A body, wrapped in plastic, is discovered in a ditch along a secluded country road. Detective Jade Monroe, and her partner, Jack Steele, arrive at the scene in minutes. Suspicious looking evidence gives the impression that this young woman has been held captive.
As days pass, more local women vanish without a trace. Jade and her team of detectives fear the worst. With precious time slipping away, Jade needs to pull out all stops to find this perpetrator, even if that means putting herself directly in harm’s way.
Note: All Detective Jade Monroe books are standalone stories, yet they are best read in chronological order. #1 Maniacal #2 Captive #3 Fallacy (coming soon) #4 Premonition (coming soon)
C.M. Sutter was born in San Jose, California and split time between the sunny California coast and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a senior in high school, she chose Wisconsin as her permanent address. After many years in the Badger State, she decided on a warmer year-round climate to call home and moved south. Years of progression took her from working in large companies, to twelve years as a massage therapist, and finally, owning a corporation. She has been self-employed for over twenty years. Ms. Sutter has been writing and self-publishing since 2014 with eleven titles published in a different genre. Because of her deep interest in crime and thriller novels, she took up writing in the police procedural/crime thriller genre in 2016.
Solid story. Decent characters. Bad guys that were truly twisted. Then right at the end Jade, the lead character does something so foolish and irresponsible that she’d get fired for it in the real world even if she got the bad guys and saved victims. That bad ending ruined a perfectly good book. I’ll still probably read the next one as I can’t believe the author will do something like that again.
Enjoyed. Painted a very realistic picture of human trafficking not everyone is saved. The traffickers are portrayed as good looking personable guys. Making it difficult to identify them in general
Another good read from this series - 2 really nasty characters - brothers involved in human trafficking. To think this actually takes place. If you are looking for a good police procedural, this should fill your appetite!
I give this interesting thriller a 3 out 5 on the Chris and Ca scale of Book Favorites because it has the realistic banter between emergency personnel along with an interesting and unfortunately very problematic storyline that just is not voiced enough in our country yet... this was a great story with great characters especially the antagonists with how little they care about their victims... the only problem I had with this book, was the typical ending of the hero going it alone at the end and not waiting for back-up...how many times do we have to read this on a thriller or a crime story? It would actually be an original ending for the police to come in, in full force and do their job. For that I give it I minus 2 points and give it an overall average read, although everyone should become familiar with the content and how easily these crimes can happen. For that C&C give the author 2 thumbs up!
Good book except most of Jeremy scenes. Only when combined with Jade Monroe's scenes were they better. It is a shame that most of the women couldn't be saved but thanks to Jeremy's diary, maybe they could eventually be saved, but I still feel bad about the women sold. For all they had to endure to survive. It says a lot about the men who have to buy women on the black market & I wish they would all die along with all the men out there who don't respect women. It also proves women are better than men; women are honorable while most men are worthless shit & deserves to die in the most horrid ways.
I chose this rating because I had a hard time putting the book down. This book is a reminder of the horrors of human trafficking. I like C.M. Sutter's books. Good storylines and the pace is not slow at all.
Interesting storyline but so much of the book consists of details about pouring coffee and ordering food for no apparent reason. Drove me nuts every time.
Jade Monroe and her partner Jack are detectives in a rural area. Jade, however, has a sharp sixth sense and knows when something isn't right. When several girls are reported missing and one girl turns up dead, Jade suspects a little more than foul play. Despite being injured during a chase, Jade refuses to sit at a desk until she solves the crime.
The crime is worse than the detectives imagine. A few missing girls could be runaways, and a dead girl could be accidental. Jade knows it's more than that. And her detective senses tell her to keep going when other detectives would have assumed the case was over. The horror she discovers is beyond her wildest dreams.
CAPTIVE was a real page-turner. Sometimes it was a bit wordy but otherwise well-written. My only complaint is the detail regarding food and drink throughout the novel. The author constantly specified what the characters ate and drank. The author could have simply said, "They discussed the case over lunch," rather than listing the meal each person ate.
The most recurring drink was coffee. It seemed that the characters drank coffee at least every other page. I understand that people drink coffee, but it really was redundant in the novel.
A decent story, well proofread, something you shouldn't have to say. Things played logically with few noticeable manipulations to move the story in a particular direction. This added to the realism. I wondered why the detectives talked about canvassing in 3 day so will sit in the office and do what? Drink coffee and stare at navels? Then I wondered if I am being too critical and that detectives really do sit around a lot waiting for an answer to fall into their laps. I prefer stories that incorporate logic and clues. Captive had them and little depended upon having overheard xyz or bumping into a bad guy with his gun showing stuck in the back of his belt. I do get annoyed at heroes who do dumb things to create drama, like going to check something out by himself or putting down a gun to tie a shoe or whatever. And Captive did have a little of that amateur dumbness. But then I don't know if many detectives are complacent and play cowboy dangerously. I think they should follow protection rules, hold onto your gun, carry your stupid phone, tell people where you are, etc. I think the story would work just fine with Jade being careful, so I gave this 4 instead of 5 *'s.
Engaging storyline that touches on a heinous and disgusting real world issue. Darkly entertaining with lots of potential in the series.
Character development and relationship development are weak which is a bummer, but the foundation for a likable heroine and love interest is there.
Nicol Zanzerella does a great job as a narrator, so high five there.
One major suggestion I would make to the author is do more research regarding law enforcement or get a consultant.
I had WAY too many WTF moments.
Like… Is Jade a detective or a sergeant, cause typically they are two separate positions.
What cop especially a seasoned one is going to go to a property not know the address and not do a records / title check immediately, especially if there’s a question regarding ownership?
The author throws out random and blatant clues and has the characters flat out ignore them. One or two is expected, but the level at which it happens in this book makes it feel like a jr detective novel not a crime series.
C.M. Straughter is one of my new favorite authors. Her books start off with a bang, and take you on a wild ride with Jade Monroe at the wheel. It's appropriate that Jade drives Mustang Cobra, and loves th drive hard. That describes Ms. Straughter's books. They drive hard, throwing you against the side bolsters with unanticipated curves and turns. Her criminals are truly monsters, but are enigmatic as well, in that you might not know what you are dealing with if you met them at a party. This book made me empathize with the victims more so than in past books that I've read. I read one of the later books first, but now have purchased them all, and have started at the beginning. If you like Jade's sister, Amber, she gets her own series down the line. I highly recommend this author, and look forward to finishing the series.
Another Jade Monroe mystery about human trafficking and the men who abduct the young girls go well on the darknet.I Made Monroe and her partner Jack are involved in the death of a young girl wrapped in plastic and dumped in a ditch in their county. It leads to more girls disappearing and the similarities in the abductions. This story being told from the officers point of view and criminals as well makes for a page turned that is hard to put down. I need to find another crime drama by this same author.
This second book in the Det. Jade Monroe series follows Jeremy and Matt, two kidnappers abducting young women and keeping them locked in cages until they can be sold to the highest bidder online. When one of the captives is killed and dumped at the side of a rural road in Washburn County, Jade and her Detective colleagues are tasked with identifying the victim, and how she was murdered.
An interesting take on people trafficking, with the two criminals barely seeing the victims as human and doing it solely for the money. I've probably read too many Karin Slaughter books, but I was expecting them to be more abusive of their captives.
For a very competent Detective Sergeant, Jade did get into some risky situations, especially at the end of the book, but overall, this was a very enjoyable read.
Human trafficking at its worst with two men who saw what they do as a get rich scheme. Graphic in parts dealing with how the women were captured and brutalized and sold on line to the highest bidder to god knows what kind of life. From a police point of view it was very similar to book one in that it was luck these brothers were caught. After reading book one which I thought was interesting, this one was a bit boring and predictable.
This story seemed s trifle oversimplified and not as horrible as I thought it would have been. Perhaps if more of the girl' s thoughts and feelings would have seemed more real. I know then we wouldn't have had our main character . the ending with her going 'rogue' was too common these days and seems to offer a twisted sense of rules cops follow.
This book, and actually every other of her books I've read are the best of the best of detective work I've ever read, and I'll be 79 years old come march 2026, an been reading since I learned how to read. Reading opened up a whole new world to me. I started reading comics and progressed to better later. These books captivate me from the title to the end. I recommend them to anyone who loves to read.
3 ¾ *stars REALLY THE SUBJECT MATTER WAS VERY DARK AND THE PERPS ARE REALLY DISPICABLE. . .OMG! I HATED THE BAD GUYS IN THIS ONE, WHAT THEY WERE DOING WAS SO HORRIBLE, I WANTED TO HANG THEM BY THEIR BALLS AND JUST LET’EM SWING. FOR ME I DID FIND IT A LITTLE TALKY AND EXPLAINING STUFF I DID’NT THINK WAS NECESSARY TO THE STORYLINE. THIS MADE THE STORYLINE KIND OF DRAGGY IN SPOTS. ;0
This is a great one! I loved the storyline! The characters are nit quite creepy enough that I actually was thinking the one could be redeemed. Silly Me! My only question is what happened to the dog in the final scene? He should have been there. The narration is well done by Nicole Zanzarella. I look forward to the next.
I loved the fact that I choose to red on. This story was much better. i loved the fact that the main crime was not the only one they solved. This made the story much more real. Often times small forces are not working on just one thing at a time. I loved the fact that the story tells both sides of the story too. Great writing.
I am really enjoying this series by C.M Sutter. The characters in the book are all easy to associate with. I would really like to see a bit of a romance develop with Jade and her partner as I think they would make a good couple.
I enjoyed reading Captive due to the fact that the main character is a strong willed person. However I skipped over quite a few pages due to the content within them. Looking forward to reading the next Detective Jade Monroe entitled Fallacy.
A dead woman’s body has been found wrapped in a tarp in a roadside ditch. Her body is bruised with odd burn marks. Jade and Jack and their fellow officers are busy hunting for a number of missing young women. Could there be a connection??
An absolutely wonderful series......plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. The book kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Going to purchase Book 3 and get started reading. Have a feeling I will be up all night reading!
This book was fast paced and full of action. It was fun to see law enforcement at work in a rural setting and the dangers lurking there. The officers were nice, human, and likeable. I highly recommend this book.
Put this down as "did not finish". Didn't care for it at all. There was so much time spent on the bad guys and their torture of their victims and not much time on the heroine. Hopefully the next book will be better.
Liked them working with other jurisdictions to catch the killers who were not in the system. Glad they caught the killers but not good that many victims would not be found. Good that they had something to report to their families.
I was worried about losing interest reading a series or that it would become predictable but this was just as fun of a read as the first. I’ve really loved getting to know the characters and seeing their growth and relationships throughout all aspects of their lives. Super fun read.