This is a dark and deeply psychological thriller. Detective Ryan and his partner, Cassie, are tasked with solving the murder of a 12 year old girl after her body is found dumped at an archaeological site. Little does Ryan know how this case is going to drag up his own dark history as the only remaining survivor of the mysterious disappearance of his friends in the same town.

The investigation takes a lot of twists and turns and I really enjoyed every second of it. I had a few ideas on who I thought was the murderer, but even that was twisted into something I hadn't expected in the final reveal at the end. I would have liked to learn more about Ryan's own childhood and got some more clarification on that, but I don't know if that is being saved for future books in the series.

My absolute favourite thing about this book is the depth of the characters. Each and every character in this book has a complex and intricately built personality, they each have their flaws and they just feel SO real. I cared very deeply about the characters. Cassie was my favourite. I loved how strong and independent she was and I adored her friendship with Ryan. These two made me laugh, sympathise, feel jealous and then they made me awfully sad. I just loved their interactions and how carefully their friendship was written, it was so important to this novel and the investigation.

I really enjoyed the writing style of this book. It is, at times, a little too wordy but on the whole I thought the writing was detailed and intricate, leaving me feeling full of suspense and wanting to read on. There is no doubt in my mind that Tara French is a fantastic author and I will definitely be trying out the next book in this series at some point.