An enthralling, atmospheric new novel from Emily Littlejohn, author of acclaimed debut Inherit the Bones, featuring Colorado police officer Gemma Monroe. It’s Halloween night in Cedar Valley. During the town’s annual festival, Detective Gemma Monroe takes a break from trick or treating with her family to visit an old family friend, retired Judge Caleb Montgomery, at his law office. To Gemma’s … law office. To Gemma’s surprise, Caleb seems worried–haunted, even–and confides in her that he’s been receiving anonymous threats. Shortly after, as Gemma strolls back to her car, an explosion at Caleb’s office shatters the night.
Reeling from the shock, Gemma and her team begin eliminating suspects and motives, but more keep appearing in their place, and soon another man is killed. Her investigation takes her from a chilling encounter with a convicted murderer at the Belle Vista Penitentiary, to the gilded rooms of the renovated Shotgun Playhouse, where Shakespeare’s cursed play Macbeth is set to open in a few weeks.
Yet most disturbing of all is when Gemma realizes that similar murders have happened before. There is a copycat killer at play, and if Gemma can’t stop him, he’ll carry out his final, deadly act.
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An exciting and absorbing fourth mystery in the Detective Gemma Monroe series. While Gemma is enjoying motherhood, she is also involved in planning a wedding to her fiancé, Brody Sutherland. Retired Judge Caleb Montgomery, long-time family friend, alerts Gemma to threats he has been receiving. When those threats are realized, Gemma and her team begin to investigate who would want to kill the judge. As another murder occurs, the investigation spins off in various directions. The team researches various cases in which the judge was involved and suspects are eliminated. As Gemma successfully deals with personal issues, she plunges ahead to the amazing and explosive conclusion. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)
When Gemma visits an old family friend, what her confides has her searching for answers. Before she has a chance to even begin, an explosion makes him her next case. And it isn’t long before there’s another body. Gemma and her team have their work cut out for them in a race against time . . . and the next victim.
This is Littlejohn’s fourth entry in the Gemma Monroe case files, but reads just as well as a stand alone. She builds intriguing, endearing characters that you readily become invested in. It’s hard to put down the book till you’ve followed it to its conclusion. This slightly chilling whodunit is a great read that I highly recommend. I’m going to pick up the others in the series as I know I’m going to want to continue following Gemma’s adventures.
[I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via NetGalley, and am leaving an honest review of the book. The opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.]
Vengeful Murder And More Visit Cedar Creek
Halloween is setting the atmosphere in Cedar Creek, a small town in Colorado. The heroine, Detective Gemma Monroe is out trick-or-treating with her daughter and fiancé. They stop by the law offices of retired Judge Caleb Montgomery. He was a close and longtime friend to Gemma’s grandfather and lifetime friend to her. While they talk, Caleb informs Gemma that he has been receiving disturbing letters. Gemma felt that Caleb was holding back something. Gemma and her family left and were walking down the street. Suddenly, there was an explosion behind them. Upon looking, she saw Caleb’s car engulfed in flames. Soon all the main characters arrive on the scene, her partner, the police chief, the fire chief and a new Fire Investigator.
From this start the main storyline proceeds with the all of the twists, turns and misdirections that quickly captured my interest all the way to the end of novel and definitely kept me reading. I quickly became involved in the storyline. I would say to myself, how about that person as the murderer. Next, or a little later, the storyline focused on that person. I got my hopes up as more aspects matched the murderer, but then it would fall apart. I just enjoyed reading this novel.
The B-storyline is quite rich, so much so that I actually thought that it was the first novel of a series. Obviously, most of the B-storyline centers on Gemma and her family and Gemma with her grandfather and other characters in the novel. The new fire inspector has an interesting background. It would be nice if this character stays around. Even the police intern who was only identified by his first name, Jimmy, was backed with an interesting B-storyline. These threads really contributed to my enjoyment in reading this novel.
There is very little I believe that readers will find objectionable in this novel. Swearing and vulgar language were minimal. There were not any sex scenes. Obviously, the explosion and immediate aftermath were described as it happened. The content was adult but not over emphasized. Most of the other violence was described after the fact and so does not have the same edge.
This is the fourth book in the series. It is the first that I have read of the series. I did not experience any issues with references or information from the first three novels obviously missing. If you have not read any novels in this series, you can start with this one. The read was easy and kept me engaged. The author kept the tension building throughout the novel. The characters were interesting, and even though this was not the first novel in the series, the characters were fully developed within this novel. I enjoyed reading this novel. I rate this novel with five stars.
I have received a free e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from St. Martin’s Press with an expectation for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.
Another really good mystery in this series. It kept me guessing til the very end. I really enjoyed the story! Thanks to Netgalley for the early copy
This is the fourth book in the Gemma Monroe series and can be read as a standalone. Elizabeth Littlejohn provides a descript police-procedural with a relatively strong plot line. There is a shroud of mystery woven into the storyline but avid readers of this genre will quickly recognize the twist. While the characters seem to have relatively strong backgrounds, it is not well established in this narrative. The main character, Gemma Monroe handles too much of the exposition of the story line, drawing attention away from the central development of her character. Overall, it was a mediocre read. 3 stars
Thank you to #NetGalley for this ARC, which I read and reviewed voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own.