Wind howls against the bolted front door, but the woman can still hear footsteps approaching. He has come for her. The memory of what she did still haunts her, and she knows she deserves to die…
Arriving at High Wraith cottage, Detective Morgan Brookes joins her horrified team, who have found a woman’s body chained and dangling from the gnarled branch of an old oak tree. It’s a race against time to preserve any evidence as heavy rain destroys the scene, but they’ve already identified the victim as a woman who once tried to kill her own family.
Twenty years ago, Margery Lancaster went to prison for poisoning her husband and infant son. They both survived, and Morgan must treat the pair as her first suspects. But before she has a chance to get to work, Margery’s ex-husband is brutally murdered, and Morgan’s heart thumps as she sees his hands tied with silver chains that match those found on Margery’s body. Then his son, now a local doctor, arrives at the station to be interviewed. Morgan watches in despair as he drops to the floor and falls into a coma.
With almost all of the forensic evidence washed away by the storm, and no family left to interview, Morgan’s last hope is tracking the two chains to a local hardware store. But the killer is already closing in on his final victim. Is it already too late for Morgan to stop him, or will she uncover the terrible secrets this family are hiding in time to save another life?
A heart-racing, edge-of-your-seat thriller for fans of Lisa Regan, Melinda Leigh and Rachel McLean. Will have your heart pounding as you reach the final, breathtaking twist.
Arriving at High Wraith cottage, Detective Morgan Brookes joins her horrified team, who have found a woman’s body chained and dangling from the gnarled branch of an old oak tree. It’s a race against time to preserve any evidence as heavy rain destroys the scene, but they’ve already identified the victim as a woman who once tried to kill her own family.
Twenty years ago, Margery Lancaster went to prison for poisoning her husband and infant son. They both survived, and Morgan must treat the pair as her first suspects. But before she has a chance to get to work, Margery’s ex-husband is brutally murdered, and Morgan’s heart thumps as she sees his hands tied with silver chains that match those found on Margery’s body. Then his son, now a local doctor, arrives at the station to be interviewed. Morgan watches in despair as he drops to the floor and falls into a coma.
With almost all of the forensic evidence washed away by the storm, and no family left to interview, Morgan’s last hope is tracking the two chains to a local hardware store. But the killer is already closing in on his final victim. Is it already too late for Morgan to stop him, or will she uncover the terrible secrets this family are hiding in time to save another life?
A heart-racing, edge-of-your-seat thriller for fans of Lisa Regan, Melinda Leigh and Rachel McLean. Will have your heart pounding as you reach the final, breathtaking twist.
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Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Format: Kindle ARC
No. of Pages: 317
Date of Publication: July 2, 2024
My Rating: 5 Stars
MY THOUGHTS:
DC Morgan Brookes has a huge case in front of her. There have been more than a few recent deaths, and currently there is the case of a woman who apparently lived alone. It is quickly discovered that the victim is Margery Lancaster. Meanwhile, as Morgan and her team begin looking for answers, there is a second story being told in dual-timeline fashion. The second narration is that of a woman named Maggie, and she is in a miserable and abusive marriage and is also the very unhappy mother as a toddler. Readers will realize immediately that Margery and Maggie are one and the same.
Morgan soon learns of Margery’s sad and tragic past, but is unclear as to why she became a murder victim. Meanwhile, the picture is being painted as to how miserable Maggie was with her husband George, a most definitely unlikeable character. The book even lightly touches on a very serious situation that involves some mothers after the birth of their child.
I loved Morgan’s take in this story. Never once did she judge Margery for her past actions, and she was resolute at finding justice for Margery. As the story develops, the weather adds another layer of atmosphere as they are all but being drowned out with long days of rain. These non-stop rainy days add a level of eeriness to a story that is edged with sadness. Factor in the intriguing twists in this story, and it is clear that Helen Phifer has written another winner.
Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Helen Phifer is the Bestselling writer of the hugely popular Annie Graham, Lucy Harwin, Beth Adams and her current series featuring Detective Constable Morgan Brooks published by the fabulous Bookouture.
She lives in the busy town of Barrow-in-Furness surrounded by miles of coastline and a short drive from the glorious English Lake District.
Helen loves reading books that scare the heck out of her and is eternally grateful to Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert and Graham Masterton for scaring her senseless in her teenage years. Unable to find enough scary stories she decided to write her own and her debut novel The Ghost House released in October 2013 became a #1 Global Bestseller.
She has written over twenty books in various genres and you can follow her over on Instagram https://www.
Or find her over at www.helenphifer.com
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