He surfaced two years ago. Then he disappeared.But Detective Angie Pallorino hasn’t forgotten the violent rapist who left a distinctive calling card—crosses etched into the flesh of his victims’ foreheads. When a comatose Jane Doe is found in a local cemetery, sexually assaulted, mutilated, and nearly drowned, Angie is struck by the eerie similarities to her earlier unsolved rapes. Could he be … Could he be back?
Then the body of a drowned young woman, also bearing the marks of the serial rapist, floats up in the Gorge, and the hunt for a predator becomes a hunt for a killer. Assigned to the joint investigative task force, Angie is more than ready to prove that she has what it takes to break into the all-male homicide division. But her private life collides with her professional ambitions when she’s introduced to her temporary partner, James Maddocks—a man she’d met just the night before in an intense, anonymous encounter.
Together, Angie and Maddocks agree to put that night behind them. But as their search for the killer intensifies, so does their mutual desire. And Angie’s forays into the mind of a monster shake loose some unsettling secrets about her own past. How can she fight for the truth when it turns out her whole life is a lie?
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Loreth Anne White writes with emotional depth that compels the reader to keep turning the pages although at times suspense creates an anxiety level makes you sweat. Always engaging, this author has again crafted a highly-relatable character who you root for through thick and thin. If you enjoy crime fiction, you’ll really like this one.
This is the first book of hers that got me hooked on her writing! This book is so wickedly good, that I had to read all her published works. Pick up any of her books now! So worth the read! #Beware of scaring yourself when in your read-zone! I know I jumped when in deep reading then jumping at every creak and moan around the house! LOL Enjoy!
I love discovery new authors!! A couple of friends and myself recently did a buddy read of this book and I’m glad that we did. This book was insane. There were so many twists & turns…..absolutely kept me guessing through the entire story. And that ending had me saying “OMG!!” I immediately had to grab book 2.
Oh I really enjoyed this book cant wait tell the next one in series
6 STARS
Holy cow, what did I just read??
I had The Drowned Girls on my wish list for a while, then on my TBR list for a while. After reading it, I’m kicking myself for waiting so long.
Loreth is a new to me author, but I will definitely be reading more of her from now on. This book, is the first in a new(ish) series for her that follows main Sex Crimes Detective Angie Pallorino. Angie is a story unto herself, but add in the actual plot of the book, along with some other minor sub-stories and you have one mind-blowing, titillating, edge of your seat thriller!
The secondary characters are not minor. They are all major players in this world that Loreth has created, and they work so well. How she managed to take all of these spinning balls and bring them together is amazing. Angie is a complex, but very well written woman who has an interesting way of dealing with personal demons. Her new partner is James Maddocks, and he’s as serious as he is sexy. The two of them together are explosive in more ways than one.
Then you have the villain, who is a complete psychopath. It’s almost like she was able to get into the psyche of a lunatic and what came out of paper is nothing short of brilliant. This character and his machinations were extremely well researched and thought out, and it shows in Loreth’s writing.
This is a fantastically dark, gritty read splashed with the perfect amount of romance to create one of the best romantic suspense novels I’ve ever read. I’m so excited to dive into book 2, The Lullaby Girl and see if Loreth reveals more of what makes Angie tick!
As expected, another great one by Loreth Anne White. There hasn’t been a book of hers that I haven’t devoured. I cannot wait to get home to read book two now!***! 5 star read all around!
This is an amazing book! I could hardly put it down. There was mystery and suspense and you didnt know what was going to happen as you turned the pages. The story line was amazing and kept the reader engaged throughout the whole book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery, suspense, and being a detective trying to solve a case.
Good story, I really liked it. Troubled main characters, Angie and Maddox, along with an ensemble cast of characters that make the story interesting enough to get into the story and plot. The crime story was just as thrilling enough to keep the story moving but not too gory for me to pitch the book. Unfortunately, some crime thrillers are just too gruesome for me to stomach but this one wasn’t so horrendous that I couldn’t finish it. Will definitely continue with the series.
The Drowned Girls never lacks for twists, turns, surprises, and action. There’s plenty of everything…explicit sex, violent crime, and even tender moments. The sexual tension between Angie and Maddocks fairly leaps off the page as does the strong connection that has them watching each other’s backs while going after the bad guys. Good plot, great characters, and heartfelt emotions. Another winner for Loreth Anne White.
4 1/2 stars. This is my 4th book by L. A. White. Her writing is exceptional and the stories so captivating.
This was the first book I’ve read from this author, and I was not disappointed! I could not put it down! It’s dark, gritty, and suspenseful! Definitely a must read!
Angie Pallorino is a detective, she is angry, and she is haunted by memories. After losing her partner and a victim she finds herself on another high profile case under the watchful eye of her superiors. When she gets a new partner, Maddocks, whom she recognizes from a late night tryst, she sets off to hunt a killer. Throughout this story is a mystery that plagues Angie and its this mystery that is the cause of her anger. Full of twists and turns between what haunts Angie and the killer on the loose I was not sure where this story was going to go and kept my full attention but at times it did lull a bit but then picked back up again near the end. The ending was lackluster but I felt it was set up that way to make way for the sequel. I look forward to reading what happens to Angie next.
Loved this whole series!!! Loved the main character. A terrific read.
So many people were raving “you’re missing out if you miss this!”, I jumped at the chance to start a great new series.
Uhh, yeah. I want to disagree on the “great” part. I don’t think I’d even give it a “good”.
Unless you’re dying to get inside the head of a totally dislikeable main character and to experience chapter after chapter of explicit sex and female mutilation. If so, then rock on! You’re in for a treat if you also crave cliché male characters with contrived speech patterns like “sos…hows about…” and “you knows…”. Bonus if you enjoy juvenile nicknames for characters like “Mr. Big Dick”.
I want to know how someone can carve a crucifix into all these victims’ foreheads? A cross, sure, but an entire crucifix? That would be some impressively intricate work. But hey, the killer is circumcising women, so I guess anything is possible.
If you’re a true glutton for punishment, order the audio version so you can hear an even more annoying narrator. Julie McKay uses this affected PNW twang for the atmospheric parts, then pops into a kind of squeaky-gravely accent for all the men. I spent the entire 16 hours cringing at her highly irritating narration.
This was a dark, realistic , page turner. It is not for the light of heart, but you get sucked into the main character, her tragedy, her life. I wouldn’t call this one a romantic suspense. Suspense, yes, thriller, yes, and the end….some hope, some softening around the edge.
A gritty, dirt-under-your-fingernails dark romantic suspense.
The Drowned Girls introduces us to Angie Pallorino. She is a detective in the sex crimes division who’s been walking the line on sanity after the death of her partner and a young child on a case that went bad. She uses anonymous sex to numb her feelings and struggles to keep her anger under control. Working in a mostly male environment of men who don’t trust her after her partner’s death she becomes even more determined in her job and really wants a promotion to homicide. She gets that chance when the sexual rapist of 2 cold cases she worked years ago suddenly reappears but has upped his game to murder. To add to her long list of stressful things in her life – her new temporary partner is the last guy she had anonymous sex with and ran out on.
James Maddocks took a job in homicide which was a demotion to move to Victoria to be closer to his college age daughter. His marriage fell apart due to his job with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and he is hoping to repair his relationship with Ginny. He was as surprised as Angie when they find out they are going to be partners. He is also tasked with evaluating her mental state which it doesn’t take long for him to see that she is a loose cannon on a self destruct path. But he can also see that there is a vulnerable woman underneath that’s suffering from PTSD from her partners death which has triggered some other issues from something early in her childhood.
I dont think there was one conventional character in this whole book – even the dog only had 3 legs. Along with a large cast of characters the gruesome detailed descriptions of the acts of the killer kept you turning the pages. It was a well blended police procedural, suspense, romance and the psychological journey of Angie of trying to figure out if she is just going nuts or if there is some hidden traumatic thing from her childhood that she has forgotten that has been the driving force to the choices she makes in her life.
Looking for a non-conventional edgy heroine who walks a fine line give The Drowning Girl a try which is a the first in a new series.