Title: The Innocent Girls
Author: BR Spangler
PUBLICATION DAY: Sept 3rd 2020
Description:
Tears stream down her face as she feels the cold blade press against her neck. The sweet scent of her daughter’s favorite strawberry pancakes all around, her last thought is for her beautiful girl. Please, please let Lisa have escaped.
When Detective Casey White is called early one morning to a beachside vacation campsite in the Outer Banks, she finds the bodies of Carl and Peggy Pearson side-by-side, their throats cut, and their thirteen-year-old daughter Lisa nowhere to be found. Haunted by memories of her own missing girl, Casey fears this could soon become a triple murder: because without the medication found in the bathroom cabinet, Lisa has just days to live.
As her team struggle to untangle the meaning of the cryptic symbol carved into the victims’ skin, Casey searches the area for signs of Lisa: and is rewarded when she finds her blistered and barefoot, staggering along the highway. The girl barely has breath left to whisper ‘he invited me’ before blacking out.
Days later, another couple is found murdered on a vacation yacht. A different symbol is etched on their bodies, and their teenage daughter is also missing. Casey’s only clue is an unsettling ‘invitation’ found on the girl’s phone, to a secluded building out in the cornfields.
Desperate to uncover who is luring these innocent families to their deaths, and certain forensics have missed something vital, Casey matches up the crime scene photos herself. The symbols combine to form an upcoming date. The killer is taunting them with the timing of the next murder.
Racing to follow the invitation in time, when Casey arrives she is shocked to glimpse not the missing girls from this case, but her own missing daughter…
An absolutely addictive mystery thriller that will have you holding your breath until the shocking final twist. Perfect for fans of Kendra Elliot, Robert Dugoni and Melinda Leigh.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'The Innocent Girls' by B.R Spangler
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 3rd September 2020
This is the first book that I have read by this author. It is the second book in the 'Detective Casey White' series.
I was originally drawn to this book by its gorgeous cover, interesting title & intriguing blurb. It also said in the description that is is 'perfect for fans of Melinda Leigh'. I love Melinda Leigh's books so it will be interesting to see if it lives up to this!! I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a prologue and 50 chapters which are short to medium in length so ideal to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
THE main protagonist in this book is Detective Casey White where she 'speaks' in first person dialogue . Ialways enjoy reading books written in first person more as it feels like I'm sitting across the table from them while they are telling their story or in the book next to them. We also read about others in different chapters in third person perspective. It is set in the U.S
The way it is written and the fantastic descriptions made me feel like I was right next Casey and going through the events with her.
The storyline is intriguing with the children being spared and invites being sent. There is also the side storyline of Casey trying to find her daughter throughout the book. I felt like I was on a roller-coaster when reading this with there being many ups, some slower parts and twists and turns throughout. Unfortunately I cannot say I was completely surprised by who the perp was and there was a part with Casey and Ronald which was quite cliché and obvious. However, I have read hundreds of crime books so for someone who hasn't read as many this may not be the case. Although I guessed what was going on it didn't spoil the book for me as it was quite a unique storyline with plenty of other unexpected events going on. I would never have guessed a certain someone becoming a victim so definitely bonus points there!!! I loved the history and why things were going on and that was very interesting.
I loved the broad range of characters and the fact that Casey is a strong female lead is definitely a bonus, being female myself I love crime novels with strong women. The characters were all realistic and their parts were 'played' well. I am looking forward to 'meeting' them again and reading more of what becomes of Casey and Jericho.
This book can be read as a standalone but for a better picture where Casey's daughter and Ronald is concerned I would recommend reading the first book prior to this one.
Without giving anything away I was relived about a certain part at the beginning and I'm glad it went that way as stories that involve a certain thing (sorry readers you may know what I'm on about but I don't want to spoil it and the author and people who have read it will understand) tend to put me off the books a bit.
The story was more of a slow burner although at times picking up, much of the action I found really kicked off at about 65% and got much more interesting. I also feel the cover complimented the story really well, this can be a downfall if it doesn't and the cover has no relevance with the book itself.
Overall a very good slow burner that really hits full throttle further in and becomes filled with suspense, action and tension. A unique storyline.
Genres covered include Suspense, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, , Hardboiled, Police procedural, Psychological thriller, Crime fiction and Noir fiction.
I would recommend this book to fans of the above and anyone who enjoys a unique storyline.
358 pages.
This book is £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is a very good price for this book!!!
Rated 4/5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews
@BRSpangler @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
https://kcmw86.wixsite.com/bookworm86
https://m.facebook.com/Bookworm1986/?ref=bookmarks
https://m.facebook.com/Bookwork86/?__tn__=%2As-R
Author Bio:
B.R. Spangler here. I'm a resident of Virginia along with my family, five cats, two birds, a hamster, and a lizard. During the day, I work as an engineer and spend my off hours writing, editing, and thinking up the next great story.
I split my time across pen names, writing crime thrillers, science fiction, horrors, paranormal and contemporary fiction.
Author Social Media Links:
To keep up to date, sign up for his newsletter by copying and pasting this link into your browser: https://brspangler.com/sign-up/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/BR_Spangler
BUY LINK:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B08BJBLV51Social
Apple: http://ow.ly/rJfa50AfcWE
Kobo: http://ow.ly/jHH250AfcVo
Google: http://ow.ly/iSZB50AfcYg
Comments