This was gripping! Listened to as an audiobook and the quality of the narration really added to the atmosphere with convincing voices and excellent pacing.
Our heroine, Emmy-Lou is guilt-ridden by a case 12 years ago in which two young girls were abducted and murdered. Both were known to Emmy, a police officer and she blames herself for not responding when one of the girls had asked to speak to her just minutes before she disappears.
In the present day the man found guilty of the murders and currently waiting on death row appears to be exonerated by some new DNA evidence and is released. Shortly afterwards another young girl goes missing.
The pace never slackens and the author takes us right inside Emmy’s head and we share every moment and every emotion with her.
The location, North Falls, Georgia has an outsize influence – the town was founded by Emmy’s family, her dad is Sheriff and other members of the family fill virtually every other post of importance.
There’s great family drama and dynamics here, Emmy’s relationship with her son, now a deputy and her long estranged Aunt Jude, now a recently retired FBI agent specialising in child abduction – that coincidence might seem like a stretch but by the end of the book we get to understand her career choices.
I did not see either of the massive twists that come at the end and greatly enjoyed the whole thing. I’ve pre ordered the sequel and bought a bumper pack of 12 previous novels (a bargain at around £25). Expect to see more reviews of this author soon.