The Ophelia Killer

by Valerie Geary

“Three girls in the past three years. All found in the middle of August. All found naked and arranged near the water, holding flowers."

Reporter Jimmy Eagan knows a good story when he sees one. After another young woman is found dead near Salem, Oregon clutching a bouquet of wildflowers, Jimmy is certain there's a serial murderer on the loose. He's even given the man a nickname: The Ophelia Killer.

But the police don't seem interested in Jimmy's theories, and the primary detective is treating Jimmy like a suspect. After nearly a year with no new leads and the police looking in all the wrong places, Jimmy must track down the real killer before another August girl turns up dead.

*The Ophelia Killer is a standalone prequel to On A Dark Tide and can be read at any point a reader discovers the Brett Buchanan Mystery Series.

ebook

Published August 17, 2021

About the author

Valerie Geary is the author of the Brett Buchanan Mystery Series in addition to Everything We Lost and Crooked River, which was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. Her short stories have appeared in The Rumpus, Day One, and other publications, including two anthologies. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband where they enjoy hiking favorite trails and discovering new ones together.

Sign up for her newsletter to receive occasional news and book reviews: https://substack.com/@valeriegeary

Reviews

[Jonah Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some prequels only take place in the same fictional universe, but Geary sidesteps that by creating a piece that builds upon the story of On A Dark Tide. Both books are great on their own, but when combined this feels like dessert—fleshing out a character I didn’t get to know too well the first time around. Geary has also gone back and added more to the 1980’s setting too, with references to real-world events and shirts with gloriously poofy shoulders. There are some extra treats and sweet bits of irony for readers of Dark Tide, including a delicious cameo from my favorite fiend. For those who haven’t yet, it’s a good way to dip your toes into the Brett Buchanan series, but I feel like it would immediately have to be followed with Dark Tide to get the full Valerie Geary experience.

[Syd · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author very kindly gave me a free download of this book. It's a prequel to On a Dark Tide, which I had just finished reading, and it was great to get more back story for some of those characters. There's a nice balance between action and character development, and a good pace to the story. Also, the location is very well described, so you can get a mental picture of where the action is happening. I'm looking forward to reading more of this series as it appears!

[Debbie Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could make up my own rating system I would give this book 4.3 stars. I enjoyed the fast read. The book was well written and kept me wanting to come back to find out who-done-it. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author and series.

[Sandra de Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prequel to the first Brett Buchanan mystery, which I enjoyed. I didn't stop reading this one, but it was not as good as the first one.

[Jarilyn Cassise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advanced reader’s copy of this prequel to Valerie Geary’s new, budding series, and I loved reading the backstory of Brett and Jimmy, and getting to know a lot more about where they come from, and how they are being shaped. True to Geary fashion, I was kept on my toes and stayed riveted and engaged the whole read. It made me want to read On a Dark Tide again, and I cannot wait for the next book to come out in the series!

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic prequel to On a Dark Tide, I thoroughly enjoyed this and Jimmy's perspective, I look forward to future Brett Buchanan mysteries!