Many thanks to my friends at @minotaur and @macmillan.audio for the #gifted copies of this book.  

 

Dark.  Intense.  Fast paced.  

 

“You’ll love me more when I’m dead.”  

 

As Rowan arrives on the scene of a new murder investigation, she’s haunted by the last words her daughter said.  Rowan and her detective husband, Tom, often struggle to balance family life with the demands of career.  When Chloe goes missing, everything, even the job, turns personal.  

 

Not for the faint of heart, this is a disturbing narrative focused on the brutal murders of teenage girls.  Set during Halloween, the plot is fittingly dark and gruesome.

 

The standout element in this book (and the series as a whole) is the rendering of the town itself.  A crime ridden, dying place everyone longs to escape, yet within the read, it’s a living component that haunts every part of the plot.

 

With the storyline revolving around a family—daughter missing, mom and dad working a connected investigation— it’s a tangled web of duty and devotion.  The personal connections upped the stakes and amplified the anxiety-ridden search. While this did require some suspension of belief, the emotional complexity heightened the intensity, making it a worthwhile tradeoff.

 

I read this one just before Halloween, and it set the perfect tone.  I’m already looking forward to my next trip to Black Harbor.  

 

🎧 Narrated by a full cast, the audiobook was hard to put down.  It created a distinction between characters and oozed with suspense and emotion.  XE Sands’ performances consistently deliver.  Yet within this cast, her sections were imbalanced, both faster and quieter.  This was a small frustration, but it interfered with overall continuity.