The first in a gritty new series featuring sheriff’s detective Katrina Williams, as she investigates moonshine, murder, and the ghosts of her own past… mandated therapy sessions—until she learns that she’s a suspect in a military investigation with ties to her painful past.
The disappearance of a local girl is far from the routine distraction, however. Brutally murdered, the girl’s corpse is found by a bottlegger whose information leads Katrina into a tangled web of teenagers, moonshiners, motorcycle clubs, and a fellow veteran battling illness and his own personal demons. Unraveling each thread will take time Katrina might not have as the Army investigator turns his searchlight on the devastating incident that ended her military career. Now Katrina will need to dig deep for the truth—before she’s found buried…
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I’m going to start with the things I loved about this book…and that would be EVERYTHING!
In Katrina “Hurricane” Williams, Robert E. Dunn has given us a heroine worthy of rooting for. Suffering from PSTD from a horrific incident she went through while on active duty in the Army 10 years ago, Katrina now works as a detective for her hometown sheriff’s department in the Ozarks. Wicked smart and savvy, she’s also damaged emotionally and holds most people who try to get close to her at a gun’s distance away, as she just tries to survive day by day. When she discovers the body of a murdered girl, her past, present and potential future all collide, forcing her to face her demons and fight for what she truly wants.
The secondary characters who surround Katrina are all male, something I found interesting while I was reading. There were no women in her life to offer guidance and support, or to help her navigate through her confusing and ambivalent emotions, save for a psychotherapist whom Katrina despises but is forced to see, mandated by the sheriff’s department. Their relationship is tenuous at best.
As for the male characters who do surround her, they range from her career army father and uncle, the sheriff, a deputy whom she calls a friend but who she really knows nothing about, and a crime victim who rapidly becomes something much more to Katrina than she wants to admit.
Dunn’s lyrical descriptions of Katrina’s inner struggles and demons read almost like poetry as he weaves an intricate and deadly plot of motorcycle gangs, the MOB, cancer survival, and child abuse into a novel so rife with complex feelings and life-situations, you are compelled to read it slowly, so you don’t miss a nuance of the gut-wrenching emotions he elicits from his characters.
Mr. Dunn was a new author to me, but since A LIVING GRAVE is hailed as the first in a series featuring Katrina WIlliams, he has now become an author whose work I am going to look for and forward to.
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The Katrina Williams series currently has three books following sheriff detective Katrina Williams. For true enjoyment, I think this series needs to be read in the appropriate order. This series is about Katrina so everything is tied together and follows a storyline.
The first book in the series is A Living Grave. This first book introduces us to Katrina Williams, her life currently and her history. It shows a sheriff detective struggling with the memories and flashbacks of what happened to her during her time in the Army. Katrina is working a case of a teenage girl who is killed. Katrina is on a cliff, violent and trying to unravel the mystery surrounding the girl. Along with the mystery of her case, we also meet the people in her life and her town.
I thought this story was very well written. The first book in a new series can be overwhelming when there are a lot of characters to learn. I didn’t feel that way with this book. Characters were naturally added throughout the story so I never felt like there were too many all at once. The story around the characters and their relationships never felt forced, or done just to create a storyline. And there are a lot of characters and stories that are discovered as Katrina is investigating.
I liked Katrina but I really thought she should have lost her badge many times. She’s dangerous and her first reaction is violence. Whenever she would have a flashback she was looking for a fight and alcohol and was a danger to herself and everyone around her. It was easy to excuse her behavior because we know the reason she acts this way, but the other part of me was thinking, she’s a police officer. She should absolutely not be allowed on the streets and her Captain should have known better than to allow her to continue working with her out of control behavior.
If you like books that really follow the detective working a case, this is a must read! The author does not shortchange that part of the storyline for others. There were no half measures when it came to the investigating, and I absolutely loved that! This story pulled me in and I had to find out who the killer was. Pretty early on I had suspected who did the actual killing, but I never guessed the motive for the killing. This isn’t just a mystery/police detective book. There’s also a small side of romance for Katrina. I definitely recommend giving this series a chance!
Rating: 4 stars
It’s already established Katrina had issues from her time in the military which left her major scars from a horrendous incident. She has now with the sheriff dept and evidently known for just slipping away and burying herself in her bottle, so they know exactly where to find her and watch over her. Now there is a mystery going on and she is pretty much the lead detective on the case. That’s all I will say about it because I don’t do spoilers and I have said enough. Now I went into this expecting a little romance (got that) and one better it was clean and not graphic. Score. I expected some suspense and intrigue around the death of the girl well we got that and there is a lot of twist and turns and unseen involved which makes that great. What you don’t expect is the kit gloves an officer of the law is treated with when she is clearly a problem and allowed, encouraged to continue working with a slap on the hand and being ordered to see a psychiatrist. This is the part of the story I had a huge problem with and yes it is because of my own issues I can’t get past. My own form of ptsd so to speak. I will leave it at that.
The writing is good and yes this author does whip a twist and you have to dig deep to understand and catch the killer which to me is a plus. I am new to this author so I really want to read more of her work and hope that this is a one off.
A Living Grave was a really, really solid read. Dunn can flat out freaking write and paints scenes that jump out at you. Combine his writing ability with great characters and you have a well-paced story that keeps you engaged. I look forward to the next Katrina Williams novel. Consider me a fan!
A Living Grave is very well-written and has excellent character development. The story does start out a bit slow with the introduction of various characters, but even with the slow pace, it is a compelling read that gets better and better as the story progresses. There is a lot going on, but the writing style is one that pulls a reader in and holds on. I was so immersed in the lives of these characters that I had to see how it would all play out. Katrina is such a complex character with her tough side, her past, and her own personal demons. The story is the perfect mix of gripping suspense, heart wrenching tragedy, and even a bit of hope and humor to lighten things up.