I devoured the first two books in this series so I was really looking forward to this one. And I wasn’t disappointed.
I’ve really enjoyed the way Ms Black has built the description of the tiny Police Department of Nightfall in the midst of the beautiful wooded Oregon across the books. Each one has added another layer and this book is no different as we learn more.
This one is centred around a missing reporter from the local newspaper. No stranger to delving into investigative stories, Jessica Fields is undercover whilst helping her best friend and novelist, Stephanie Baker, at the author conference, “Portland Thriller Fest.” Looking into the organisers, she suspects a cover up but it’s not until she’s on her way home does she disappear completely leaving her friend convinced something has happened when the phone goes dead.
Detective Hanks and Officer Eden Mercer with her trusty K-9, Shadow, pick up the case and from then on in a rollercoaster of leads, dead ends, twists and turns take us across Oregon from the city of Portland to the deepest woods, meeting a smooth-talking world famous author, stalling-assistants and devious organisers.
This novel brings Detective Hanks more to life as he’s gone from grouchy, lone-wolf and only detective in Nightfall, to including and mentoring his new sidekick and trainee detective (in all but name) Mercer. Eden has also grown under his tutelage although we hear less of Nathan giving her pep talks than we did in the earlier books (and I kinda miss Nathan). But Eden is learning to trust her instincts more and it shows as she’s growing into her role and by the end of this book, she’s much more the future detective she wants to be. Not to be left behind, Shadow finally gets to show his mettle in a showdown towards the end of the story, too, and he definitely earns his treats!
I really enjoyed this twist on what might seem to be a well-known tale (it’s certainly not what you think it’s going to be!) so hold onto your hats, and grab your coffee to go because you’ll need to keep your wits about you for this story.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.