Burning Bridges

by Lesley Davis

Clancy Madsen is surrounded by death.

Eight missing women, all brutally murdered in their cars, have been dumped along the Missouri River. Underwater salvage hunter Clancy Madsen searches the entire length of it, locating each victim, one by one. She helps drag the cars back from the deep, then helps the dead move on to find peace. Clancy’s own peace eludes her, but if she doesn’t search, how will anyone get closure to a loved one’s loss?

Jude Patterson’s friend Mia is missing, but no one will listen to her. Except for Clancy. Jude is soon pulled headlong into Clancy’s strange world where the dead speak ill of the living and the Missouri River might be hiding more secrets than Clancy has already uncovered.

Can Clancy and Jude crack the case—and the secrets of their own hearts?

Genres: Crime, LGBT

266 pages, Paperback

Published September 9, 2025

About the author

Lesley Davis lives in the West Midlands of England. She is a die-hard sci-fi/fantasy fan in all its forms and an extremely passionate gamer.

Reviews

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ This is a story about Clancy who is a psychic medium and uses her ability to search for missing persons. She and her niece and searching the Missouri River for a serial killers victims. Along the way Clancy meets Jude who is an ex Navy diver currently working as a bartender in a lesbian bar.

This was a unique read for me with two butch women having an instant attraction to each other. I liked the dialogue and chemistry between the mcs. It felt realistic and sincere.

The storyline and mystery was pretty simplistic and if it were more complex this could have been much better. The psychic scenes were ok and emotional with the dead person being able to communicate with their living relatives.

Thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Aleana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clancy has a gift and she uses it to find the missing. She mainly focus on the Missouri River with the help from her niece Inez. While her and niece are out at a bar she intrigue by the bartender Jude and the feeling is mutual who is a ex navy diver who is worried about her friend Mia who been missing. Jude gets pull into Clancy world when she ask for her help but learn there more to Missouri River then they realize and someone wants to keep it that way. I love mystery with romance wish we get more of it and it’s surprising that the main characters are both butch don’t get that often overall a good read.


I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

[Sue Plant · Rating 5 out of 5]

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

he left in the river to drown after he assaulted them and nobody realised for ages this was happening, when the police were notified that one had gone missing there was no evidence of foul play and so the police stopped looking

clansey madsen whenever she was asked was in the haulage business, she kept the river cleans from debris.... what she was doing was finding the dead people dumped into the river... and so far she had found 8 of them

she also had a a closely guarded secret that enabled her to do the job to the best of her abilities and she guarded that secret with her life.... with this gift she was able to find the bodies and their ghosts pass over but also was able to get any information with how they were killed....

jude was a loner she had left the navy and really couldnt find her place in the world but luckily for her mia got her a job and helped settle her into her new apartment... and so began a friendship that was needed by both until one day mia went missing and though jude went to the police and reported it nothing was done.... no foul play was found...

luckily for jude clansey walked into her bar and after a steamy night together jude told clansey about mia.... who knew right away that something was amiss

have to say i thoroughly enjoyed this storyline i was hooked from the first page.... i hadnt expected the tears to arrive but cry i did at certain scene...

will be keeping an eye out for more from this author

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5 Stars) Clancy Madsen is a psychic who can hear the dead. She uses her abilities to work with the police to locate dead bodies. In her current case she is posing as a salvage hunter on the Missouri River. The reality is she is finding cars in the river containing bodies left by a serial killer. Clancy meets Jude Patterson at a club where she is working as a bartender. Sparks fly instantly between the two. Jude has previously served in the Navy as a diver and is happy to help out in the salvage work. Unfortunately one of the victims has a personal connection to Jude.

The book leans hard into the paranormal side. Clancy isn’t an investigator or a police detective, although she is helping them. She wants to help the spirits move on. I liked the way Clancy interacts with the spirits. Jude is a way to bring a personal connection to one of the victims. She is also an easy way to bring in spicy moments. Both are butch and the banter can be cheesy and with a lot of masculine energy. I think I was expecting Clancy to be more of an investigator in finding the killer. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the digital copy and I am leaving an honest review.

[Andrea (looseleftlesbian) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! For some reason, my brain did register that Clancy was a “medium” of sorts, even though the plot summary alludes to it. I know I read it multiple times but I went in thinking she was a cop. I say this because I wasn’t sure how I felt at first when I realized that Clancy talked to the dead. But that’s completely my bad.

I found the dialogue between Clancy and Jude cheesy and sometimes unrealistic. It didn’t feel natural at times.
while getting past the dialogue at times was hard, the story itself was interesting. It was interesting to see how Clancy talked to the dead and how it affected her. It was nice to see a relationship between two butch women who were proud to be butch and unapologetically themselves. There’s not enough of that representation.

There is a retelling of a suicide attempt as well as suicidal ideation throughout the book, so be cognizant of that if that is something triggering for you.

Overall it was a decent read. I just wish it wasn’t as insta love and had more natural dialogue.

[AC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I applaud the story concept, I just felt there were too many inconsistencies, unrealistic plot and editing issues that it left me wishing I hadn’t even started this. And I never give spoilers.
It often felt as though this was written by a man, intended for a male audience when it came to much of the dialogue and sex scenes, which overshadowed the main plot of the story, IMHO. The writing style often felt as though there was more than one author also, which is great as long as I know that before I start reading. I can’t speak for anyone but myself, so you may have an entirely different take on it.
I wish I could even say the character development gave me some satisfaction, but that would not be the case either. I guess I have more questions about the editing for plot, consistency, and grammar than a sense of satisfaction for having read this. Just sayin’.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books. As I said, these are just my opinions, yours may be entirely different.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s been a while since I read a book by Lesley Davis. I do enjoy her supernatural slant and this book has Clancy, a psychic diver who finds missing persons who’ve been drowned or abandoned in water. Ms Davis is very good at showing the effects of this ‘gift’ on Clancy and it’s important that she has a support system behind her including the excellent Inez.

Jude is also a diver but works in a bar. She’s trying to find her missing friend Mia. The interaction between Clancy and Jude is central to the serial murder case that’s being investigated.

The ending was satisfying and well written and although we had closure and a solution, I’d be happy to read further adventures of Clancy and her band of friends. And cats, of course.

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping crime story featuring Clancy a psychic, who can hear the dead and is using her powers to find murdered women, and Jude, who's best friend has gone missing. Really enjoyed the story which kept me gripped and entertained, loved the Wiccan commune too, feels like a timely way to live in these brutal times. Especially loved the butch/butch romance at the heart of this book, an extremely rare occurrence in this genre; well written, with believable emotions and passion. Special mention to Inez the empath and the delightful black cat (off course) Smokey Joe. Read in an evening. Recommended.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book, but I struggled to get into it at first. The middle section was excellent and held my interest, showcasing a lot of potential. However, the ending was disappointing and felt like a letdown. I felt the author relied too heavily on spicy scenes to drive the story forward, and it would have been more effective if she had focused on the backstory or current events related to the murder. While I initially thought this was a murder mystery with a psychic twist, it ultimately left me wanting more.

2.5 stars

I received an arc

[Rainy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books, Inc.for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a sapphic murder mystery with heavy paranormal undertones. For the most part I found this to be an easy read and enjoyed it.

Trigger warning for Suicide/suicide ideology

3.5 ⭐️
Rounded up

[Carrie Carr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whew!

This book kept me on the edge of my chair for the entire read. While it's not my usual fare, I couldn't stop reading. Davis once again weaves a brilliant tale, with wonderful secondary characters.