This is the second installment of the Sawyer Brooks’ series, and it is every bit as good as the Jessie Cole series, which I discovered on Netgalley in 2018! I’ve read so many fabulous books via this site lately!!
Sawyer Brooks is a crime reporter for the ‘Sacramento Independent’ and is waiting for the AM editorial meeting to get started. New to the crime beat, she is mildly perturbed that her suggestions for stories are seemingly taken by other reporters, leaving her with little to write. At meetings end she’s assigned to follow up on the story of a vigilante group that appears to be meting out their own punishment to convicted rapists. At meetings end her boss, Sean Palmer, beckons her to follow him. He’s just learned that a skeleton belonging to a child has been found, and the two head off to the scene.
Once on scene, Sawyer is able to glean from bystanders that the skeleton was that of a little girl, with remnants of clothing suggesting pink shoes and a shirt with hearts on it. As she peruses the scene, she realizes that the killer had cared about her victim and wanted her to rest in a happy place. But who was the little girl? Sawyer is determined to find out…
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Sawyer, her sister Harper is the member of a renegade group of women who call themselves The Crew. A group of 5, these women had all suffered abuse at the hands of a man at some point in their lives and are determined to avenge the wrongs done to them. They gather and quickly kidnap the man who was once a HS Quarterback, and the rapist of one of the women…
As Sawyer researches the potential identity of the skeleton found, she finds three young children from the area that have gone missing over the last several years, and yet another incident – a near abduction where the child was able to escape her abductor, a woman. Meanwhile, the news announces the disappearance of a 12-year-old child, Riley Addison, who went missing yesterday. Palmer reluctantly gives her a week to research possible links to past and present abductions.
Nearby, ‘The Crew’ has imprisoned their latest victim, Myles Davenport, in an abandoned housing development, and have plans to make him beg for mercy before killing him and leaving him to the elements. He has profusely and tearfully apologized, but then a near escape shows his true colors, as he almost kills one of the women…
As Sawyer continues her investigation, the killer senses that they may be closing in, and plants evidence as a distraction, resulting in the arrest of another. But Sawyer knows they’ve got the wrong guy, and continues to dig…can she find the answers they need to find Riley before it’s too late?
I feel like I’ve been saying this in a lot of reviews lately, but I LOVED this book! Sawyer is a sassy, upbeat character, who in spite of her childhood nightmare, has grown into a force to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, her sister Harper, also a victim of that same nightmare, has become a self-styled vigilante, also a presence to be wary of, with a clear understanding of her misdeeds. While Harper is very aware of Sawyer’s work, Sawyer may just be getting an inkling of Harper’s situation, as she’s been given the vigilante story to follow as well. All of this sounds like an AMAZING set up for the next book of the series…and I cannot wait!!!
I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an objective review. Do you love to read?? Visit netgalley.com and start reviewing books today
Tropical Delusions...... 