In the Pines by Kendra Elliot

Clues to a hidden treasure. Clues to a family secret. Both lead to murder in a twisting novel of suspense by Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Kendra Elliot.

A national treasure hunt with a $2 million prize has driven obsessed fortune seekers to overrun the small town of Eagle’s Nest, Oregon. The hunt’s cryptic clues and the lure of wealth have exposed the desperate side of human greed: theft, fights, trespassing—and even the motive to kill. Police chief Truman Daly craves peace in his town but has a murder on his hands instead. Now the big prize isn’t the only thing hiding in the pines. So is a killer.

When a young boy walks into the local café and claims his mother and baby sister have been missing for weeks, FBI special agent Mercy Kilpatrick investigates and exposes a disturbing twist in his story. Deep family secrets and lies that started sixty years ago have burst into the present, bringing with them deadly consequences.

Mercy’s and Truman’s investigations lead down a path of murder, revenge, and buried secrets to uncover two intertwined mysteries as dark as an Oregon forest.

Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Columbia River series!
For book one, The Last Sister, click HERE.
For book two, The Silence, click HERE.

 

 

Book 3
Buy Links

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~ Also Available to Read & Listen with KindleUnlimited ~

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Mystery
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

In the Pines is the seventh book in the series and Mercy, Truman, and Evan are at it again. This time, there is an elusive treasure hunt located in their ideal town. Tourists are hellbent on finding the treasure and with those tourists, a whole host of trouble follows.

With a fight breaking out over notes regarding the treasure, a couple of murders, and some kids who have been abandoned, it will take all three of them to figure out how to calm the tourists and find the murderers.

This story kept you reading and wanting to figure out what happened. Elliot wrote some good twists and turns. You won't be sorry that you went on this treasure hunt.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is another great book with Mercy Kilpatrick as the lead character, along with her now husband, Truman Daly.

Hitting close to home, the young boy and his sister remind Mercy of her prepper family roots, and she understands all too well how carefully they need to deal with the situation. It also makes her realise that she is no longer in that place, and her new family is far more important than her need to survive. She finds that insight both liberating and incredibly unexpected. I loved that we got to see her value her place in her family, and their importance to her.

The mystery is fast-paced, clever, and full of twists – you should expect nothing less from Kendra Elliot! I am already looking forward to the next book.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4 stars

I really like the Mercy Kilpatrick series and her adventures. This story isn't the strongest of the series, but it did keep me interested.

In this installment, Mercy is tasked with finding a missing mother and an 18-month-old toddler who have vanished after leaving her teenagers home alone to go find their father. Digging deeper into this mystery, Mercy finds out that the missing mom is, in fact, the long missing sister of the sheriff's deputy Evan Bolton, whom she's worked with before.

Fourteen years ago, Bridget Kerr, aka Bethany Bolton, ran off with her boyfriend, Victor Kerr, and was never heard from again. Now, Evan has taken custody of his teenage niece and nephew and has learned that they have been living off the grid all these years. Growing up as a child of preppers, Mercy understands this lifestyle and why Bridget would feel comfortable leaving her teens home alone for a week.

Kendra Elliot brought the subject matter to life, and I loved that the author included Kaylie and Ollie as major characters in this book. I would like to see more of them in future books, as well as how Mercy teaches them to always be prepared in accordance with her prepper upbringing.

 

 

KENDRA ELLIOT has landed on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list multiple times and is the award-winning author of the Bone Secrets and Callahan & McLane series, the Mercy Kilpatrick novels, and the Columbia River novels. She’s a three-time winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award, an International Thriller Writers Award finalist, and an RT Award finalist. She has always been a voracious reader, cutting her teeth on classic female heroines such as Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and Laura Ingalls. She was born and raised in the rainy Pacific Northwest but now lives in flip-flops.

Connect with Kendra Elliot

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ARC provided by

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of In the Pines (Columbia River #3; Mercy Kilpatrick #7) by Kendra Elliot to read and review.