I cannot even believe it but this is the twentieth installment in the series, how impressive is that? What’s even more impressive is that this still felt as fresh and exciting as book one did, there is nothing formulaic or repetitive here and is the reason I have stuck with the series so long. I’ll continue to do so as long as the author keeps writing, Kim and team may as well be part of my family at this point and I never tire of reading what they’re up to. I always get asked if you can jump into the series late and technically yes, you can and would be fine because each book follows a new case. But in this instance the twenty book commitment is well worth it so I say start at the beginning, enjoy the ride and thank me later! 

The team is tasked with not one, but two cases simultaneously here, someone is hunting down the mothers of former beauty pageant contestants and brutally murdering them and there’s a side case involving a long dead body found in a fishing lake. So no shortage of excitement here, I have always thought child beauty pageants are both fascinating and slightly creepy so that angle interested me greatly. It focused heavily on the relationship between mothers and daughters and if you’re caught up on the series then you already know about Kim’s complex relationship with her own mother so the parallels and introspection Kim had while working this case was highly engaging. I love how the author always lays the groundwork where you could, plausibly solve the case as you read but I never quite get there before Kim and the team crack it wide open themselves. It’s so fun to look back after I finish and think, oh I see what you did there, the breadcrumbs were all strewn about I just didn’t figure it out. Per usual this was fast paced, gripping and exciting with plenty of dark and disturbing reveals that were balanced by snarky comments and banter between Kim and her team. There are always moments of levity in these books and it is executed so well. Another winner, the author never misses for me and continues to write some of my very favorite crime fiction out there.