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The Girl From Paradise Hill Collection
Tess returns home to bury her father but what she finds buried in his attic makes her question everything she thought she knew about the mild-mannered trucker…
PARADISE HILL, WASHINGTON
The seemingly idyllic mountain town harbors a dark secret: four young girls have disappeared over a forty-year period. With no crime scenes, no leads and no suspects, the cases have gone cold.
Until today.
The remains of one missing girl are discovered in a burned-out cabin at a remote campsite, reopening the case and suggesting the worst may be true – a ruthless child killer is operating in Washington State.
TESS MCCLINTOCK
Crime reporter and amateur cyber-sleuth Tess is obsessed with the cold cases of missing girls in Washington State. As she works to settle her father's estate, she's shaken to her core when she uncovers evidence pointing to his involvement.
FBI SPECIAL AGENT MICHAEL CARTER
On leave after solving a particularly heartbreaking case of child abduction and murder for the FBI's Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force, Michael is back in Paradise Hill to recover and visit with family. Despite doctor's orders to stay clear of police work, Michael's drawn back in when Tess asks for his help understanding the secrets found in her father's attic.
A RUTHLESS CHILD KILLER
Having escaped justice for decades, he's bored and deliberately stirs the pot, revealing the body of one of the dead girls. Despite the fact he's hiding in plain sight, no one suspects that he's really a wolf and not the sheep he pretends to be. He sees Tess and Michael's involvement in the case as a challenge and views Tess as a temptation he can't resist.
AN EIGHTEEN-YEAR OLD COLD CASE
For Tess and Michael, the cases are personal: Tess's best friend in public school, Lisa Tate, was one of the missing girls from Paradise Hill. Michael was babysitting the night little Lisa vanished. The guilt they harbor over their role in her disappearance drives them both.
Desperate for answers, Tess and Michael join forces to track a killer and uncover the secrets Tess finds in her father's attic. Will the answers bring Tess peace or shatter her?
The Girl From Paradise Hill Trilogy Collection includes all three books in the trilogy.
PARADISE HILL, WASHINGTON
The seemingly idyllic mountain town harbors a dark secret: four young girls have disappeared over a forty-year period. With no crime scenes, no leads and no suspects, the cases have gone cold.
Until today.
The remains of one missing girl are discovered in a burned-out cabin at a remote campsite, reopening the case and suggesting the worst may be true – a ruthless child killer is operating in Washington State.
TESS MCCLINTOCK
Crime reporter and amateur cyber-sleuth Tess is obsessed with the cold cases of missing girls in Washington State. As she works to settle her father's estate, she's shaken to her core when she uncovers evidence pointing to his involvement.
FBI SPECIAL AGENT MICHAEL CARTER
On leave after solving a particularly heartbreaking case of child abduction and murder for the FBI's Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force, Michael is back in Paradise Hill to recover and visit with family. Despite doctor's orders to stay clear of police work, Michael's drawn back in when Tess asks for his help understanding the secrets found in her father's attic.
A RUTHLESS CHILD KILLER
Having escaped justice for decades, he's bored and deliberately stirs the pot, revealing the body of one of the dead girls. Despite the fact he's hiding in plain sight, no one suspects that he's really a wolf and not the sheep he pretends to be. He sees Tess and Michael's involvement in the case as a challenge and views Tess as a temptation he can't resist.
AN EIGHTEEN-YEAR OLD COLD CASE
For Tess and Michael, the cases are personal: Tess's best friend in public school, Lisa Tate, was one of the missing girls from Paradise Hill. Michael was babysitting the night little Lisa vanished. The guilt they harbor over their role in her disappearance drives them both.
Desperate for answers, Tess and Michael join forces to track a killer and uncover the secrets Tess finds in her father's attic. Will the answers bring Tess peace or shatter her?
The Girl From Paradise Hill Trilogy Collection includes all three books in the trilogy.
816 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 15, 2019
200 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
Susan Lund
27 books90 followersSusan Lund is an emerging author of psychological thrillers featuring amateur sleuth and crime reporter Tess McClintock and her partner, FBI Special Agent Michael Carter.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 29, 2020
I have moved this book to my "Not worth it" collection in Kindle.
This book cannot decide what it wants to be - and, of the choices presented, does none of them well.
It could be a romance - but the murders keep getting in the way, and the players are way too obvious. Plus, the plans they're making would require them to be separated anyway - making the "happily ever after" (or even just "ever after") part unlikely at best.
It could be a police procedural - but, as the serial killer points out, the police are just plain stupid. They get hunches - but don't believe them. Or they do, then they don't, then they do. And some of their hunches are just plain wrong (and conflict with the evidence). Honestly, the killer runs rings around the police for most of the series. They also make incredibly stupid (and I use the word advisedly) decisions throughout the book. Examples are below.
It might be an awareness book about child exploitation and trafficking - but that only shows up for a few pages (and what is there is incompatible with what I know of the statistics). It makes one more appearance later, but that's too small to count.
It could be about a serial killer - and this is the best option. There is a lot about the killer's motivation and planning, and most of it is quite good. As I said above, it makes the police look like fools - which is the killer's goal. But then, having been incredibly successful for years, the killer gets careless (because otherwise there is no way that they would have figured out what was going on).
********* SPOILERS FOLLOW **********
Police errors. The police chief runs off at the mouth to whoever happens to be in his vicinity - his son (the killer), agent Carter (who is on leave and not allowed to be involved with the case), the reporter, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if he told his dog.
Agent Nash also tells Tess (the reporter) everything, confident somehow that, because it was "off the record," she'll never mention it to anyone.
Chief Joe contacts agent Carter's boss to see if he should be working the case, the boss says no, he shouldn't, and Chief Joe agrees. Then Chief Joe brings him in as a consultant "To help deal with the FBI." Agent Nash buys that hook, line, and sinker. They keep asking if this can get them in trouble - "No, of course not." But it can - you're violating policy by discussing the case with an agent who IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING ANY CASE, MUCH LESS THIS ONE! (Sorry - after having it happen time and time again, it just got to me.) Violating policy in such a way as to bring your credibility as an FBI agent into question for future cases, and in such a way as to guarantee losing your job as police chief.
This is a small community (and that's an important part of the story) - but still they manage to get a SWAT team there so fast it made my head spin. And don't get me started on ambulance response times.
By the end of the first book, you know who the killer is - because the author tells you. From that point forward the book is filled with reasons why it can't be him.
Ron. First agent Carter (and the police) decide that Ron isn't a suspect - then they decide he is a viable suspect. Then they think about it some more and realize he's not a viable suspect. Then he is a viable suspect.
They look at the clues and determine that some were probably planted, so the people implicated by those clues can't be guilty - but then they change their minds and decide that they could be guilty after all and go back and look at them again.
When the killer wants to lead the police astray by planting clues, they take the bait - every time. Even when they tie different victims (Melissa and Zoe) together, they still suspect someone who was in prison for one of the Melissa's abduction. The person they eventually settle on was not only in prison for one of the Melissa's abduction, he was also in prison when the fire was set that tipped them off to the fact that there was a serial killer loose - but even though they realize this a couple of times, they never follow up on it. The FBI is serious about following the evidence (agent Carter keeps repeating this in an attempt to get Tess to stop thinking it could be her father) - but then ignores huge pieces of evidence in favor of making the story last longer.
The killer tells his dad (Chief Joe - who has spent all three books telling him exactly what's going on in the investigation, down to the smallest detail) about a cabin Daryl (the popular suspect) had - so off they go to search, and, sure enough, find remains. Does the Chief even think about the possibility that this is just a little too convenient, especially given all the other planted evidence? No! Instead, he says looking there was due to a "hunch."
Looking at the cabin, the killer has deliberately left it a mess (dried blood everywhere). This was done years ago, apparently with a view to using it now to implicate Daryl. But how could he have known that things were going to get this far and that he would need it?
Gene (the killer) supposedly has a perfectly clean background (no criminal history). Except that the local gossips know about what's in his sealed juvenile file (we never find out, probably because it would then be obvious that Gene should have been considered a suspect all along). Even when Tess (or Agent Carter, I can't remember which one) is told (by one of said gossips) that there was something - they never follow up on it or mention it again.
The killer is very specific about "wanting" Tess when he took Lisa - but she's now too old for his tastes, and so he decides that he's not going after her. Then he breaks into her hotel room and assaults her. Then he targets her deliberately.
Agent Carter - who tangles with her assailant - manages to convince himself that someone much smaller was actually the one who did it, even though he keeps telling himself it couldn't have been. Later the killer shoots agent Carter with a crossbow (a lethal shot if you know how crossbow heads work) and stands over him and says "Missed." Agent Carter can't identify the voice, even though it's his brother-in-law.
Agent Carter hates his brother-in-law Gene (with good reason) - but never considers him as a suspect until Kristen (Gene's ex-wife) makes an off-hand comment to Tess. Seriously? All this time you've hated him, but never thought to look into him - and yet a single, off-hand comment convinces you he could be the one?!? Please!
When the police start to think and put the clues together, the author bombards you with reasons why that can't be it, and so the police wander off again. Then they start to get back on track - and back come the reasons why that can't be it.
Toward the end of the series, both agent Carter and Tess follow the killer (he's riding a bicycle, they're in vehicles) down lonely dirt roads where no one else is anywhere around. And the killer doesn't notice anything.
Then we have Lisa - the reason everyone got involved in the first place. The night of her abduction the three of them (Tess, Kirsten, and Lisa) all put on temporary tattoos. Later, they identify Lisa (who is now in the sex trade in Spokane) by that tattoo. Which would have come off the first time she got in the bath, or the shower, or was out in the rain, or sweated a lot.
I could go on, but you get the point.
This book cannot decide what it wants to be - and, of the choices presented, does none of them well.
It could be a romance - but the murders keep getting in the way, and the players are way too obvious. Plus, the plans they're making would require them to be separated anyway - making the "happily ever after" (or even just "ever after") part unlikely at best.
It could be a police procedural - but, as the serial killer points out, the police are just plain stupid. They get hunches - but don't believe them. Or they do, then they don't, then they do. And some of their hunches are just plain wrong (and conflict with the evidence). Honestly, the killer runs rings around the police for most of the series. They also make incredibly stupid (and I use the word advisedly) decisions throughout the book. Examples are below.
It might be an awareness book about child exploitation and trafficking - but that only shows up for a few pages (and what is there is incompatible with what I know of the statistics). It makes one more appearance later, but that's too small to count.
It could be about a serial killer - and this is the best option. There is a lot about the killer's motivation and planning, and most of it is quite good. As I said above, it makes the police look like fools - which is the killer's goal. But then, having been incredibly successful for years, the killer gets careless (because otherwise there is no way that they would have figured out what was going on).
********* SPOILERS FOLLOW **********
Police errors. The police chief runs off at the mouth to whoever happens to be in his vicinity - his son (the killer), agent Carter (who is on leave and not allowed to be involved with the case), the reporter, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if he told his dog.
Agent Nash also tells Tess (the reporter) everything, confident somehow that, because it was "off the record," she'll never mention it to anyone.
Chief Joe contacts agent Carter's boss to see if he should be working the case, the boss says no, he shouldn't, and Chief Joe agrees. Then Chief Joe brings him in as a consultant "To help deal with the FBI." Agent Nash buys that hook, line, and sinker. They keep asking if this can get them in trouble - "No, of course not." But it can - you're violating policy by discussing the case with an agent who IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING ANY CASE, MUCH LESS THIS ONE! (Sorry - after having it happen time and time again, it just got to me.) Violating policy in such a way as to bring your credibility as an FBI agent into question for future cases, and in such a way as to guarantee losing your job as police chief.
This is a small community (and that's an important part of the story) - but still they manage to get a SWAT team there so fast it made my head spin. And don't get me started on ambulance response times.
By the end of the first book, you know who the killer is - because the author tells you. From that point forward the book is filled with reasons why it can't be him.
Ron. First agent Carter (and the police) decide that Ron isn't a suspect - then they decide he is a viable suspect. Then they think about it some more and realize he's not a viable suspect. Then he is a viable suspect.
They look at the clues and determine that some were probably planted, so the people implicated by those clues can't be guilty - but then they change their minds and decide that they could be guilty after all and go back and look at them again.
When the killer wants to lead the police astray by planting clues, they take the bait - every time. Even when they tie different victims (Melissa and Zoe) together, they still suspect someone who was in prison for one of the Melissa's abduction. The person they eventually settle on was not only in prison for one of the Melissa's abduction, he was also in prison when the fire was set that tipped them off to the fact that there was a serial killer loose - but even though they realize this a couple of times, they never follow up on it. The FBI is serious about following the evidence (agent Carter keeps repeating this in an attempt to get Tess to stop thinking it could be her father) - but then ignores huge pieces of evidence in favor of making the story last longer.
The killer tells his dad (Chief Joe - who has spent all three books telling him exactly what's going on in the investigation, down to the smallest detail) about a cabin Daryl (the popular suspect) had - so off they go to search, and, sure enough, find remains. Does the Chief even think about the possibility that this is just a little too convenient, especially given all the other planted evidence? No! Instead, he says looking there was due to a "hunch."
Looking at the cabin, the killer has deliberately left it a mess (dried blood everywhere). This was done years ago, apparently with a view to using it now to implicate Daryl. But how could he have known that things were going to get this far and that he would need it?
Gene (the killer) supposedly has a perfectly clean background (no criminal history). Except that the local gossips know about what's in his sealed juvenile file (we never find out, probably because it would then be obvious that Gene should have been considered a suspect all along). Even when Tess (or Agent Carter, I can't remember which one) is told (by one of said gossips) that there was something - they never follow up on it or mention it again.
The killer is very specific about "wanting" Tess when he took Lisa - but she's now too old for his tastes, and so he decides that he's not going after her. Then he breaks into her hotel room and assaults her. Then he targets her deliberately.
Agent Carter - who tangles with her assailant - manages to convince himself that someone much smaller was actually the one who did it, even though he keeps telling himself it couldn't have been. Later the killer shoots agent Carter with a crossbow (a lethal shot if you know how crossbow heads work) and stands over him and says "Missed." Agent Carter can't identify the voice, even though it's his brother-in-law.
Agent Carter hates his brother-in-law Gene (with good reason) - but never considers him as a suspect until Kristen (Gene's ex-wife) makes an off-hand comment to Tess. Seriously? All this time you've hated him, but never thought to look into him - and yet a single, off-hand comment convinces you he could be the one?!? Please!
When the police start to think and put the clues together, the author bombards you with reasons why that can't be it, and so the police wander off again. Then they start to get back on track - and back come the reasons why that can't be it.
Toward the end of the series, both agent Carter and Tess follow the killer (he's riding a bicycle, they're in vehicles) down lonely dirt roads where no one else is anywhere around. And the killer doesn't notice anything.
Then we have Lisa - the reason everyone got involved in the first place. The night of her abduction the three of them (Tess, Kirsten, and Lisa) all put on temporary tattoos. Later, they identify Lisa (who is now in the sex trade in Spokane) by that tattoo. Which would have come off the first time she got in the bath, or the shower, or was out in the rain, or sweated a lot.
I could go on, but you get the point.
June 27, 2020
"Curate's egg"
Started well, but I seemed to drag the further I read. Sorry.
Started well, but I seemed to drag the further I read. Sorry.
April 20, 2020
Good storyline, enjoyable
The overall storyline was good and enjoyable. Mike and Tess make a good team. And a great couple.
I felt that the second book was a stretch. The story stretched over a trilogy. I think this was more like a two-book series. The pace at which the real killer was unravelled to the protagonists was quite slow. I guess I like my books packed with events. But then again, it was enjoyable because while it was slow, this probably would be similar to a real-world investigation's pace.
Overall, I liked the book. I'm sure plenty of other people will consider this even more enjoyable. Recommended.
The overall storyline was good and enjoyable. Mike and Tess make a good team. And a great couple.
I felt that the second book was a stretch. The story stretched over a trilogy. I think this was more like a two-book series. The pace at which the real killer was unravelled to the protagonists was quite slow. I guess I like my books packed with events. But then again, it was enjoyable because while it was slow, this probably would be similar to a real-world investigation's pace.
Overall, I liked the book. I'm sure plenty of other people will consider this even more enjoyable. Recommended.
November 13, 2020
It was an interesting plot, but it quickly became redundant and predictable, and I found the analysis of criminal behavior particularly repetitive. I felt it was one book, one story, stretched over 3 chapters labeled books. I also was not impressed with two static perfect characters... The handsome high school football hero becomes brilliant FBI agent, and now his beautiful new girlfriend suddenly displays skill sets of a seasoned law enforcement officer, namely kicking a gun out of someone's hands, retrieving it, and precisely firing it in a forest in semi-darkness, one week after first firing a gun?? Apparently the author wanted the book to be done as well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2021
I gave it 5 stars because it was a well thought-out plot and no typos.
However, I really don't understand why this was 3 books long. So much repetition, so much redundancy, so many loose threads never followed. Interesting characters, especially the killer.
And the main plot, missing (dead or trafficked) prepubescent girls, and all the research mentioned in the story, kept things moving along. But please! We like our stories to have a beginning, development, and good ending. This one had a good ending, pretty tense, so that was good. But meantime? I skimmed and skimmed over all the repeated details of a convoluted storyline.
However, I really don't understand why this was 3 books long. So much repetition, so much redundancy, so many loose threads never followed. Interesting characters, especially the killer.
And the main plot, missing (dead or trafficked) prepubescent girls, and all the research mentioned in the story, kept things moving along. But please! We like our stories to have a beginning, development, and good ending. This one had a good ending, pretty tense, so that was good. But meantime? I skimmed and skimmed over all the repeated details of a convoluted storyline.
May 25, 2020
A great series
Great thriller.I love that all the books were together.So I read from beginning to end.Tess and Michael make a great team for finding killers.And no you don't know people as much as you think you do.Eugene is the classic person no one would believe is a killer,when you have others to blame.This started at a good pace and builderd up until the end.You will love the end .
Great thriller.I love that all the books were together.So I read from beginning to end.Tess and Michael make a great team for finding killers.And no you don't know people as much as you think you do.Eugene is the classic person no one would believe is a killer,when you have others to blame.This started at a good pace and builderd up until the end.You will love the end .
March 12, 2020
Unusually, in this series of books the perpetrator is revealed fairly early on. The characters are strong and the plot is very intriguing. Red herrings and doubts abound. I read all three books in a few days which says a lot. My only complaint is that I'd like to know what happened to a lot of the characters - the victim, the family of the perpetrator etc.
November 10, 2020
A good book, but it was too long.
This was a well plotted murder mystery.. However, the two main characters didn't seem to have much chemistry. The story just prodded along with a predictable ending.
This was a well plotted murder mystery.. However, the two main characters didn't seem to have much chemistry. The story just prodded along with a predictable ending.
June 8, 2021
Story repeats itself to often as if we can’t remember more then a few pages at a time. Also knowing who the killer is before the local police/FBI at times is annoying as they keep brushing over the killer as a suspect.
July 6, 2020
Enjoy this thriller!
Enjoyed reading this trilogy. Kept my interest throughout the the series. All the twisted and turns ,
And being familiar with that region!
Enjoyed reading this trilogy. Kept my interest throughout the the series. All the twisted and turns ,
And being familiar with that region!
October 4, 2020
It was okay to me. Seemed like it got stretched out rehashing the same info over and over. Glad they didn’t get too detailed with the crimes of the children. Overall a decent read.
January 25, 2021
Loved it
It was intriguing, totally kept me from wanting to put the book down. Interesting having the point of view from the killer.
It was intriguing, totally kept me from wanting to put the book down. Interesting having the point of view from the killer.
September 18, 2021
Great trilogy!
November 19, 2021
I gave this set a lower rating because I personally don't like to read a lot of narrative from the murderer's perspective.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 7, 2022
I know this is fiction, but it gives me the creeps thinking stuff like this can and probably does happen possibly every day. Really thought provoking and well written to provoke such strong feelings.
December 7, 2024
I’m not sure why so many people gave this a bad review. I think it was worth the time to read.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews