- Title: Her Deadly Touch
- Series: Detective Josie Quinn #12
- Author: Lisa Regan
- Publisher: Bookouture
- Publication Day: August 12, 2021
- Where to buy: Amazon: https://geni.us/B095WY9LC3social Apple: http://ow.ly/2ZCV50EWxZU Kobo: http://ow.ly/6pTD50EWxXR Google: http://ow.ly/FZu250EWy1U
- Genre: Crime Thriller
- Would I recommend: Absolutely. This series just never slows down.
About the Book:
The woman is kneeling at a gravestone, her hair blowing in the breeze, a bunch of wilting yellow daffodils on the grass beside her. Her eyes are fixed on the ground and her mouth is parted in a silent prayer. But the wax dripping from her cold blue lips means it’s already too late to save her…
On her first day back with the Denton PD after a major trauma, Detective Josie Quinn is on the hunt for a missing woman, Krystal Duncan, the mother of one of five children killed in a devastating school bus crash. Hours later, Josie finds Krystal’s body beside her daughter’s grave, her lips sealed together forever with wax.
Forensics match the wax to one of the candles lit in memory of the sweet little souls who died, giving Josie her first lead to a support group made up of the parents who lost children in the crash. Painstakingly dissecting the lives of these grieving couples, it’s clear to Josie that each of them is hiding something about the day of the accident—but whose secret is worth killing for?
The case takes an agonizing turn when the body of another young mother is found near the site of the bus crash. Someone connected to the accident is out for revenge. As the members of the support group are picked off one by one, every second counts for Josie to save the lives of these loving parents who have already suffered the loss of those they treasured most…
An absolutely gripping and totally unputdownable crime thriller from an Amazon, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Be warned, this book will keep you up all night! Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni and Rachel Caine.
My review:
Josie Quinn is coming back to work after the traumatic death of her grandmother Lisette. She isn’t sure she’s ready to be back at work. As she stops to visit the grave of her first husband, Ray, on her way in to the office, she hears a woman screaming. Turns out that what had appeared to be a mourner kneeling at a nearby gravesite is Krystal Duncan, a woman who’s been missing for several days and who is now most definitely dead. Duncan’s corpse has wax coming from her mouth, which is an odd note.
Krystal was the mother of one of five children killed several years earlier in a horrific school bus accident. The bus driver was charged in their deaths, and his trial is coming up soon. Does Krystal’s death have anything to do with that tragedy? When another parent of a child killed in the accident also goes missing, it’s an angle that Josie has to consider.
Once again, Lisa Regan has spun a suspenseful yarn that pulled me right in and didn’t let me go. Everyone in this book has secrets, and once she starts investigating, it doesn’t take long for Josie to figure out that the killer has got to be someone connected with the bus accident. What secrets do they know? How do they know them? Can she figure out what secret is worth killing for before all the parents of the children who died are taken out?
Not only is Josie having to solve a challenging, emotionally charged case, she’s also having to deal with her own emotions. She’s struggling with grief over Lisette’s death, and each crime scene brings flashbacks to the night Lisette was shot. Josie is tough, but in this book we clearly see that she isn’t some crime-solving superwoman. She’s human, and she hurts, and it makes her that much more of a believable, relatable character.
The story moved quickly, and it was hard for me to break away from it. I wanted desperately to see what happened next! And isn’t that the hallmark of a great story? Lisa Regan has set a new standard for thrillers with Josie Quinn. Gotta read ’em all.
Check out my reviews of other Josie Quinn books, Breathe Your Last and Hush Little Girl.
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 the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Detective Josie Quinn series. Lisa is a member of Sisters In Crime, International Thriller Writers, and Mystery Writers of America. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Master of Education Degree from Bloomsburg University. She lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the U.S. with her husband, daughter, and Boston Terrier named Mr. Phillip.
Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LisaReganCrimeAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lisalregan
Website: https://lisaregan.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisareganauthor/
