Josie Quinn & Noah Fraley are just returning home from their honeymoon, driving along a country road on a foggy Pennsylvania morning when they hear screaming – then the wisp of what appears to be a young woman rushes across the road in front of them. Josie quickly pulls off the road as she and Noah begin searching for her. They find an empty car, door open, then discover a woman being choked by a man. As Josie cries out to stop the assault, she tackles the man before he breaks free and takes off running, a look of horror on his face. As Noah tends to the woman, Jose takes off after the assailant, catching up to him just before he leaps off a cliff into the river below…
As she returns to the roadside, she finds Noah doing CPR, and knows that the young woman is gone. A quick look at the abandoned car and its contents spilled over the roadway along with the license plate helps them to identify the deceased. A good look at the vehicle interior makes them realize there was another female passenger, but a search of the surrounding woods is fruitless. The assailant is quickly identified as well by his car, also found nearby.
Visits to the girls’ parents yield little clue to what might have happened. They were reportedly close friends, both working at a local hotel as part of the catering team. None of them recognize a picture of the girls’ assailant. But one parent does tell the detectives that a couple of weeks ago, his home had been ransacked from top to bottom, yet nothing was stolen. The autopsy on the dead teen reveals signs of torture… A visit to the killer’s home brings even more questions – his wife convinced he’s at work, horrified by the accusations being made. A lifelong knowledge of the Denton woods helps the team to locate the hideout of the killer, but he is frightened – of something – and refuses to utter a word.
As Josie and her team work to put the seemingly random pieces of the puzzle together, there seems to be one common denominator – the hotel – but what did two teens do to draw the ire of a local businessman? And what are they all so afraid of?
As will all Josie Quinn books, Lisa Regan takes us on a wild ride full of action, suspense and numerous twists and turns that will have you scratching your head and reading well into the night! Any guess I had as to which way the storyline was headed was dead wrong, and just when you think you’ve reached the end…nope, not yet…
Incidentally, I was also saddened to learn of the death of the Ms. Regan’s father in her Acknowledgements, and now fully understand the pervasive sadness that had persisted through the last couple of novels after Lisette’s death.
I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley & Bookouture in exchange for an objective review. Do you love to read?? Visit netgalley.com and start reviewing books today!!
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