Title: The Drowned Girls
Series: Angie Pallorino #1
Author: Loreth Anne White
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Genre: Suspense Thriller
Purchase Link: Amazon
My Rating: 5 Thrilling Hearts
Synopsis:
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 . . .
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?
Review:
It always excites me to find a new-to-me author who can deliver the goods - one whose writing grabs me by the throat and/or heart and squeezes, holding me captive from cover to cover. From the moment I started reading The Drowned Girls all the way through to the last word on the last page, I was a goner. I fell straight down the rabbit hole into White's dark world and couldn't stop reading. Needless to say, I'll be reading more in the Angie Pallorino series and am shouting from the rooftops: Fans of suspense/thrillers - Read This Book!
From the blurb, it might be easy to dismiss this as just another detective (woman) with something to prove vs. a sadistic serial killer story, but that would be a serious injustice. The Drowned Girls is a multi-layered, well-written masterpiece in the genre. White has an eerie ability to place readers in the scene - so much so that I found my heart racing or breaking right along with the characters. The plot lines are expertly interwoven giving readers a story within a story as Angie struggles to remember illusive details from her past that haunt her, placing her life and the life of others in jeopardy as the hunt for a serial killer escalates. The pace of this story is almost frantic as the stakes are raised when it takes an unforeseen turn. The hero/heroine of this story are both toting baggage that's weighing them down, Angie more so than Maddock, and their first "meeting" is unconventional to say the least. The dynamics between them are as explosive as matches & gasoline even though they fight it and each other. White has created a diverse cast of characters - some of which are seriously flawed and disturbingly real. All are well-fleshed out, delivering a performance that would receive a standing ovation on the stage. When you add it all up, The Drowned Girls is a stunning, intense, on-the-edge of your seat thriller. A Page Burner! A Must Read! I can't sing its praises loudly enough.
My Rating: 5 Thrilling Hearts . . . And that's the truth!
From the blurb, it might be easy to dismiss this as just another detective (woman) with something to prove vs. a sadistic serial killer story, but that would be a serious injustice. The Drowned Girls is a multi-layered, well-written masterpiece in the genre. White has an eerie ability to place readers in the scene - so much so that I found my heart racing or breaking right along with the characters. The plot lines are expertly interwoven giving readers a story within a story as Angie struggles to remember illusive details from her past that haunt her, placing her life and the life of others in jeopardy as the hunt for a serial killer escalates. The pace of this story is almost frantic as the stakes are raised when it takes an unforeseen turn. The hero/heroine of this story are both toting baggage that's weighing them down, Angie more so than Maddock, and their first "meeting" is unconventional to say the least. The dynamics between them are as explosive as matches & gasoline even though they fight it and each other. White has created a diverse cast of characters - some of which are seriously flawed and disturbingly real. All are well-fleshed out, delivering a performance that would receive a standing ovation on the stage. When you add it all up, The Drowned Girls is a stunning, intense, on-the-edge of your seat thriller. A Page Burner! A Must Read! I can't sing its praises loudly enough.
My Rating: 5 Thrilling Hearts . . . And that's the truth!
Cross My
Heart . . . xxx
Sandra
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