Published by Second Sky Books Genres: Crime, Fiction, Mystery, suspense, thriller
Format: ARC, eBook
Another gripping installment in the Chief Maggie Riley series by Shannon Hollinger! This book is full of secrets, tension, suspense, mounting danger, and interesting characters!
Chief Maggie Riley and her new lieutenant Kal have their work cut out for them in this book. The body of a pregnant teen is found in the trash. Could this be the body of a missing teen, one that was last seen two years ago? Maggie believes that it is. Maggie also receives an envelope with a disturbing image of a bound and gagged girl. No one has reported a missing teen. But Maggie believes she knows the identity of the teen.
That is just the beginning. Kal, like Maggie came to Coyote Cove for a fresh start. Both have secrets and both have felt resistance from the locals. The locals do not want a woman as chief, nor do they want a minority in their town or as her lieutenant.
Secrets are the name of the game in this book. Not only do Maggie and Kal have secrets, so do Maggie’s fiancé, Steve, her mother who showed up out of the blue, and those who live in the deep woods of Coyote Cove.
Maggie is pulled in many directions in this book both personally and professionally. As she and Kal investigate, there is an underlying sense of tension, dread, and mounting danger. The setting in Maine and the woods create atmosphere and add to the overall feeling of tension in the book.
Maggie is a great character. She has a troubling past and came to Coyote Cove for a new beginning. She has handled herself very well while dealing with locals who do not approve of a woman being their Chief. She is strong, vulnerable, determined, and caring. Kal is an interesting new character who is no stranger to dealing with prejudice; but it is upsetting to see how he is treated. I look forward to more of him in future books. Steve is Maggie’s fiancé and I have a feeling book 4 is going to center on him and his secrets.
As with the first two books in this series, this book was well written, well thought out and I enjoyed the character development. Hollinger has me wanting more and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
Although, this could be read as a stand-alone, I do believe reading the first two books would make this book more enjoyable. Plus, they are fast reads! The first two books set the stage for Maggie, her past, why she came to Coyote Cove, and her relationship with Steve.
Well written, gripping, tense and hard to put down!
Thank you to Second Sky Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.