He surfaced two years ago. Then he disappeared...
But Detective Angie Pallorino never forgot the violent rapist who left a distinctive calling card—crosses etched into the flesh of his victim’s foreheads.
When a comatose Jane Doe is found in a local cemetery, sexually assaulted, mutilated, and nearly drowned, Angie is struck by the eerie similarities to her earlier unsolved rapes. Could he be back?
Then the body of a drowned young woman floats up in the Gorge, also bearing the marks of the serial rapist, and the hunt for a predator becomes a hunt for a killer. Assigned to the joint investigative task force, Angie is more than ready to prove that she has what it takes to break into the all-male homicide division. But her private life collides with her professional ambitions when she’s introduced to her temporary partner, James Maddocks—a man she’d met the night before in an intense, anonymous encounter.
Together, Angie and Maddocks agree to put that night behind them. But as their search for the killer intensifies so does their mutual desire. And Angie’s forays into the mind of a monster shake lose some unsettling secrets about her own past...
How can she fight for the truth when it turns out her whole life is a lie?
Book 1
Buy Links
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~ Available with KindleUnlimited ~
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
But Detective Angie Pallorino never forgot the violent rapist who left a distinctive calling card—crosses etched into the flesh of his victim’s foreheads.
When a comatose Jane Doe is found in a local cemetery, sexually assaulted, mutilated, and nearly drowned, Angie is struck by the eerie similarities to her earlier unsolved rapes. Could he be back?
Then the body of a drowned young woman floats up in the Gorge, also bearing the marks of the serial rapist, and the hunt for a predator becomes a hunt for a killer. Assigned to the joint investigative task force, Angie is more than ready to prove that she has what it takes to break into the all-male homicide division. But her private life collides with her professional ambitions when she’s introduced to her temporary partner, James Maddocks—a man she’d met the night before in an intense, anonymous encounter.
Together, Angie and Maddocks agree to put that night behind them. But as their search for the killer intensifies so does their mutual desire. And Angie’s forays into the mind of a monster shake lose some unsettling secrets about her own past...
How can she fight for the truth when it turns out her whole life is a lie?
Book 1
Buy Links
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon Au ~ Amazon Ca
~ Available with KindleUnlimited ~
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
The Drowned Girls follows sex crimes Detective Angie Pallorino and her temporary partner, Sergeant James Maddocks, as they track down a serial killer who is linked to unsolved rapes Angie worked on four years ago.
The first quarter or so of this book is a little slow going and requires patience. The author does a good job setting the scene and creating atmosphere. The story is set in Canada in December in freezing, stormy weather and I felt cold just reading this.
As the story unfolds, we get the points of view of not only Angie and Maddocks but of various characters, including the new Mayor, a local crime reporter, and the serial killer. But the most fascinating character for me was Angie's partner in the sex crimes division, Kjel Holgersen. He is a little odd and very good at his job and I thought there was more to him that he was letting on.
As well as chasing a serial killer, Angie is having visions of a little girl which start to affect her ability to do her job and has her worried that she is developing schizophrenia like her mother. Ultimately it leads her to solving a mystery in her personal life.
The pace of the story picks up a little at it goes but generally it unfolds in quite a methodical fashion leading to a heart stopping climax. The Drowned Girls is an excellent read and I look forward to more books in this series.
Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Thriller
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.
Angie Pallorino and James Maddocks are a strange couple. Both are wanting to have a connection, but only a physical one. Angie is more of the risk taker and picks up random people in a bar – which is where she meets James Maddocks. They have a random, hot hookup before Angie is called to a crime scene. Because neither exchanges information, it's quite a shock when they are connected as partners for a temporary assignment.
Angie has been having a difficult time, as of late. Her mother is suffering in a mental institution and her father doesn't understand why Angie needs to be a sex crimes police officer, gunning for joining the homicide unit. Angie and her then partner caught a case about four years ago that still haunts her to this day. When this new case shares similarities, she will stop at nothing to be put on the case.
James is made lead on the case and finds himself intrigued by both the case and his temporary partner. But both come with baggage and neither really wants to deal with it. James wants to make sure that he corrects his mistakes of the past with his family – mainly his daughter, who is snarky and kind of a pain. But he also decides that he wants more out of life than just his job.
While Angie and James are racing the clock, Angie is continuing to struggle with her mental wellbeing and James is trying to help in any way that he can.
The book is somewhat slow and very descriptive at times. I think that it did set up certain areas well, but overall felt it was too descriptive – at least in the beginning half. It made for a struggle to get to the active part of the story.
Overall, this was a great thriller and I can't wait to see what happens next for Angie.
Loreth Anne White is an award-winning author of romantic suspense, thrillers, and mysteries. She has won the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Romantic Suspense, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Romantic Crown for Best Romantic Suspense and Best Book Overall. In addition, she has been a two-time RITA finalist, a Booksellers’ Best finalist, a multiple Daphne Du Maurier Award finalist, and a multiple CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award winner. A former journalist and newspaper editor who has worked in both South Africa and Canada, she now resides in the Pacific Northwest with her family.
Connect with Loreth
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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Drowned Girls (Angie Pallorino #1) by Loreth Anne White to read and review.
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