Her body floats. A bloated thing half atop the river. Naked. Pale. Mouth and eyes open wide. When two fishermen discover a corpse floating in the Clackamas river, profiler Violet Darger heads to rural Oregon to hunt another serial killer. What she discovers in the woods might change the course of her life.What secrets does the water conceal?The girl in the water marks the third such case in the … water marks the third such case in the area — all drowned with superficial stab wounds and discovered in a body of water — and Darger feels certain she won’t be the last.
The corpses are badly decomposed. The flesh purpled and softened from their time in the water. The forensic evidence distorted by decay and the elements.
But the victims share one more thing in common — all were discovered roughly five days post mortem. A coincidence? Something with meaning to be discerned?
Darger suspects the timeline to be significant, but without evidence, she can only guess as to why. That sets up what might be the key to the case:
What is the killer doing to the victims for the four days between their deaths and dumping their bodies?
It’s Darger’s first case without Loshak, and it will test her like none before.
This pulse-pounding thriller will have you holding your breath until the final page. Fans of John Sandford, Karin Slaughter, Gillian Flynn, and Lisa Gardner should check out the Violet Darger series.
The books in the series can be read in any order, so grab Five Days Post Mortem and get started today.
Praise for the Violet Darger series:
“Un-put-downable! I cannot wait for this series to grow. If you love Sandford, Slaughter, Kava, Stelljes and Deaver, you’ll LOVE Vargus & McBain!” — Melody M
“The Violet Darger books are honestly the best detective novels I’ve ever read.” — Devin
“Vargus and McBain have, in Violet Darger, created a character that absolutely stands up with some of the greats — Phillip Marlowe, Dave Robicheaux, Elvis Cole, Charlie Parker, August Dupin, Jack Reacher, Harry Bosch, etc.” — Lucinda E. Snyder
“I devour each installment in this series the instant it is available.” — Shelley R. Klouzal
“Wow, just wow! If you like scare-you-half-to-death mystery books this is the one for you. It starts with a bang and just doesn’t stop.” — Ada Lavin
“Violet Darger is a unique, incredible character, and I immensely enjoyed taking this journey with her.” — Cat
“A rush of excitement, twists and turns.” — C. Munger
“Insightful, bloody. Page turner about the corruption of morality and warped thinking patterns.” — Bella from Readingnstuff.com
“Refuses to let go until you have read the last sentence.” — Bloodymummer
“Reading a Violet Darger novel always feels like coming home to an old friend—we hang out, we drink some coffee, we talk about her and Loshak’s personal lives, we interview victims’ families, we chase down some serial killers—all the stuff you normally do with your friends, except better. More exciting.” — eden Hudson, author of Revenge of the Bloodslinger
“These books are kind of a nice combination of crime fiction and horror. Ok nice might not be the right word to use. How about gruesome. Or thrilling? Terrifying? Gripping? They’re all that. They suck you in right away. And you just can’t put them down until it’s over.” — Melanie
“If you are a fan of Silence of the Lambs, this book is a spiritual successor.” — Amazon customer
“Vargus and McBain spin a fine tale with characters I want to climb inside — but not in a weird way.” — Jeanne Tarrantsmore
McBain and Vargus have whipped up, beat down and crushed another gritty, gruesome, explosion of crazy terror. This book barely gave your emotions a chance to settle from one moment to the next. There were more intense moments than I can count, enough gore, blood, and guts anyone could want, even some tenderness (making the characters really come alive), and of course more twists and turns than a slinky. You’ve gotta love Violet, she is one put together girl, the newbies, Furbush and Fowles were complex, down to earth, and all around enjoyable characters. The bottom line here is that Five Days comes alive because of all the detail work put into motion by Vargus and McBain. Such vidid images come off each and every page…..you keep turning them quickly because you can’t wait to see what’s going to jump off of them next….while dreading getting to that last page….because it’s over. Highly recommended.
THIS REVIEW IS FOR BOTH THE AUDIOBOOK AND EBOOK VERSIONS
Great story twisted thrilling intriguing and unexpected. Narration was wonderful as well. I recommend this book.
if you like crime/thriller this is a good book for you.
Loved it!!
Always thought drowning would be a horrible death. It this case they were dead before they were thrown in the water. Good read!
A little less rambling from the killers mind would have tightened this up and made a much better read.
Great story and kept me interested until the end. I couldn’t guess the ending which is a good thing.
boring, didn’t read it all
Nicely done.
Really good.
Good ‘whodunnit’ novel.
Strange story with some twists and turns
I like all of the Violet Darger books.
It was ok, but slow!
I couldn’t put it down. I suggest you join N0velStar’s writing competition this April.
This is the fifth book in the Violet Darger series and while most books in this series can be supported as stand-alone reads, this one in particular needs the support of the series in order to fully appreciate its value. In this installment, we find Darger working a case in a bit of a different capacity. She finds herself out of her comfort zone, alone without her partner, Loshak, and feeling vulnerable from life’s recent events. For veteran readers of this series, it will be a surprise to see Darger with less of her usual edge and more emotionally sensitive. While this does allow for a broader perspective into the character, Violet’s alpha presence and humor is what draws the reader to this series. That was not felt as much in this book. Still a good read. 4 stars.
Another wonder read by this talented writing team. This series is so well done I find myself talking about the books and recommending them to everyone. The authors created very interesting characters and stay true to the lead character Violet Darger. Realistic, chilling and nail-bitting at times. Always unpredictable. Don’t miss this work. Just make sure you eat, drink and sleep before you start because you won’t want any distractions once your in.
Being a Violet Darger fan I was not disappointed. I did miss certain characters from previous books, but I also understand the need to change things up. I did miss the dynamic between the two characters. I’m sorry this is so cryptic I really don’t want to give anything away. I did enjoy Ted Fowles addition to the story. Now on with the review. In my opinion this story was just as creepy as the others, but I did not find it as grisly. I found it to go into the killers head a little more than the other Violet Darger stories, I found that very interesting. It was interesting how things were setup to look one way and how Violet fell into preconceived ideas. I had a fleeting moment of the possible gender of the killer then I told myself I was crazy. I found Violet to be a little more human. In my opinion Violet was a little more open about herself this time round. In my opinion L.T. Vargus and Tim McBain write entertaining, psychological, make you think stories. Five Days Post Mortem is has action, twist and suspense. I was kept guessing till the end. In my opinion it’s a on the edge of my seat, page turner. In my opinion it is worth reading, if you like mystery and suspense. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced readers copy.