Book: The Drowning Girls
Author: Lisa Regan
Publication Day: Dec 10th 2021
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B09HXXS8LWsocial Apple: http://ow.ly/b59Q50GoaLL Kobo: http://ow.ly/iG8o50GoaKK Google: http://ow.ly/L04l50GoaNj
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Crime Thriller
Would I recommend: If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I think Lisa Regan’s Josie Quinn books are some of the best thrillers out there. If you like a rollercoaster ride of a book, read this one. Read the entire series. Thank me later.
About the Book:
In the thin glow of moonlight, a mess of auburn curls gleams against the rocks. Hands bound, the girl’s fragile body is limp and still. Seconds later, a wall of raging white water crashes down, swallowing her whole…
A knock on the door late in the evening can only mean trouble for Detective Josie Quinn, but fear chokes her at the news that the one of her own team is missing. No one has seen Denton PD’s beautiful Press Liaison Amber for days. Sweet-natured and totally dedicated to the job, she’d never let her colleagues down. A message scrawled on the frosted windscreen of Amber’s car leads Josie to a nearby dam. But the body they pull from the water is not Amber…
Josie won’t sleep until she finds a name for the innocent girl left to drown, and the meaning of the numbers scribbled in a tattered pink diary found on Amber’s desk. But when the trail leads her to a twisted truth about Amber’s family, Josie wonders if anyone really knew her at all?
Her team crumbling around her, Josie must stay strong and focused to get the job done. But as prime suspects start going missing, and rumors of an argument the night Amber disappeared surface, could one of her own staff be to blame?
Finding Amber alive is Josie’s only chance of knowing the truth and stopping a dangerous killer in their tracks. But as a blizzard closes in, how many more precious lives will be snatched before she can?
An absolutely astounding crime thriller that will keep you up all night and leave you sleeping with the lights on. This gripping rollercoaster ride, perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni and Rachel Caine, will have you TOTALLY HOOKED!
My review:
Josie Quinn, a detective in the small town of Denton, Pennsylvania, is enjoying some family time over the holidays. The festive gathering is interrupted by a knock at the door – usually not good news at night. Finn Mettner, a fellow detective, is concerned about his girlfriend and Denton’s police force liaison, Amber. He hasn’t heard from her for several days, which is unusual. He’s let his concern lead him to make some poor choices, and now not only are Josie and the rest of the team trying to figure out what happened to Amber, they’ve got to question whether Finn was involved.
Finn convinces Josie and Noah to come with him to Amber’s house, and a clue written in the frost on her car’s windshield leads them to the local dam. When it becomes clear that there’s a person in the water chute of the dam, and that she’s alive, Josie flings herself headfirst into danger to try to save her.
Amber’s family is a mystery until Josie starts digging, and what she finds is unsettling. The childhood diary in Amber’s desk with Josie’s name written on a Post-It note stuck to it, and the strange numbers inside, are a puzzle to be solved. And once it becomes clear that members of Amber’s family, estranged or not, are being targeted as the body count rises, time becomes of the essence. They’ve got to find Amber, if she’s still alive, before it’s too late.
Lisa Regan is a master of the tautly drawn crime thriller, and this, the thirteenth in the series, is no exception. This book grabbed me from the get-go and it was pedal to the metal all the way through. And it’s not all action and shoot ’em up. Josie is still struggling with the death of her grandmother Lisette, and we see her working through that, growing and getting stronger. The character development is one of the things I enjoy most about Ms. Regan’s writing. Her characters are very much three-dimensional, and we get to know more about them as the series progresses.
This was a pretty convoluted plot, too! There were a lot of people involved, and many of them were not what they first appeared to be. From Amber’s parents and aunt to the preacher of the new megachurch in town, everyone had something to hide. I love a book where I don’t see the twist coming, and I really didn’t pick up on it here.
If you’ve read my blog before, you know what I think of Josie Quinn. If you’re new to the blog, welcome! I’ve reviewed several other Josie Quinn books, namely, Breathe Your Last (#10), Hush Little Girl (#11), and Her Deadly Touch (#12). They are all smokin’ good reads. They’re good as stand-alone works, but I recommend you start with the first in the series and read them all. As long as Ms. Regan keeps writing, I will keep reading. Good stuff right here. Five stars, well deserved.
Disclaimer: My thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance reader copy of the book. All opinions here are mine, and I don’t say nice things about books I don’t actually like.
About the Author:
Lisa Regan is an Amazon bestselling crime novelist. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Master of Education Degree from Bloomsburg University. She is a member of Sisters In Crime, Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and daughter.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lisa-Regan-189735444395923/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lisalregan
Website: http://www.lisaregan.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisareganauthor/
