigrant, who ends up with a shocking connection to Monica and Rebecca.

I love how this book continues to build out this world and cast of characters involved in this story. When it all started, it felt quite insular, with Rebecca and Monica feeling like islands unto themselves. As the story has progressed though, we discover just how many players are actually involved in this whole thing.

It’s intriguing as heck. The way Neville moves all these pieces around, it feels like you’re witnessing a first class chess match with a bunch of blood splatter.

This ending too, OMG!!!

There’s so much more to explore and I can’t wait to discover where the 3rd-book is going to lead us. One of my favorite aspects of this one was the new perspective, Emma, and all the insights she brought to the historical side of this story.

I don’t want to say too much, because the synopsis keeps it vague. I will say as a sequel, it’s completely successful at continuing the original story, whilst also bringing in a lot of new information and truly expanding the stakes, as well as the intrigue.

Thank you to the publisher, Recorded Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Book 3 cannot come fast enough. I can’t wait!!

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Review: This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead

~ megs14malloy

This Book Will Bury MeThis Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After the unexpected death of her beloved father, college student, Jane Sharp is left reeling. His death was so sudden, and she’s completely unmoored by it.

In search of distraction, she ends up becoming obsessed with True Crime, and finding a new home in underground forums where armchair detectives investigate real life cases.

She finds a particular group of people who show her the ropes, and who before long she considers true friends. After making a name for themselves with a case in Florida, they’ve become top tier of their like within the online space.

When news hits of the gruesome deaths of three college girls in Delphine, Idaho, the whole world is captivated, and online sleuths from all around scramble to gain access to the details of the investigation.

Jane and her online friends are determined to beat everyone else to the scoop, and end up traveling to Idaho where they can have a real boots on the ground investigation.

This story unfolds mainly in a kind of confessional format. It’s set a year after the events that ultimately went down in Idaho, and has Jane breaking her silence and exposing the true story of what happened after their crew ended up there.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Leslie Howard, and highly recommend that format. It felt like a true confessional, and really helped to bring the story to life for me. I’m not sure if I would have been as hooked into it if I had just read a physical copy.

I’ll be honest, I put off reading this for so long because I’d heard some negative buzz that it was exploitative of the Idaho College Murders case. After reading the novel, I do see why some people may assume that’s the case, or even feel that after reading it, but I have to respectfully disagree.

In my opinion, this really isn’t about the murders at all. It’s actually a fascinating exploration of the True Crime subculture and the phenomenon of armchair detectives. A topic worthy of discussion.

I think perhaps the author may have said she was inspired by the case, but I think when we say ‘inspired’ it’s more in the spirit of exploring the absolute public firestorm that came from those crimes, the whys and ramifications of the media coverage, and of the public interest.

I liked the way the author dove into this subculture of armchair detectives. I felt like each of the characters in Jane’s group had their own reasons and motivations for being there. I felt like she really tried to show all sides of the community, both good and bad.

At the end of the day, I ended up enjoying this so much. I feel the topics explored are important, particularly those surrounding the True Crime community and the phenomenon of armchair detectives. The goods, the bads, and the uglies. The details of the case mirroring the Idaho case so closely, I can see why that makes people uncomfortable, but I still feel like it’s well done.

It really opens up a lot of great issues for discussion, and maybe that uncomfortability is part of the point. I feel like this would make an incredible book club book because you are sure to have opposing opinions, both on the book itself and the subjects explored.

Thank you to the publisher, Tantor Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This is the first I’ve read from Ashley Winstead, but I’m definitely interested in picking up more!

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Review: Spider to the Fly by J.H. Markert

~ megs14malloy

Spider to the FlySpider to the Fly by J.H. Markert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Spider to the Fly follows True Crime aficionado, Ellie Isles, along with her daughter, Amber, as they both pursue the identity of an active serial killer known as the Spider.

Ellie first became interested in the Spider after she saw news footage of one of their I-64 victims, who shockingly looked identical to her. It wasn’t her, but it could have been.

Ellie was fascinated by her dopplegänger’s grisly death, and went on to write a bestselling True Crime book about the Spider’s known crimes.

Fast-forward four years and the Spider still hasn’t been caught. With his victim count climbing, many initially unidentified, Ellie’s online-network of True Crime buffs are still pursuing their own potential leads and answers.

Together they’ve amassed a large database of missing persons that’s helped Ellie to successfully identify some of the victims. Seeing her potential usefulness, the task force working on tracking down the Spider, brings her in to help.

When Ellie’s own therapist is arrested for the murders, a man she feels is innocent, Ellie is more determined than ever to capture the Spider.

This has some solid concepts and I really enjoyed the MC, Ellie. I liked learning about her past and I really enjoyed her relationship with her daughter, Amber, whose perspective we get as well.

I also enjoyed how dark the crimes in question were. If you like grisly and gruesome Crime Thrillers, you should definitely check this one out. However, for me, it got too convoluted and confusing trying to track all the characters as the story progressed.

The first-half was really strong though, and even though it went a bit off the rails for me, I would say this is my favorite from this author. It is an intriguing mystery and it’s certainly action-packed.

The story revolves around a trope that I’m not crazy about, so I think once I discovered that’s what was going on here, that’s when it started to go down hill for me. A lot more characters were introduced at that time, and they became hard to differentiate between them all.

Sadly, it ended up being a case of great concept, poor execution for me, which I have felt before reading this author. All of Markert’s books sound so good, but none of them that I’ve read have been a real success.

Thank you to the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Even though this wasn’t a huge win for me, I can still see the merit in the story and did appreciate the darker crime aspects.

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Review: Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson

~ megs14malloy

Coffin MoonCoffin Moon by Keith Rosson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Coffin Moon centers around Duane Minor, a Vietnam Vet working as a bartender in his wife, Heidi’s, parent’s bar, and his 13-year old niece, Julia, who the couple recently took in.

Duane is struggling with his sobriety, while Julia is struggling with some very traumatic events in her home life that has left her separated from her mother and brother.

When Minor ends up crossing the baddies that try to pull some shady sh*t at the bar, it changes all of their lives forever. Leading the charge for the bad guys is a man named John Varley, not your average killer, who sleeps during the day and whose teeth grow extra long at night.

After Heidi is killed in retaliation for Minor’s interference, he is wracked with guilt, while Julia is filled with rage. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game of pursuit across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Their goal is to root out John Varley and make him pay for all he’s taken from them.

Will any amount of blood be able to sate their grief and guilt?

This was devilishly good. Set in the 1970s, I feel like Rosson did a fabulous job channeling the gritty Crime Fiction vibes of that era. The tone of it, it’s morose, devastating and heavily vengeance-focused. We love to see it.

I’d love to read this again and take more time with it. This time through, I went rather quickly, so focused on what was going to happen. In future, I think it would be worth a revisit to focus in more on the character work and relationships.

I loved both Minor and Julia. Their interactions together and the way their bond evolved, it felt so natural and it truly tugged at my heart-strings.

Additionally, John Varley was fascinating. We learn quite a bit about him and his history, and those are some of the moments that I would like to revisit the most. There was something sweeping and epic-feeling about his story that brought even more to the historical meat of this story.

There were so many devastating moments in this book. Moments where I would read it and think, OMG, how would you get over that? But Minor and Julia just kept on going on, and I love that resilience and even if it was driven by rage in Julia’s case, I respected the hell out of their strength.

It felt like Rosson poured a lot of emotion into this one. It hurt my heart a bit, not gonna lie, but it was so worth it. I was sad about much of it, but impressed with the fact that Rosson could make me feel so much for these characters in such a short amount of time.

Overall, I found this to be such a unique and classic-feeling Horror story. I have never read anything from this author before, but I will be reading more in the future.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Random House, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I think this will definitely be one of my most memorable reads of 2025!

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Review: No Rest for the Wicked by Rachel Louise Adams

~ megs14malloy

No Rest for the Wicked: A NovelNo Rest for the Wicked: A Novel by Rachel Louise Adams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Almost 20-years ago, Dolores Hawthorne fled her hometown of Little Horton, Wisconsin. She attended college, worked hard, and became a successful forensic pathologist.

She never planned to go back, until she gets a phone call from the FBI, telling her that her father, Little Horton’s former mayor turned US Senator, has gone missing under mysterious circumstances.

In spite of everything, Dolores cares for her father and returns to help in the investigation in any way she can.

Her reunion with her remaining family and the town is mixed, but before long, she’s coming to grips with her past and aiding the FBI with the search.

Other startling occurrences hit the town hard and it becomes clear, something sinister is haunting Little Horton this Halloween season.

Confession time. When I was offered an ARC of this book, I took one look at the cover, read the title, and thought, yes, absolutely, yes. It just looked like something I would enjoy, and luckily, that was true.

However, I had no clue what it was about, but made certain assumptions, and they were all wrong. I actually Buddy Read this with a friend and we both commented quickly that we both assumed it was YA, which it’s clearly not.

If you read the synopsis, unlike me, you’ll have no problem understanding that, but I just felt like the cover, though one of the most gorgeous covers that I’ve set my eyes on lately, really doesn’t portray the feel that I took from this Adult Mystery/Thriller novel.

With this out of the way, my head scratching at the cover art choice really has nothing to do with the book, or the story. I really enjoyed the twisted nature of this and all the dark small town drama. It was captivating and also contained one of my favorite tropes.

I absolutely adore when an MC returns to their hometown, after a number of years away, and ends up digging into some sort of mystery from their past. It’s even better when there are past and present mysteries intertwined, and that’s exactly what Adams delivered here.

It was interesting watching Dolores reintroduce herself to the home she left behind. The interactions among her family were interesting, and I liked how we learned about the past via various timeline/perspective shifts.

We also get a front row seat to the investigation into her father’s disappearance, as well as the other incidents happening around town.

Little Horton was a fun setting. It’s a self-proclaimed Halloween town, so they really lean into the holiday. It gave a lovely, moody backdrop to our overriding mysteries.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with this. It was intriguing and fast-paced. I was surprised by it in many ways, and look forward to reading more from this author. I actually would love another book with Dolores as a main character. I grew very fond of her over the course of the story.

Thank you to the publisher, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.

Everything from the tone, setting and characters, to the mystery itself, was engaging for me. Rachel Louise Adams is definitely an author I’ll be reading more from the future!

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