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Ella Dark #28
Girl, Unmasked
FBI Agent Ella Dark has studied serial killers from the time she could read, devastated by the murder of her own father, and has gained an encyclopedic knowledge of murderers.
A sinister tribute to executed serial killers unfolds as FBI Agent Ella Dark deciphers the deadly signals left behind—replicas of their final feasts. Racing against time, Ella must tap into her vast reservoir of criminal lore to predict the killer's next homage... and victim.
“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery.”
—Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
GIRL, UNMASKED (An Ella Dark FBI Suspense Thriller) is book #28 in a long-anticipated new series by #1 bestseller and USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose bestseller Once Gone (a free download) has received over 20,000 five star reviews and ratings.
FBI Agent Ella Dark, 29, is given her big chance to achieve her life’s to join the Behavioral Crimes Unit. Ella’s hidden obsession of gaining an encyclopedic knowledge of serial killers has led to her being singled out for her brilliant mind, and invited to join the big leagues.
But this time Ella finds herself in a cat and mouse chase with no way out, and she must wonder if she is hunting—or the one who is hunted…
A page-turning and harrowing crime thriller featuring a brilliant and tortured FBI agent, the ELLA DARK series is a riveting mystery, packed with suspense, twists and turns, revelations, and driven by a breakneck pace that will keep you flipping pages late into the night.
Future books in the series are now available!
“An edge of your seat thriller in a new series that keeps you turning pages! ...So many twists, turns and red herrings… I can't wait to see what happens next.”
—Reader review (Her Last Wish)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“A strong, complex story about two FBI agents trying to stop a serial killer. If you want an author to capture your attention and have you guessing, yet trying to put the pieces together, Pierce is your author!”
—Reader review (Her Last Wish)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“A typical Blake Pierce twisting, turning, roller coaster ride suspense thriller. Will have you turning the pages to the last sentence of the last chapter!!!”
—Reader review (City of Prey)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Right from the start we have an unusual protagonist that I haven't seen done in this genre before. The action is nonstop… A very atmospheric novel that will keep you turning pages well into the wee hours.”
—Reader review (City of Prey)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Everything that I look for in a book… a great plot, interesting characters, and grabs your interest right away. The book moves along at a breakneck pace and stays that way until the end. Now on go I to book two!”
—Reader review (Girl, Alone)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Exciting, heart pounding, edge of your seat book… a must read for mystery and suspense readers!”
—Reader review (Girl, Alone)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A sinister tribute to executed serial killers unfolds as FBI Agent Ella Dark deciphers the deadly signals left behind—replicas of their final feasts. Racing against time, Ella must tap into her vast reservoir of criminal lore to predict the killer's next homage... and victim.
“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery.”
—Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
GIRL, UNMASKED (An Ella Dark FBI Suspense Thriller) is book #28 in a long-anticipated new series by #1 bestseller and USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose bestseller Once Gone (a free download) has received over 20,000 five star reviews and ratings.
FBI Agent Ella Dark, 29, is given her big chance to achieve her life’s to join the Behavioral Crimes Unit. Ella’s hidden obsession of gaining an encyclopedic knowledge of serial killers has led to her being singled out for her brilliant mind, and invited to join the big leagues.
But this time Ella finds herself in a cat and mouse chase with no way out, and she must wonder if she is hunting—or the one who is hunted…
A page-turning and harrowing crime thriller featuring a brilliant and tortured FBI agent, the ELLA DARK series is a riveting mystery, packed with suspense, twists and turns, revelations, and driven by a breakneck pace that will keep you flipping pages late into the night.
Future books in the series are now available!
“An edge of your seat thriller in a new series that keeps you turning pages! ...So many twists, turns and red herrings… I can't wait to see what happens next.”
—Reader review (Her Last Wish)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“A strong, complex story about two FBI agents trying to stop a serial killer. If you want an author to capture your attention and have you guessing, yet trying to put the pieces together, Pierce is your author!”
—Reader review (Her Last Wish)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“A typical Blake Pierce twisting, turning, roller coaster ride suspense thriller. Will have you turning the pages to the last sentence of the last chapter!!!”
—Reader review (City of Prey)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Right from the start we have an unusual protagonist that I haven't seen done in this genre before. The action is nonstop… A very atmospheric novel that will keep you turning pages well into the wee hours.”
—Reader review (City of Prey)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Everything that I look for in a book… a great plot, interesting characters, and grabs your interest right away. The book moves along at a breakneck pace and stays that way until the end. Now on go I to book two!”
—Reader review (Girl, Alone)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Exciting, heart pounding, edge of your seat book… a must read for mystery and suspense readers!”
—Reader review (Girl, Alone)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- GenresThriller
259 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 11, 2025
99 people are currently reading
274 people want to read
About the author
Blake Pierce
983 books5,964 followersBlake Pierce is author of the bestselling RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes seven books (and counting). Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising four books (and counting); of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising four books (and counting); and of the new KERI LOCKE mystery series.
An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.
An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 16, 2025
This one felt kinda depressing. Ripley is down because what she really wanted, didn't happen and she's dealing with changes she doesn't want to see happen. Ella is down due to those around her dying and she feels like she can't trust her instincts. The crime they are sent to investigate is awful, so bad and it seems to get to them. Ella finally figures out who the bad guy is at the last minute and is able to save someone, but it's close. It kinda leaves her feeling better, but then she got a call. What she learned from this call is stunning, to the point that I don't even know what to say about it. I do know trouble is coming Ella's way, there is no other option and it won't be good.
February 25, 2026
This installment was disappointing to me in a few different ways. First, it was next to impossible to get. The links on Amazon Prime for book #28 are broken. The reviews shown are all regarding previous books in the series, the Audible link takes me back to book #14, already in my Library, and the paperback link also leads to a previous book in the series. I don’t use Kindle, so that option was out. I reported the issue to Amazon and tried not to count it against the publisher. I even checked B & N, but had similar issues and couldn’t get it there either.
Finally, I resorted to reading it online at a website called lokepub.com, where I had to wade through tons of ads and stay wary of re-directs. Whether because of where I found it or for another reason, the text was extremely distracting to read, full of more than the amount of mistakes expected for a published novel. I wondered if the website had gotten hold of some kind of rough draft.
There were so many misspelled words, misused words, incomplete sentences (missing a critical word or two), incomplete ideas, conflicting statements, and of course the usual redundant and repetitive words and phrases that we have come to know with Blake Pierce. It was so bad that it made me want to print the whole thing out, edit it, and mail it to Blake Pierce (as if there’s any way to get a hold of Blake Pierce). Don’t people use editors anymore?
Just one example had the perp holding a sharp razor and looking in a mirror ready to slit his own throat. Something startled him, and he dropped the razor, which made a clinking sound as it hit the sink. But then the next sentence has someone coming into the room and startling the razor right out of his hand. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Fed up completely by chapter 39, I found and listened to the final chapters on YouTube, worried the whole time about the legalities of that. While narrator, Kate Burns managed to either have a corrected script to read or corrected it as she read it, she made it less distracting than having to look at the jumbled text of the previous 39 chapters.
Those problems aside, this story did not feel like an Ella dark book. Why have Ripley helping out from the sidelines throughout, when the characters we know and love would have just partnered up as they have always done, no matter what the new boss said? Is Ripley there or is she not there? Sometimes the mistakes in the text and story didn’t even make that clear. The twisty parts were twisty in a way that felt like the author was reaching for something to make it interesting.
I’m not one to give up on a series midstream, but we may have jumped the shark by now. I don’t know if any other Blake Pierce readers are as disappointed as I am at the diminishing quality of the last handful of books in this series. If they are using AI Ito write them now, they really need to stop. If not, and they are just out of ideas, then also, they really just need to end it. With how ever many more books are planned, it doesn’t seem they are ready to quit. So I pray they will have a fresh idea for us instead of the dribble they have been putting out recently.
Finally, I resorted to reading it online at a website called lokepub.com, where I had to wade through tons of ads and stay wary of re-directs. Whether because of where I found it or for another reason, the text was extremely distracting to read, full of more than the amount of mistakes expected for a published novel. I wondered if the website had gotten hold of some kind of rough draft.
There were so many misspelled words, misused words, incomplete sentences (missing a critical word or two), incomplete ideas, conflicting statements, and of course the usual redundant and repetitive words and phrases that we have come to know with Blake Pierce. It was so bad that it made me want to print the whole thing out, edit it, and mail it to Blake Pierce (as if there’s any way to get a hold of Blake Pierce). Don’t people use editors anymore?
Just one example had the perp holding a sharp razor and looking in a mirror ready to slit his own throat. Something startled him, and he dropped the razor, which made a clinking sound as it hit the sink. But then the next sentence has someone coming into the room and startling the razor right out of his hand. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Fed up completely by chapter 39, I found and listened to the final chapters on YouTube, worried the whole time about the legalities of that. While narrator, Kate Burns managed to either have a corrected script to read or corrected it as she read it, she made it less distracting than having to look at the jumbled text of the previous 39 chapters.
Those problems aside, this story did not feel like an Ella dark book. Why have Ripley helping out from the sidelines throughout, when the characters we know and love would have just partnered up as they have always done, no matter what the new boss said? Is Ripley there or is she not there? Sometimes the mistakes in the text and story didn’t even make that clear. The twisty parts were twisty in a way that felt like the author was reaching for something to make it interesting.
I’m not one to give up on a series midstream, but we may have jumped the shark by now. I don’t know if any other Blake Pierce readers are as disappointed as I am at the diminishing quality of the last handful of books in this series. If they are using AI Ito write them now, they really need to stop. If not, and they are just out of ideas, then also, they really just need to end it. With how ever many more books are planned, it doesn’t seem they are ready to quit. So I pray they will have a fresh idea for us instead of the dribble they have been putting out recently.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2026
My Theory was sadly wrong, and I am very very disappointed. And the change in departments? mia and ella not being partners 24/7? The ending? what the hell. Okey the ending answers a lot of other questions i had but still is insane, and now I have to wait for the next one to come out in audio.
February 26, 2026
This wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either 🤷🏻♀️ maybe I just wasn’t in the right headspace for an audiobook, but I just didn’t find this that thrilling until the last chapter where it gives a lead into the next book
December 15, 2025
love these books
December 30, 2025
all read on audio and all same same , but im invested..
February 26, 2026
Decent whodunit cop book (FBI)……..did not catch me to the extent of needing to learn the ending……but I did like the Ella Dark character
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews