Series: Detective Josie Quinn #12
Published by Bookouture on August 12, 2021
Format: eARC
Source: Net Galley
Pages: 281
Amazon UK
Goodreads
Also by this author: Her Mother's Grave, Her Final Confession, The Bones She Buried , Her Silent Cry, Cold Heart Creek, Find Her Alive, Save Her Soul, Breathe Your Last, Hush Little Girl, The Drowning Girls, Watch Her Disappear, Local Girl Missing , The Innocent Wife, Close Her Eyes, My Child is Missing
The woman is kneeling at a gravestone, her hair blowing in the breeze, a bunch of wilting yellow daffodils on the grass beside her. Her eyes are fixed on the ground and her mouth is parted in a silent prayer. But the wax dripping from her cold blue lips means it’s already too late to save her…
On her first day back with the Denton PD after a major trauma, Detective Josie Quinn is on the hunt for a missing woman, Krystal Duncan, the mother of one of five children killed in a devastating school bus crash. Hours later, Josie finds Krystal’s body beside her daughter’s grave, her lips sealed together forever with wax.
Forensics match the wax to one of the candles lit in memory of the sweet little souls who died, giving Josie her first lead to a support group made up of the parents who lost children in the crash. Painstakingly dissecting the lives of these grieving couples, it’s clear to Josie that each of them is hiding something about the day of the accident—but whose secret is worth killing for?
The case takes an agonizing turn when the body of another young mother is found near the site of the bus crash. Someone connected to the accident is out for revenge. As the members of the support group are picked off one by one, every second counts for Josie to save the lives of these loving parents who have already suffered the loss of those they treasured most…
I am going to start with the formalities. I really can’t believe I have just read book 12 of this series. I also picked this book up without reading the blurb, I mean this is a Lisa Regan book! Finally, this might just be the most heartbreaking one yet. All of this is 100% true!
Ok, that’s done, now on to the review. I do love going in cold with one of Lisa’s books because I never know where we are going to go on our adventure. Also, when I picked up this book, I had temporarily forgotten what happened at the end of the last book. But the second I was with Josie everything came flooding back and I wanted to cry all over again. Josie, well she is struggling. She is lost and on leave from work. Everything has changed. Seeing this ‘new’ Josie, a Josie without a spark, who had lost her way (and understandably so)was hard to see.
The murder she has to investigate is one I found heartbreaking to read about. I guess anything with a child is hard to read about, and then to bear witness to the grieving parents left behind, well it’s not something I can or want to get my head around. I definitely gave my mini-me a tighter hug.
Another storyline to get your teeth into and leave you reeling. Another book that took a piece of my heart, engulfing me with grief. Another book that once you start you really can’t stop reading. I started it, and before I knew it I was halfway through. I have always loved the way Lisa writes her books. She brings her characters to life, I am so protective over Josie and Noah, that is down to her writing. Making me want to be there with them every step of the way.
This book has a different feel to it, yes it is intense and we have to know who the murderer is, but it was also a time for grief. I read that Lisa lost her dad whilst writing this book. You can feel her grief as if it was your own. Josie’s grief is our grief. I lost my dad and still after all this time I’m not over it. So yes whilst this is still a thrilling book and you want to find out the who, what and why. It is also a book to channel your grief and to remember that it will be ok.
In each book, I feel like I am part of the team and it is kept very much renewed. The stories are new and intense, yet the characters are growing with each new book. This is not the same Josie we met way back at the beginning. We have watched her grow, learn to love herself again and let people into her bubble.
I just can’t wait for the next book and to see what is in store for Josie next. Sunshine and happiness for a little bit, please
Until next time xxx
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Carla says
Wonderful review Zoe. This is another series, that I want to read, but the longer I wait, the more I have to catch up on. I am putting this series on my list for next month. I am worried about the sadness in this one, as I am too easy to have leaky eyes lately.