BLURB:

For readers of Jane Harper and Rachel Caine comes a chilling thriller from award-winning author Jen Williams about a woman who discovers her late mother had been secretly corresponding with a serial killer for decades.

When prodigal daughter Heather Evans returns to her family home after her mother’s baffling suicide, she makes an alarming discovery–stacks and stacks of carefully preserved letters from notorious serial killer Michael Reave. The “Red Wolf,” as he was dubbed by the press, has been in prison for over twenty years, serving a life sentence for the gruesome and ritualistic murders of several women across the country, although he has always protested his innocence. The police have had no reason to listen, yet Heather isn’t the only one to have cause to re-examine the murders. The body of a young woman has just been found, dismembered and placed inside a tree, the corpse planted with flowers. Just as the Red Wolf once did.

What did Heather’s mother know? Why did she kill herself? And with the monstrous Red Wolf safely locked inside a maximum security prison, who is stalking young women now? Teaming up with DI Ben Parker, Heather hopes to get some answers for herself and for the newest victims of this depraved murderer. Yet to do that, she must speak to Michael Reave herself, and expose herself to truths she may not be ready to face. Something dark is walking in the woods, and it knows her all too well.

MY THOUGHTS:

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for letting me read this book prior to its publication. My opinion is 100% honest, unbiased, and my own.

I’m going to go ahead and say it from the start: this would have been a five-star book if it hadn’t been for the ending. The build-up to the ultimate events was way too long and slow, and then we get the resolution in a couple of chapters. It was a bit disappointing. I wanted more explanations. I wanted more closure. And that’s the only reason why I don’t give this book 5 stars.

Apart from that, this book kept me reading, although sometimes I wanted to slap Heather silly. The premise was really interesting, though. What would you do if you discover that your dead mother has been keeping letters from a serial killer? What would you do if that’s not all of the story? I must say that some details of the book were downright horrifying. But some others made me roll my eyes.

The story was well written, but the structure was not well balanced. The characters fell a bit flat at times.

But it was a really interesting story and I would recommend it to all thriller-lovers out there. Although some scenes are not for the faint of heart, it will keep you reading until you discover what’s going on.

So, for all of that, I give this book… 3 TEA CUPS!