Once is chance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is a serial killer.When Iris Castillo’s bound and battered body is dumped in Santa Monica Canyon, Darcy Walker vows to find her murderer. But as clues and more remains surface, the investigation soon leads Darcy to believe a notorious serial killer is back.
With the community reeling, Darcy chases leads that take her into the darkest parts of the city where she calls on the underworld for help. But asking the mob for aid means she owes them favors.
Will Darcy make promises she can’t keep—or is it worth the risk if they save her from becoming the next target?
White Noise is the bone-chilling seventh book in the Darcy Walker Crime Thriller series. If you like edge-of-your-seat adventure, then you’ll love AJ Lape's shock-a-minute mystery.
A.J. Lape writes stories where danger lurks around every corner and laughter is never in short supply. From thrilling teen mysteries to heart-pounding crime thrillers, her wickedly clever pen crafts tales with unstoppable she-roes and anti-heroes flirting with the road to redemption.
She lives in Cincinnati with her husband, two daughters who pop in for cash, and a spoiled Boston Terrier. A graduate of Morehead State University with an MA in Communications, she’s a freelance writer and PI wannabe with an addiction to cold brew.
You can spot her online engaging with fans, double-tapping animal reels, or binge-watching food videos that she sometimes successfully recreates in the kitchen.
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Only two authors have managed to keep my interest in their characters over a long series of books. In the mystery, thriller, and crime genres, A.J. Lape's Darcy Walker books have had a hold on me for twelve books now. I've been with her through the tough high school years in the Darcy Walker Teenage Sleuth Thrillers, and now with the seventh book in her Darcy Walker Crime Thrillers series that features an adult Darcy as she goes through her police-officer-in-training years with the LAPD.
In White Noise, Darcy's uncanny ability to stumble across a dead body is full steam ahead, leading her friends and allies into a danger that is well-hidden and definitely out to get them. After a prisoner that Darcy and her partner are escorting is gunned down by some of his victims, her chase for the gunman has Darcy nearly landing on a barely buried body of a college-aged woman. And another woman is discovered nearby with similar injuries and other aspects that remind Darcy of a serial killer who is currently in jail. Is a copycat killer on the loose, or did they get the wrong man so many years ago?
Darcy has a lot on her plate with her younger sister yearning to be part of the in-crowd and doing questionable things to gain their affection back in Ohio. Her father also seems to finally be moving on after so many years of mourning for his murdered wife. And now she has to add worrying for her partner and his troubled girlfriend who is hellbent on dragging him down to her level. Darcy has walked the line between doing things legally and not quite so legally to get the answers she seeks, and it's finally starting to drag her in a direction she might not be able to come back from.
All of my favorite side characters are here, from her old friend from high school who joined her at the LAPD she calls Grumpy, to her covert operations connection back in Ohio, to her current underworld connection in gang boss Gutierrez, to her boyfriend's police captain grandfather and his old partner Paddy, to my personal favorite weirdo Packer. He's always down to do whatever Darcy wants and with his outrageous and loud flair.
Darcy's boyfriend Dylan is getting closer and closer to being in the same city as her for the long term, but her reluctance to embrace that is front and center in their interactions. Here is a man who learned to fight to rescue her when she were kidnapped, and Darcy's only thought is to shelter him from the ugly reality she lives every day at work. She faces so many difficult decisions because she still sees herself as the outsider, even when she's front and center for so many people--whether that's good or bad for her.
This book started with action and kept it going throughout. The little moments of everyday life for Darcy were a welcome breather before you get thrown right back into the thick of it. Darcy is slowly creeping toward being a full-blown adult, and that scares her when she considers the things she does to solve the crime. Darcy cares greatly for those close to her, but she also gives much grace and respect to those around her who deserve it. She's still sassy and a bit mouthy but in a clean way, although the middle finger flies quite a bit in this installment (and in ways that just made me laugh each time). I love the interplay of characters from this series and the Ruby Rivera series. They are so great with each other that I'd love to see a book where both Darcy and Ruby are featured. Overall, I enjoyed my time with Darcy and I can't wait for another installment of this entertaining, well-written, and captivating series.
Have followed Darcy from the beginning. Love how she just rolls with whatever happens. This time, things were more serious at times. Shows she's growing. Still miss Dylan. I'm scared to think of what happens in their future.
When Darcy is chasing a suspect, she comes across a dead body. She will stop at nothing to get the answers she needs. Even if she’s going to owe favors. My favorite verb is back in action. Each and every installment keeps me glued to the pages from start to finish. AJ Lape’s quick wit and gritty storylines keep me coming back for more!
It's a well-known fact that Officer Darcy Walker has an unfortunate tendency for encountering deceased individuals in the course of her duties. This time, she discovers two dead missing female co-eds while chasing a suspect through the woods. Darcy quickly connects their deaths' similarities to a serial killer known as White Noise, who is supposedly in prison. Darcy must now determine who is carrying on his legacy without becoming a victim herself.
With the assistance of her numerous and unique companions, Darcy must carefully navigate the delicate balance between upholding her solemn oath and engaging in covert activies in order to uncover the truth behind the unfortunate deaths of the young ladies. Darcy is also faced with helping her ride-or-die partner, Ramsey, as he struggles with a close relationship.
This fast-paced thriller has everything I love about Darcy Walker. She loves her boyfriend Dylan, her family, and friends. She's got a sassy mouth when someone messes with her. There's action and humor, and she's always ready to protect and serve. Darcy's unique and sometimes questionable approach to crime-fighting is sure to hook readers from start to finish. I can't wait to see what's next for Officer Darcy Walker and friends.
I don't know...there were just too many characters and intersecting agendas. I didn't hate it, but it was kinda dumb. **spoiler alert** Let's start with all the cover-ups by the LAPD top brass. I'm not naive enough to think that stuff doesn't happen, but it rubs me the wrong way that the main character is an officer that stomps all over the law & police protocol, and then everyone goes out of their way to lie, cheat, steal, and cover-up any of Darcy's wrongdoing.
Next, a group of people who randomly hooked up via the drug trade, who just happened to all be serial killers, decide to work together on this scheme? I mean, I know this is fiction and a lot of things in these books are implausible, but this was straight ridiculous. Not bloody likely.
I loved the character of Darcy Walker in the first few books (the high school years) because I felt she was written really, really well. I loved that she did her own thing, and I could totally relate to a lot of her backstory. I couldn't wait until the next book came out to read how one of Darcy's quirks would land her in the eye of a storm & how she would cleverly get herself out.
That being said, the things I enjoyed about Darcy in the beginning are starting to get on my nerves. I like that she doesn't need to curse to get her point across, but now that she is an adult, the cutesy replacements she used as a teenager & the little quips make her seem puerile. I'm not saying Darcy needs to start dropping F-bombs, but "fastard" & "ponkey" are things a 5 year old would say, not a woman in her 20s. I cringe when I see those words in the stories now. Let them go.
Also, enough with the Dylan Taylor, all the Taylor family, and everyone Darcy knows are the most perfect, beautiful, powerful people in the universe trope 🙄 It's tired & incredibly lazy. Seriously, every guy is 6ft+, built, and has 1-2 dimples? No need to dealve into the pshyche of the average human being when you can just invent perfect people whose only flaw is "loving Darcy so much they'd die for her " 🙄 And let's get into the whole thing with "Jaws" & "twenty bucks". It's getting to be so that Darcy doesn't really seem to be able to do anything on her own anymore. I used to love how the character used her wits to make connections that helped solve whatever she was into. Now it appears as though Darcy can't even poop without calling in one of her "secret powerful friends" to pull some strings. It's like the author can't figure out how Darcy can get herself from point A to point B in the story, so she's now reaching for the low hanging fruit of "Darcy calls Jaws/Twenty Bucks, because they are both so 'awesome, and rich, and powerful, and feared' they can just snap their fingers and make anything happen." Come on Lape, you're making me use the word "lazy" again.
After all that though, I'm still not giving up on Darcy Walker. That's how much I hope the author can get this character & series back on track. This book ended on a very interesting cliffhanger and I hope the next book will restore my faith in the DW universe. TL,DR: I loved where this series was going, and there's still some great story in there, to tell the truth, but the author needs to let Darcy grow up a little bit.
I've been obsessed with Darcy for years. I love her character. In this book, I also get more of Dylan, who is amazing. As always, the action is nonstop from pg 1. I was as surprised as Darcy in this book. I never saw it coming. Twists, turns, threats. This book kept me intrigued. Already, I cannot wait for the next installment. I'm beyond invested in Darcy and Dylan.
Darcy is all heart. She always follows her gut and does what it takes to help those she loves, even when it gets her in trouble. This was an action packed installment with a few twists and turns along the way. She chases after that serial killer without letting fear or anything else hold her back. We really she a development in her role within the police force and it’s fun to see her figuring out life as a young adult.
White Noise is an exercise in growth, showing how Darcy Walker, our heroine, has grown up to that adultness that she's toed the line with. She may not be cursing yet, but she's learning the dark side of the streets that she works every night. It's not just the streets that have our girl growing up, but the people around her. The partner she works with every night... the love of her life, Number 80... Her dad is taking steps to break out of his shell and date after 12 years.... So much going on but Darcy takes it and runs with it - like she always does. Living life as a verb.
Darcy seems to be at a crossroads of which side of the line she's going to step a whole foot in. Her relationship with Twenty Bucks is as vital to her as a Coke and a donut, but is it good for her and her career - or for Dylan? So much growing up to do, so little time.