Twelve years after a horrific murder, a killer reemerges on the secluded grounds of a vacation resort. Strangely enough, all the same payers are back in town, including Maura Antrim and Brock McGovern. A teenaged couple when the original murder happened, Maura (a renown videographer) and Brock (an FBI agent), are thrown back to together to with this new rash of crimes. They quickly find that all the denied emotions of the past have not faded. In a race to find two missing women and solve this decade long mystery, they reconnect to face the evil forces that initially tore their relationship apart.
I received this book as an ARC from the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I selected this book as soon as I read through the synopsis. I recently finished my first book of this genre (romantic thriller), and I've been dying to find another. The cover also played a small part in this selection. I've always enjoyed a good serial killer or a police procedural crime novel. Therefore, both the police tape and the color scheme of the book cover drew me in. I was also dying to find out what incendiary mystery the handsome central figure had in his past. Maybe I'm the only one who would find a smoking secret in a red-yellow gradient; but hey! Where there are flames, there's fire… or something thereabouts.
Ms. Graham does an excellent job of providing local color and Floridian history. Her descriptive details made me feel like I was walking through many of the locales. Being a researcher by nature, this book drove me to an even deeper dive into the creepy history surrounding the state. I was tickled to find that many facts stated in the book were accurate! I can't wait to plan my trip to visit a few of my newfound scary spots. While environmental development helped in lending authenticity to this book, the character development brought it to life.
I felt connected to the characters and rooted (ok, sometimes jeered) for them throughout the book. This connectedness was partially formed and supported by the awesome character index at the start of the book. I say partially because the index just helped me to keep the characters sorted 12 years later. This is super important as the story hits the ground running and never slows. We meet the characters as their 12-year-old selves. Experience their excitement at just being kids, then their sadness as that is taken from them. Fast forward to the present day, and we meet the same individuals as young adults. I loved how even though they were the same at the core, they all displayed the growth they had experienced as part of their earlier shared trauma. The new characters were also handled with the same care and blended seamlessly into the narrative
Although the plot wasn't filled with many twists, the main mystery of the book was wonderfully developed. I had no idea who the villain(s) were right up until the big reveal. The love story is a touching second chance tale, but there wasn't a moment where I wondered if the main characters would get together rather than when. No worries though, this enhances rather than detracts from the love theme in this book.
If you're in the market for a great thriller/crime story with elements of romance, this may be the book for you. Now, you may be wondering why a 3-heart and not a 4-heart rating. It saddens me to say that I almost put this book down early. The writing style is just not my cup of tea, short sentences, and many internal conversations made it difficult to follow. However, this was easily dismissed once I got into the meat of the story. I found that I liked the backbone and concept of the story. Baring that in mind, I'd advise all those who are wavering on completing this story to forge through. It's worth it!
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