The young woman’s body is lying with her arms stretched out to each side. Her lips slightly parted. Her face untouched by injury and her hair spread around her head like a fan. A redhead. Just like the others.When the body of Leann Truitt is found in a secluded cove in Mystery Bay, Detective Megan Carpenter is one of the first on the scene. The victim has tell-tale marks on her wrists, ankles and … on her wrists, ankles and neck where she has been bound. But that’s not all. Next to Leann’s body lies a puzzling clue – an unusual symbol scratched into a rock.
With rookie, Deputy Ronnie Marsh, under her wing and the investigation underway, Megan starts to receive disturbing messages. Someone knows about her traumatic past. They know what she did.
Determined to stay focussed, Megan soon makes a chilling link between Leann’s brutal killing and the unsolved murder cases of two other women – all redheads with the same marks on their bodies, the same symbol carvings found at the crime scenes, and most shockingly, all had been pregnant.
The killer stalks his prey, kidnapping and torturing them in a very exact and methodical pattern. And he is not finished yet…
When the body of another woman is found bearing a striking resemblance to the other victims, Megan must crack the clues fast if she is to catch the twisted soul before they strike again.
Megan might be closing in on the killer, but someone is watching her every move. Can Megan hide the secrets of her past threatening to destroy her future? And can she protect herself and Ronnie before they both find themselves in terrible danger?
An addictive, gripping and completely unputdownable crime thriller from the Number One New York Times and Amazon Chart bestselling author.
Read what everyone is saying about the Detective Megan Carpenter series:
‘OMG!!…I was simply blown away by this… I couldn’t look away from my kindle even when I wanted to. The story took me by my throat making me gasp every few chapters…Wow!!’ Shalini’s Books and Reviews ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Holy cr*p what a complete stunner of a read this is. It had everything, sensational, creepy, addictive with a stunningly complex plot from beginning to end and I loved. loved, loved it !!…So this is going to rate as one my best reads of the year.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘OMG! Wow. I loved this book!! …it was amazing! I can’t wait to read more! It kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t put it down. Loved, loved, loved it!’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Brilliant! I do believe this is the best book by this author to date. The book is dark, intense, and makes you say oh he##.The storyline flows and the characters are intriguing. I read this in one sitting and can’t wait for more.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Wow, I absolutely loved this book! Gregg Olsen is an amazing author. Snow Creek is definitely one of the best books I have read this year. I read it every chance I had. I really liked Detective Megan Carpenter, she is a strong and intelligent woman and a cracking police officer. Can’t wait for the next book in this series… thrilling and creepy and it grabs your attention right away. Highly recommended.’ Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A great and creepy story perfect for winter. I’d love to read more from this author. Fantastic and well written, highly recommended.’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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WATER’S EDGE by Gregg Olsen is the second book in a series featuring Detective Megan Carpenter and largely set in and around Port Townsend, Washington. The novel is a police procedural with a lot of suspense.
The story begins with another interesting hook and never lets up. When Leann Truitt’s body is found in Mystery Bay, Detective Megan Carpenter is sent to the scene. While she normally works alone, this time she is instructed to take rookie Deputy Ronnie Marsh with her. When connections are found to cases in nearby counties, Megan and Ronnie work to identify and catch the killer. But more is going on that meets the initial eye. Additionally, Megan is still coping with secrets from her childhood when she had a different name. Can she cope with her memories and still solve a murder? Who is sending her disturbing messages about her past?
The characters are compelling as well as memorable and Megan is definitely someone you can cheer for. Her character feels real and three-dimensional. She is likeable and relatable, but seriously flawed. She shows character growth in this book in both her relations with Ronnie and with Dan. The secondary characters are well-rounded and the relationships are believable.
This book is fast paced and I did not want to stop reading it even when it was very late and I needed to sleep. The author does a great job of worldbuilding and gives the reader a vivid sense of the place and people. The main plot as well as many of the auxiliary story lines are wrapped up with some twists and shocks. However, there are a few open items that will likely play into future books in the series. The story flows well and kept me guessing. Danger and tension built rapidly. Overall, this was compelling, suspenseful, fast-paced and twisty.
This is the second book that I have read by this author and I am looking forward to the next book in the series. The series is fresh and it just keeps getting better and better. I believe those readers that enjoy crime fiction and police procedurals with a little something extra will enjoy this book.
Many thanks to Bookouture and Gregg Olsen for a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
Loved this book! The second in the series is as good as the first, which doesn’t always happen. I can’t wait to read book three. Y’all ought to pick this one up.
Detective Megan Carpenter is assigned to work with rookie Reserve Deputy Ronnie Marsh on a temporary basis. Used to working alone, their relationship is not an easy one, but they are both trying.
A woman’s body is found in a cove in Mystery Bay ….. she’s been beaten, assaulted, tortured. Megan makes a link between this woman and two other women who were found in the same shape. They were all redheads … and they all had had a child.
Now that Megan and Ronnie have started their investigation, someone has eyes on Megan. The threatening notes hint at Megan’s traumatic past … they know what she did.
This is a fast-paced …. action packed … page turner with skillfully drawn characters. I like how Megan’s personal life has such a bearing on her professional one and how she deals with the issues her childhood have presented. She’s gutsy, dedicated, and determined .. a great series figure. Although second in the series, this is easily read as a stand alone, although I do recommend starting at the beginning. It’s full of those little gold nuggets that add majestically to a solidly written plot. The ending is explosive and unexpected.
Many thanks to the author / Bookouture / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
Water’s Edge (Detective Megan Carpenter #2) by Gregg Olsen is another suspense thriller which finds Detective Megan Carpenter trying to bring justice for three murdered women. I won’t post spoilers, but the story is fast-paced and held my interest. I want to like Megan Carpenter, but she is a tough character with her own style of finding justice for victims. She does not adhere to the rules, but she does get answers by manipulation of others. Do the ends justify the means? Megan is a survivor! She has learned the hard way how to live alone and trust no one.
In this book, she is given a reserve deputy to train and Megan does not plan to like Ronnie Marsh. As the case progresses, Megan is impressed with the ease in which Ronnie is able to acquire information on the go each day. Megan is also receiving emails from a stalker which have a threatening tone. It must be someone from her past.
I enjoyed the book which is written with a gritty and strong female character who also has a vulnerability which is heartbreaking.
Publication Date: May 28, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
5 stars it is !
Megan Carpenter is a smart determined , no holes barred detective with a background that would defeat the toughest of us.
And she is funny!!
I found myself chuckling and laughing out loud at her observations, you go girl !!
Megan takes on a partner in book 2 to see who is killing all these women.
Her partner is Ronnie Marsh and I liked her too!
Not giving any of the plot away but there are twists and turns , the pages fly by and I could not quite decide who I would like to be the murderer.
Love this series !! Thanks Gregg Olsen for an entertaining read. Can’t wait to get my hard copy.
Thanks to Net Galley and Bookouture for allowing me to go on the second journey with Megan !!
315 pages
4 and 1 / 2 stars
A young woman’s body is discovered on a rocky shore. She is later identified as Leann Truitt. She has been beaten, raped, strangled and her neck was broken. Detective Megan Carpenter catches the case – along with a trainee sidekick Ronnie, much to Megan’s chagrin – and quickly identifies the woman and tracks down where she was living and her father. Her father is very odd.
Much to the Sheriff, Megan and Ronnie’s surprise, Leann is just one of a series of these murders. The case becomes much larger than anyone expected. Megan and Ronnie take on the assistance of two other detectives from neighboring counties who have their own cases to look after.
Painstaking and determined police work leads the two women to a suspect. But high drama and tension occurs before the arrest can be made.
Detective Megan Carpenter is a delight – at least to me. I love her snarky attitude and all the great comments she keeps to herself. (Although as we learn, she has every reason to be that way.) She softens over as the book goes by. Gregg Olsen is a very good writer and I certainly enjoy reading his novels. I could see no typos. The only criticism I have is avery minor one. There were a couple of places in the book where the author told the reader something that had been already stated. No big deal. Very well done, Mr. Olsen
I want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for forwarding to me a copy of this very good book for me to read, enjoy and review.
I love this series. I can’t wait for the next one.
This second installment of the Megan Carpenter Series is just as—if not more—twisted than the first one. It begins when Megan is saddled with a new trainee, Ronnie Marsh, who is basically her exact opposite. Ronnie also turns out to be a dead ringer for the young girl they find beaten and strangled on a rocky beach in Mystery Bay. As the two investigate and find more bodies, Megan—who is still reliving her tortured past by listening to old tapes of her therapy sessions—realizes she has a stalker from her past that knows her old identity. While Megan tries to hold her secrets close and more bodies are discovered, it becomes clear that the rural town of Port Townsend has a serial killer stalking its women, and it might even be a cop. But which one? Megan is surprised to find Ronnie is smart and resourceful, but just as the two women are starting to bond, the killer claims Ronnie for his next victim. Desperate to save her partner and put this rapist/murderer down, Megan risks everything—maybe even her life. I’m waiting breathlessly for the next book.
Great author
Megan Carpenter isn’t like any other detective I’ve ever read about. She does what she wants, lies and nobody knows what she’s really thinking. She gets the job done. Throughout the whole book I wasn’t sure if I liked her or if she’s just annoying. But the story was really good and I liked Ronnie a lot. Hopefully she will be back in the next book. The suspense was building up to a big finale and it came with a bang. Then the killer was not the one I thought it would be. I was sure I had it right, but it was a pleasant surprise.
A fun mystery and I was totally surprised by the ending!!
Excellent mystery
I liked the first book in the Megan Carpenter series, so I was looking forward to her next investigation. I am thrilled to report that I was NOT disappointed! Megan has a tortured (quite literally) past, and it rears its head during investigations. That’s especially true this time. She is one of my favorite female detectives (and there are a lot of them out there). I particularly enjoy her one-line asides. Her dark and sarcastic sense of humor is shaped by her past. I liked how Megan took a mentoring approach to work with Ronnie, encouraging her (even subconsciously) to be better and look closer at clues. I thought this was a good relationship that I hope continues. For a full review, please visit Fireflies and Free Kicks. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital ARC of the book.
First let me say that this is my second book by Gregg Olsen and I can not wait for the next one in this series. I was set to give this a 4 star rating because I truly thought I had the killer all figured out. Boy was I ever wrong. Dead wrong.
Megan Carpenter is a detective who has a history of her own. She is the product of a serial killer/rapist. She has become a cop to see justice is done for others no matter what. She will go to the extreme to see that the killer in this story is brought to justice. She has gone through a lot to get where she is and has no intention of letting anyone stand in her way. She’s tough, strong, unstoppable yet human too. She puts up a very strong front but deep down inside she just wants to have a good peaceful and happy life. She wants to hear from her baby brother, who was in Afghanistan, also. He holds a lot against her from their past.
When the body of a young woman is found Megan and Ronnie, a young cop, go to the end to find the killer. They uncover more bodies that have been found before and find the link to them all. It’s a pretty gruesome account of what happened to each young woman and what they had to endure before dying. Each had had a child, one pregnant, and given them up for adoption. Each was a red head and they all looked so similar they could have been related.
This is a great mystery/thriller and the thing I really liked about it was I did not figure out who the killer was. I usually do and was very surprised that it was not who I thought. It’s a story told by Megan and takes you on a ride you won’t soon forget. It spans several counties in the state of Washington and threw several different cops. Each has their own theory. But Megan does not give up until her and the young woman, Ronnie, working the case with her are finished finding all the evidence and putting away the bad guys. They sure go through a lot and are almost killed themselves. While all of this is going on you get a clear picture of what Megan’s life was growing up through the tapes she has and listens to in this story. All she endured trying to keep herself and her young brother safe. To top it off someone is stalking her from her past.
I can’t wait for the next book in this series. The first, SNOW CREEK, was great and this one even better. I think the next will be even better than this if possible. Keeps you on the edge of your seat all the way through. The main character, Megan, is a very likable person and you will root for her to survive this. You will root for her to find this killer and bring them to their knees. I liked most of the characters in this book yet there were a few that you just will not like at all. They are just not likable.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #GreggOlsen, #Bookouture for this ARC. I was in no way compensated for this review. It’s my own true feelings.
A big 5 stars from me and a very high recommendation for anyone who loves a great edge of your seat thriller/mystery.
I love, love, love Detective Megan Carpenter, a tough, thorough, no-nonsense type of detective even though she is dealing with a lot of issues in her personal life. She is paired up with Reserve Deputy Ronnie Marsh who she will be training for a while. A female body is found and they are sent to investigate it. Just as they are getting into this murder investigation, another female body is discovered. They decide to contact neighboring law enforcement agencies to see if they have any similar unsolved cases and they discover they do. All the murdered women had many similarities so there are a lot of surprises in this book. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this very interesting book that kept me on the edge of my seat in exchange for an honest review. I am looking forward to book 3 in the Detective Megan Carpenter series.
Great read