THE HUNTER'S DAUGHTER Review

Author: Nicola Solvinic

Publisher: Berkley Publishing

Release Date: May 14, 2024

Many thanks to Berkley Pub. for a copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Review published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

Interview published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

A hypnotic, sinister debut mystery about a seemingly good cop who is secretly the daughter of a notorious serial killer.

Review:

THE HUNTER'S DAUGHTER by Author Nicola Solvinic is a chilling, highly addictive debut that gave me serious goose bumps. There's a supernatural element with an air of malice lurking that saturates the pages of this story, leaving readers jumping at night sounds. I burned through this book with trepidation over what would happen next, afraid to continue but unable to stop. You'll want to settle in with the lights on to read this one!

As a young child, Elena loves nothing more than spending long days meandering through the forest with her beloved father Steven Theron, listening to him speak of spirits, fairies and the Forest God. Despite her mother's disapproval, her days are idyllic until the day she ventures out alone and stumbles across a horrific discovery. Severely traumatized, Elena’s memories are repressed, and she grows up to be Anna Koray, a respected police officer where no one knows she's the daughter of the notorious Forest Strangler.

Lt. Anna Koray is off duty when she arrives at the scene of a domestic dispute. Things quickly go south when she inadvertently comes in contact with PCP and is forced to shoot the domestic perpetrator in the line of duty. Awakening in the hospital, Anna is disoriented and suffering hallucinations. She's assured it's her exposure to the PCP, but as more of her dark memories surface, Anna's left fearing the unknown. When a young woman's body is discovered in the same manner as her father's victims, rumors of a copycat serial killer arise. Anna panics when she starts getting cryptic notes claiming to "know who she really is", leaving her to wonder what she does during periods of blackouts. One thing is clear. Someone is killing young, blonde women again. Is it a copycat serial killer? Did her father somehow escape execution? Or has the darkness brewing inside her surfaced? Anna needs answers and to get them, she must unmask a killer. Even if it destroys her world.

Author Nicola Solvinic has rendered a mesmerizing tale that's impossible to put down in THE HUNTER'S DAUGHTER. Anna is a unique, conflicted character that struggles to separate fact from myth. As a respected police officer, she strives to do the right thing, but as the traumatized daughter with the genes of a serial killer father in her veins, she's lost in a world of smoke and mirrors. Slovinic does an amazing job of drawing attention to the long-term psychological effects of trauma on fragile minds as she explores the issue of nature vs. nurture. She flawlessly weaves the supernatural aspects of this story with forensic science. The imagery is brilliant creating a highly visual, tingle all the senses setting. Characters are as real as they are illusive, charging readers with sifting through all the hidden clues and red herrings to follow the breadcrumbs through twists and turns before arriving at the epic climax. While I had an inkling about what was happening that proved to be true in the end, it in no way lessened the dramatic impact of experiencing this stunning story.

THE HUNTER'S DAUGHTER is a raw, gritty, all-consuming psychological thriller that is masterfully rendered - a unique jewel in the genre. Author Nicola Slovinic's skill is evident as she expertly manipulates characters and readers and monsters through a tunnel of darkness to emerge at the end. Themes of good vs. evil, nature vs. nurture and the aftereffects of trauma are managed with skill and grace. Highly recommended to fans of mysteries, suspense and thrillers.

 Synopsis:

Anna Koray escaped her father’s darkness long ago. When she was a girl, her childhood memories were sealed away from her conscious mind by a controversial hypnosis treatment. She’s now a decorated sheriff’s lieutenant serving a rural county, conducting an ordinary life far from her father’s shadow.

When Anna kills a man in the line of duty, her suppressed memories return. She dreams of her beloved father, his hands red with blood, surrounded by flower-decked corpses he had sacrificed to the god of the forest.

To Anna’s horror, a serial killer emerges who is copying her father – and who knows who she really is. Is her father still alive, or is this the work of another? Will the killer expose her, destroying everything she has built for herself? Does she want him to?

But as she haunts the forest, using her father’s tricks to the hunt the killer, will she find what she needs most…or lose herself in the gathering darkness?