In this brilliantly chilling follow-up to The Thief of All Light, veteran police officer Bernard Schaffer digs deep into the past—and the haunted psyches of the detectives who search for truth . . . at any cost. “There’s a thousand scavengers in these woods.” Before being promoted to detective, Carrie Santero was given a rare glimpse into the mind of a killer. Through her mentor, Jacob Rein—a … Through her mentor, Jacob Rein—a seasoned manhunter whose gift for plumbing the depths of madness nearly drove him over the brink—she was able to help capture one of the most depraved serial killers in the country. Now, the discovery of a small human foot buried in the Pennsylvania woods will lead her to a decades-old cold case—and the darkest secrets of her mentor’s youth.
“Nobody trusts an animal that tries to eat its own kind.”
Thirty years ago, a young girl went missing. A police officer was murdered. Another committed suicide. The lives of everyone involved would never be the same. For three agonizing decades, Jacob Rein has yearned for the truth. But when Detective Carrie Santero begins digging up new evidence, she discovers some answers come with shattering consequences.
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An Unsettled Grave (A Santero and Rein Thriller Book 2)
By Bernard Schaffer
368 pages
Before being promoted to detective, Carrie Santero was given a rare glimpse into the mind of a killer. Through her mentor, Jacob Rein—a seasoned manhunter whose gift for plumbing the depths of madness nearly drove him over the brink—she was able to help capture one of the most depraved serial killers in the country. Now, the discovery of a small human foot buried in the Pennsylvania woods will lead her to a decades-old cold case—and the darkest secrets of her mentor’s youth.
“Nobody trusts an animal that tries to eat its own kind.”
Thirty years ago, a young girl went missing. A police officer was murdered. Another committed suicide. The lives of everyone involved would never be the same. For three agonizing decades, Jacob Rein has yearned for the truth. But when Detective Carrie Santero begins digging up new evidence, she discovers some answers come with shattering consequences.
My Review
This is a great book. Fast paced, believable and keeps the reader turning pages.The characters are fantastic.The non stop excitement and anticipation makes you unable to put the book down. This story was a gripping, engrossing read, and I thought all of the characters were well-developed .This author really knows how to bring his characters to life & draw his readers completely into the story. I was hooked from the first page.I simply could not stop reading this book once I started it. It is just one of thoes books that you can not put down. You just keep turning page after page to see what is going to happen next. The whole book had a nice flow to it . Once you finished one chapter you had to keep turning the pages to see what was going to happen next. This is a story that will keep you awake long into the night. I thought I would read “just one more” chapter, but it was almost impossible to put it down. I loved how the author perfectly described all of the characters and places . It was as if I was right there . This is my first book I’ve read by this author, but it definitely won’t be my last.
Overall, I enjoyed this book very much ! I am looking foward to reading more by this same author and looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Look for it when it hits the shelves in August
Great read!
I voluntarily read an advanced copy of the book provided by Kensington publishing the author and Netgalley.
This is the second of the Santero & Rein myster/thriller series (first being the riveting Thief of All Light!) And I hope not the last!
It does read well as a stand-alone.
I love the writing style of Author Bernard Schaffer! His writing grabbed me from the first paragraph and it just flows like music! He has the ability to know when to add light banter between his characters that takes the edge off some of the gritty police business. His characters are well written and easy to identify with. The plot was fantastic!! Edge-of-my-seat loved it!! Read in one setting!
I love the cover and had an “ah-ha” moment after I read the book! (Where the cover tied into the story!)
This awesome action packed story gets a -5 star rating – and I BEG you not to miss this very well written, awesome series!!!
An Unsettled Grave by Bernard Schaffer is a fast paced, gripping, thriller. This is the second book in the Santero and Rein Thriller series, although these books can be read out of order, I would recommend reading them in order.
In An Unsettled Grave, Carrie Santero has been moved to a different county and promoted to detective. She is moving forward from her horrible ordeal the year prior. Carries personality is getting stronger as she tries to deal with cases that her fellow co-workers don’t want to deal with. She finds herself in a dusty town, with links to Rein and a cold case that needs her help to solve.
This book gives the reader a lot of backstory on Rein, which is fantastic. It allows the reader to get a more well rounded idea of who he is and why he acts the way he does. Carrie is must stronger in this novel. Her personality is starting to come through and she no longer seems weak, she shows her strength through Schaffer’s words.
Although the book is written from different perspectives, it flows well and is easy to follow. The story reminds me of a western detective novel, with some aspects of The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson.
It is easy to tell through this novel that Bernard Schaffer has taken the time to develop his characters further. There are a few spots where the plot could have been tightened or the reader could have been given more information, yet the novel still holds solid and makes the reader want to keep turning the page!
*discloser: I was given an ARC by Bernard Schaffer, but this is an honest review*
Incredible! Graphic! Compelling! Kept me on the edge of my seat!
Once you start this book do not plan to do anything else except read. This was an ARC from the author and NetGalley and I just loved it. Believe the hype. I love detective stories and this one starts with a woman getting stopped by a police car (or is it?) and being attacked; then there is Hope Pugh who went missing, then a suicide (or was it?) and then there is a town that completely throws me off since you don’t know who to trust…even the police.
There are so many characters and they intertwine with each other. And then there’s Det. Santero who will straighten it all out for us. Because secrets are not forever. Release date coming July 30, 2019; place on your TBR list now.
This is the second book by Bernard Schaffer that I have read in the past few days. This story continues following Carrie Santero and Jacob Rein. And boy does Mr. Schaffer know how to tell a story. The details are incredible and makes for continuous page turning. I was up way past my bedtime to finish this book. I am hoping there are going to be more with these two characters.
This is the second book in this series I really enjoyed it Not as intense as the first one but the way the author wrote about the past and the present grabbed you Kept me changing my mind until the end about who killed Hope was interesting to learn more about Jacob and his growing years very real to life so hope there will be more for this series really want to see what more life has in store for both Carrie and Jacob
This is my second book by Bernard Schaffer that I have read. Although they are both stand alones they do use the many of the same characters. This author does such an amazing job of weaving a storyline. The growth of Carrie moves forward by leaps and bounds in this book. I love watching Jacob, making strides also in his life. I would definitely recommend this book to others.
This is the second book that I have read by Author Bernard Schaffer and it has drawn me in further! In An Unsettled Grave, Detective Carrie Santero is trying to uncover the past while working a case where a child’s foot has been found. There has to be more to this case then meets the eye. In this book, we find out more about Jacob Rein and his past. How does Jacob fit in to this current case? Will the truth finally be discovered that will put the painful past to rest? I am absolutely addicted to Author Bernard Schaffer ‘s books!
I really enjoyed reading this book. Looking forward to reading more of the Santero and Rein series in the future! It was easy to follow even with going back between the past and the present. There was one part of it that I didnt expect but loved it. How Ben avenged his brother’s death was one of the highlights of this book in my opinion. Definitely worth reading! I haven’t read the first book in this series but I will when I can.
This was a great follow up to The Thief Of All Light. They are standalone books but I personally liked reading them in order. You know who the characters are and what happened to them before.
This book was very hard to put down! I had a hard time functioning through life for the day and a half it took me to read this. (My poor kids…). It was great seeing into the past of Jacob Rein and seeing where he came from and what led him to be the detective that he was. I liked the fact that Carrie Santero was along and solved the missing person/murder that was 30+ years old. I have to admit that I kind of knew who the killer was and was glad to see that I was right in the end. I can’t wait for more in this series has definitely turned into one that I will follow to the end!
An Unsettled Grave by Bernard Schaffer is a follow-up to The Thief of All Light. This is the first book I have read by this author and it definitely will not be my last. In fact I already ordered the first book. I did not read the first book but I don’t feel it made this book any less enjoyable. This can very well be read as a standalone. I was drawn in from the first page and I couldn’t stop until I reached the end. I received my book last night and I was unable to put it down. It kept me turning the pages well into the night. It is very well written, the characters are complex and realistic. The twists and turns and the alternating timelines from present to past will keep you on your toes. It is not at all predictable. I loved this book and can’t wait to see what he has in store for us next. I highly recommend this book it is a must read. Anxiously waiting for the third book. I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
Schaffer does it again! In the follow up to The Thief of All Light, An Unsettled Grave does not disappoint. More often than not I see crime thrillers that are super repetitive and predictable. This was not the case at all. AUG bounces back and forth from present to past while slowly wrapping everything up in a pretty little bow.
I absolutely loved seeing where Jacob Rein came from and how far he has come. The flash backs to his childhood gave me a very Stranger Things/It vibe and I loved it. In present day, I enjoyed seeing Carrie work things out herself without Rein having to push her to connect the dots, instead he enabled her to do so on her own.
Meeting the other Rein men gave you a prefect view of how Jacob became who he is now. I loved one and hated the other, but I do have to say the latter redeemed himself in the cabin in the woods. That scene was everything!
I’ve read both ToAL and AUG in a total of five days and I’m ready for the next one where I hope to see more of Rein and Santero working together again!
He did such a amazing job on writing this story. It kept my eyes and mind right until the end. Already order another book that he has wrote . A must read . Great story !!! Thank you.
I found this book to relate very close to the towns I live in. Bernard describes the police Dept and surrounding area just like I live in. I couldn’t put this book down once you start be prepared to read the whole thing. I am a huge fan of the author. I will be following his works for many years to come. Highly recommend this book
I have not read the first book in the series, but that was not a problem at all. This is a stand alone and let me tell you it STANDS ALONE, in the best possible way ever.
The story is told in alternating timelines between the present and the past, with multiple character perspectives which I really enjoyed. The past story from some 30 years ago was so engaging I couldn’t put this book down. If your looking for a short read, this isn’t it. The plot is well developed with intricate multi layered story lines.
The characters are well developed, complicated and some are likeable and some are not, which fits perfect into this genre.
I really enjoyed An Unsettled Grave
An Unsettled Grave was a very well written and very detailed book that I enjoyed a lot I could read it over and over again.
Carrie Santero was a Detective that was a young a still learning.
Jacob Rein Detective good at his job but is on suspense.
Harv Bender Chief of the County Detectives.
Carrie was a detective who was sent to help solve a case because she was good at what she did. She was one who went where you sent her and had no complaints. She got a call about a lady being attacked by a cop and he raped her. So she did her job and asked the Sargent to get DNA samples of all the cops that worked that night.
Then she met with Jacob and tried to find out how he was doing when this emergency Alert came and asking for all available police enforcements to come and help. Then Jacob left in a hurry. Carrie when back to the Station because the Chief wanted to see her. He talked about the call he got from another department and told her never to do that again. He told her there was rumors about how she got to be there and that was by a major case and that they were sleeping together. So he was sending her out on a little assignment to get her away for a while. Then he gave her a file regrading the alert and ask her to go help them out. So she did and she was a lot of help actually because she did things that was never done because of what happened. There was a group of boys that caused trouble for Jacob and Adam. One day Fred caught Jacob and did a gross thing to him and pissed all over him. After that Hope Pugh stuck up for Jacob where Fred was concerned. That is where the first kiss came after she got him clean socks and sweatpants and a blanket and started to warm him up. It all started with a little girl coming up missing and Jacob was a young boy who had a father who was a drunk and a Vet. and he had and uncle who cared more for him than his father. Chief Ollie Rein was the Chief of Police when the little girl went missing. It messed Jacob up because he really liked her and they were both young. Chief Rein thought he found the girl but kept searching for her. He was bound to get her and find her. Carrie went through all the evidence and found that a lot wasn’t really done. So she went back to her more files and was sent back and went back in time to where Chief Rein and Chief Auburn had worked on the case or was suppose to.
Carrie went and did a lot talking to the Chief of Police at the time. This was a book that you got the view of both sides of what happened.
Bernard wrote An Unsettled Grave and it was actually the way it was because he put the pieces together and went back and forth in time so you couldn’t get lost. The description was awesome as the time changes and he did a really fabulous job writing this thriller.
Bernard I love this thriller and I and can’t wait to read the next one.
Exciting second book in Santero/Rein series
This is another great addition to this series after THE THIEF OF ALL LIGHT. Carrie Santero is now a detective for Vieira County, Pennsylvania, promoted after the events in the first book.
This story actually is about two crimes – one about a man who poses as a cop (or is he a cop) as a way to stop women and molest them. The main part of the story is about the remains of a child recently found even though she disappeared in 1981.
Jacob Rein, the man who has helped mentor Carrie, knew the young girl back then and was friends with her. Part of the story switches back to 1981, being told from Rein’s point of view.
I am enjoying this series. The characters seem authentic and the story has a few surprises. I am now off to read book three BLOOD ANGEL.
I received this book from Kensington Books through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.
The accuracy of police work, investigations and the dynamic relationships between characters is unlike any other crime thriller I’ve read. The Santero & Rein series is authentic and riveting.