I have to preface this review by saying – I loved this book! I’ve not read this author before, and the title and synopsis sounded interesting, so I thought I would give it a try. I was immediately drawn in by the first paragraph and captivated by the end of the prologue.
Set in Canada, the story begins with a young woman describing how she came to be one of the victims of the Cold Creek killer – an unknown person or persons who has been killing and disposing of bodies along the Cold Creek Highway in the North Country for decades, leaving an untold number of victims in his wake.
Hailey is a newly orphaned 17-year-old who now lives with her Aunt Lana and Lana’s husband Vaughn after the unexpected death of her father in a motor vehicle accident. She loves her Aunt and nephew Cash, but she and the rest of the area teens dislike Vaughn, a local cop, and have nicknamed him the Iceman. Hailey’s best friend Jonny is a skilled dirt bike rider and has taught Hailey all he knows. He occasionally steals parts as necessary to keep his and Hailey’s bikes running. Vaughn suspects the thefts and strongly discourages the relationship. He harasses Jonny every chance he gets, and continually appears where Hailey is and attempts to limit her freedom and her contact with Jonny, continually warning her about the dangers of running off alone because of the Cold Creek Killer. Hailey, distrustful of Vaughn, and miserable under his watchful eye, carefully plots her disappearance, with Jonny’s help…
A year goes by, and Beth arrives in Cold Creek for a memorial, as she mourns the loss of her sister, one of the Cold Creek killer’s presumed victims from the previous summer. Beth and Jonny become involved, and she decides to stay, finding a job at the diner where Angie used to work, and settling into small town life as she tries to learn what really happened to her. On an evening of over-indulgence at the local bar, she runs into Vaughn, who insists on escorting her home, and she wakes with little memory of what, if anything, had transpired. Uneasy over the situation, she opts to leave her hotel, heading to the local campground to stay for a while, although it seems Vaughn is never far.
What secrets do the mountains hold? Is Vaughn an overzealous cop trying to keep his townspeople safe, or is he something more? What happened to Hailey? Who killed Beth’s sister Amber? As Amber searches for answers, she finds more than she bargained for as she comes face to face with a killer…
Again – I absolutely LOVED this book!! Hooked me from the start and had me flipping pages well into the night just to learn the answers to all of the questions above! Great read – unputdownable!!
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...... 