What do you think?
Rate this book
Darcy Hunt FBI Mystery #3
The Girls They Kept
Death is coming… and will swallow her whole.
A string of mysterious suicides plagues Darcy’s city, and only a single word ties them all together. Someone is deceiving young girls, poisoning their minds, and it falls to Darcy to follow the dark and twisted trail that leads to the truth.
Along the way, another sinister enemy has managed to creep his way into Darcy’s life, taunting her with a version of evil she has seen only once before. But he has answers. Answers she needs, and to get them, she’ll have to expose the deepest part of herself and all that she holds most dear.
As disturbing truths are dragged into the light, Darcy must contend with the face of darkness itself, while haunted by cryptic messages left by the monster who still has her sister…
Cycles old turn on new ones begun
All in time with the bright and setting sun
A string of mysterious suicides plagues Darcy’s city, and only a single word ties them all together. Someone is deceiving young girls, poisoning their minds, and it falls to Darcy to follow the dark and twisted trail that leads to the truth.
Along the way, another sinister enemy has managed to creep his way into Darcy’s life, taunting her with a version of evil she has seen only once before. But he has answers. Answers she needs, and to get them, she’ll have to expose the deepest part of herself and all that she holds most dear.
As disturbing truths are dragged into the light, Darcy must contend with the face of darkness itself, while haunted by cryptic messages left by the monster who still has her sister…
Cycles old turn on new ones begun
All in time with the bright and setting sun
376 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 25, 2022
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
July 12, 2022
Just ok
This series is ok if your bored and have nothing else to read. They actually remind me of another set of books I've read from another author. Except the sister is a killer brother in the other series. These books if you read them carefully has details missed and leaves you wondering. Also instead of dragging the books out on and on finish the story and move on with something else.
This series is ok if your bored and have nothing else to read. They actually remind me of another set of books I've read from another author. Except the sister is a killer brother in the other series. These books if you read them carefully has details missed and leaves you wondering. Also instead of dragging the books out on and on finish the story and move on with something else.
November 25, 2025
Love this series! I’m excited to read the next book!
July 7, 2022
Kinda hard to get into the book… AND I THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA CATCH THE BAD GUY BUT WE DIDNT
June 12, 2022
Intense!
Darcy Hunt and Skylar have definitely been added to my list of favorites. Eva Sparks knows how to make them likable. This book is fast paced and pretty intense, but the ending......oh wow!!
Darcy Hunt and Skylar have definitely been added to my list of favorites. Eva Sparks knows how to make them likable. This book is fast paced and pretty intense, but the ending......oh wow!!
February 3, 2023
Eva is great she gets your attention. She is clean and does not use profanity which I love. Darcy is a great character and she is really growing in each book love this series!
December 17, 2025
3.5 Stars
The Girls They Kept is the third book in the Darcy Hunt FBI Mystery Series by Eva Sparks - I binged the entire collection which proved to be quite gripping reading. FBI Agent Darcy Hunt is not your typical crime-fiction lead ... she’s layered, haunted by past traumas, and yet still fiercely determined to seek justice. Each book plunges readers into intricate cases involving missing persons, political intrigue, and chilling criminal minds - all while weaving in Darcy’s personal struggles and evolving relationships.
Ms. Sparks’ writing shines with taut and dynamic storytelling that kept me turning pages late into the night, and yet still rich enough with emotion that made me care about the people behind the crimes. The investigative details felt authentic without bogging down the storyline/s, and the twists are clever enough to have kept me guessing.
A binge-worthy FBI thriller series that delivers both heart-pounding suspense and a heroine you’ll want to root for from book one to the latest release.
Happy Reading…
The Girls They Kept is the third book in the Darcy Hunt FBI Mystery Series by Eva Sparks - I binged the entire collection which proved to be quite gripping reading. FBI Agent Darcy Hunt is not your typical crime-fiction lead ... she’s layered, haunted by past traumas, and yet still fiercely determined to seek justice. Each book plunges readers into intricate cases involving missing persons, political intrigue, and chilling criminal minds - all while weaving in Darcy’s personal struggles and evolving relationships.
Ms. Sparks’ writing shines with taut and dynamic storytelling that kept me turning pages late into the night, and yet still rich enough with emotion that made me care about the people behind the crimes. The investigative details felt authentic without bogging down the storyline/s, and the twists are clever enough to have kept me guessing.
A binge-worthy FBI thriller series that delivers both heart-pounding suspense and a heroine you’ll want to root for from book one to the latest release.
Happy Reading…
May 13, 2023
This is the 3rd in the series about FBI Special Agent Darcy Hunt. Darcy is now partners with her best friend, Skylar, who is also an FBI agent and was transferred to work with her. Together they are great on solving cases.
The one that they are on now, is where a woman had been missing, winds up in the hospital in a coma. But, when she wakes from the coma, she jumps out of the hospital window and kills herself.
When another girl is found, the one word that ties them together is Lancelot. The only thing they all had in common, and the last girl before she dies, utters another girls name. Can Darcy and Skylar find this girl before she ends her life.
Darcy is also trying to deal with the knowledge that her sister, who she thought was dead all these years, might be alive. Another good one to keep you reading!!!
The one that they are on now, is where a woman had been missing, winds up in the hospital in a coma. But, when she wakes from the coma, she jumps out of the hospital window and kills herself.
When another girl is found, the one word that ties them together is Lancelot. The only thing they all had in common, and the last girl before she dies, utters another girls name. Can Darcy and Skylar find this girl before she ends her life.
Darcy is also trying to deal with the knowledge that her sister, who she thought was dead all these years, might be alive. Another good one to keep you reading!!!
August 21, 2024
Too much unsaid about a main character and too much said about an unfinished subplot.
I have read four books in this series. I don’t know if this one will be the last. The author spends too much time on a subplot regarding the main character’s sister. I suppose the idea is to keep the reader interested so he or she reads the next book in the installment. That tactic makes me a little frustrated. So much time is taken away from the supposedly main story line that I find myself scanning forward. Then, in the end she leaves a main character of this book just hanging there - I guess I am supposed to try my luck and read the next book to see if that character is covered. No thanks. I am done. Also, there is too much “filler” in these books. The main character keeps praising herself - on and on. Too much for my tastes.
I have read four books in this series. I don’t know if this one will be the last. The author spends too much time on a subplot regarding the main character’s sister. I suppose the idea is to keep the reader interested so he or she reads the next book in the installment. That tactic makes me a little frustrated. So much time is taken away from the supposedly main story line that I find myself scanning forward. Then, in the end she leaves a main character of this book just hanging there - I guess I am supposed to try my luck and read the next book to see if that character is covered. No thanks. I am done. Also, there is too much “filler” in these books. The main character keeps praising herself - on and on. Too much for my tastes.
March 28, 2026
I do like the suspense and the story line that each book gives. But, I'm not liking how the details of her childhood trauma keep showing up and repeating the same thing over and over. Skyler might be a good FBI agent, so why take all that from her as she wants to hop in bed with any good looking guy? All that isn't necessary for this story. It's written that she's a good mommy to her son, stick with that image instead of visualizing her as a bed jumper. Darcy seems more grown up most times, but she needs to close the next book with finding her sister. Like one of the other reviews stated, this is like another series, but it's the brother that's been taken, not the sister. I believe she is a good writer, so I'll probably keep reading. If it wasn't in Kindle unlimited, I most likely wouldn't.
May 14, 2026
My favorite book by Eva Sparks to date. It kept my attention. It’s difficult to write about these thrillers without giving away too much. But I’ll give it a try, so basically Darcy gets a second chance to close her first ever assigned case with the FBI that had led to a dead end two years prior. When a girl turns up unconscious and brought to the hospital but then jumps to her death after being rescued, Darcy is able to link her case to the past murders.
There is quite a lot going on. Not sure if Hess and her sisters kidnapping tie into this with Parsons at all? Does Parsons pay for the deaths of the girls in the river? Was it him or someone he works for? There is more than one moving plot throughout this book. Guess I’ll have to get the next book in the series to find out. Happy reading:)
There is quite a lot going on. Not sure if Hess and her sisters kidnapping tie into this with Parsons at all? Does Parsons pay for the deaths of the girls in the river? Was it him or someone he works for? There is more than one moving plot throughout this book. Guess I’ll have to get the next book in the series to find out. Happy reading:)
May 16, 2026
The third book in the series is hands down the best one yet. The author somehow keeps outdoing herself with every single book. This one had me completely hooked from start to finish and I could barely put it down.
I love how the storyline continues to grow and expand with each book instead of becoming repetitive. Every time I think I know where things are headed, something new unfolds that keeps me on my toes and wanting more. The characters, twists, and overall world building just keep getting stronger. Absolutely obsessed with where this series is going!
I love how the storyline continues to grow and expand with each book instead of becoming repetitive. Every time I think I know where things are headed, something new unfolds that keeps me on my toes and wanting more. The characters, twists, and overall world building just keep getting stronger. Absolutely obsessed with where this series is going!
April 7, 2025
Agent Hunt and Agent Mills is looking into what is happening with all these you girls hurting themselves.
They are rushing to save the other young women who were taken.
This book was good. I loved how Darcy and Skylar are best friends and can tease each other with their dating life. They go hunting down who kidnapped the detective, and young women who haven’t been seen for a bit.
Can’t wait to read the next book to see what happens and to see if she is any closer to finding her sister.
They are rushing to save the other young women who were taken.
This book was good. I loved how Darcy and Skylar are best friends and can tease each other with their dating life. They go hunting down who kidnapped the detective, and young women who haven’t been seen for a bit.
Can’t wait to read the next book to see what happens and to see if she is any closer to finding her sister.
April 5, 2026
Not as good
I have really enjoyed the books by Eva Sparks. Especially the Allie Bishop series. I started with the Darcy Hunt series and then switched to Allie bishop as something has changed in the author’s writing in this series. I can’t quite put my finger on it, maybe it’s the first person narration, but the story line and the story telling is falling flat for me. Not sure I will continue with this series or not.
I have really enjoyed the books by Eva Sparks. Especially the Allie Bishop series. I started with the Darcy Hunt series and then switched to Allie bishop as something has changed in the author’s writing in this series. I can’t quite put my finger on it, maybe it’s the first person narration, but the story line and the story telling is falling flat for me. Not sure I will continue with this series or not.
January 6, 2023
The Girls They Kept(Darcy Hunt FBI Mystery Suspense Thriller Book 3)
OMG!!!!!!!! I read this book cover to cover, I just could not put it down. I hope Darcy get her sister, Lila, back before the monster that has her convinces her to kill him. Oh so much going on and there is not enough daylight hours to read the all.
OMG!!!!!!!! I read this book cover to cover, I just could not put it down. I hope Darcy get her sister, Lila, back before the monster that has her convinces her to kill him. Oh so much going on and there is not enough daylight hours to read the all.
September 3, 2023
Darcy won't falter
Outstanding read. How stuck can you get. What a mystery to the last period. I could not put the book down . I'm not sure whether it was Darcy or Eva Sparks did me in. Well paced and definitely kept you in the game. Just kept running into dead ends. But, well explained it n the last chapter. You will not be disappointed.
Outstanding read. How stuck can you get. What a mystery to the last period. I could not put the book down . I'm not sure whether it was Darcy or Eva Sparks did me in. Well paced and definitely kept you in the game. Just kept running into dead ends. But, well explained it n the last chapter. You will not be disappointed.
September 29, 2023
Book #3. The current case held my attention and the way Eva wove the recap of previous books into the storyline this time was so much better. I read this book in less than two days and enjoyed it. The slow pace of revealing what's happening with Marvin Hess is a great back drop for the main storyline of this book.
February 14, 2024
all over the place
The story is all over the place. You’re on one case then you flash into another one. Then you’re flashing to when she’s in training, then you flashback to her trauma. It’s hard to keep up. It’s VERY descriptive, you could take out half the descriptions and still have the story intact.
The story is all over the place. You’re on one case then you flash into another one. Then you’re flashing to when she’s in training, then you flashback to her trauma. It’s hard to keep up. It’s VERY descriptive, you could take out half the descriptions and still have the story intact.
July 16, 2022
Darcy is more fun than ever
The Girls They Kept is the best Darcy thriller. You will meet fun characters and even more evil ones. You w.ill come to like her friend and FBI partner Skyler even more. Get ready to not want to stop. You can't wait till there is more..
The Girls They Kept is the best Darcy thriller. You will meet fun characters and even more evil ones. You w.ill come to like her friend and FBI partner Skyler even more. Get ready to not want to stop. You can't wait till there is more..
August 7, 2022
Great story
I love a story that is a series. I become more invested in the character and the story. I have finished 3 in this series . I have not been disappointed in any of the books.
I love a story that is a series. I become more invested in the character and the story. I have finished 3 in this series . I have not been disappointed in any of the books.
September 11, 2022
5 Stars
5 stars for The Girls They Kept (Darcy Hunt FBI Book 3). Oh what a roller coast ride this book turned out to be! Loved all the twists and turns. It definitely keeps you reading till the end and then you still want more. Hope the next one is on the way soon.
5 stars for The Girls They Kept (Darcy Hunt FBI Book 3). Oh what a roller coast ride this book turned out to be! Loved all the twists and turns. It definitely keeps you reading till the end and then you still want more. Hope the next one is on the way soon.
September 16, 2022
It was hard to put down!
The story continues with new characters, a new mystery, more evil persons and riddles! I loved the story, but hate the way it ends--not really because I know more of the story is going to come. I just hate having to wait for it!
The story continues with new characters, a new mystery, more evil persons and riddles! I loved the story, but hate the way it ends--not really because I know more of the story is going to come. I just hate having to wait for it!
September 22, 2022
Darcy and Skylar make a great team.
I was rooting for FBI, maybe, just maybe they will get Darcy's sister and her abductors this time!
Good read and hard to put down once you get started!
I was rooting for FBI, maybe, just maybe they will get Darcy's sister and her abductors this time!
Good read and hard to put down once you get started!
October 6, 2022
awesome 👏
This book is an awesome thrill ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat!! Darcy & her sidekick Skylar go down some tricky & sick roads trying to find some missing girls. That other cases keep intertwine with others. A freaky smart evil guy keeps them twisting!
This book is an awesome thrill ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat!! Darcy & her sidekick Skylar go down some tricky & sick roads trying to find some missing girls. That other cases keep intertwine with others. A freaky smart evil guy keeps them twisting!
October 16, 2022
excellent storytelling and character development!
It is great to read mysteries that have this level of complexity and are at the same time believable, can’t wait to read the further adventures of Agent Hunt!
It is great to read mysteries that have this level of complexity and are at the same time believable, can’t wait to read the further adventures of Agent Hunt!
October 18, 2022
Love, love this writer
I love reading cop/mystery/action/suspense books. Eva Sparks has it all. The characters are rounded out well and you really get to know and care about them. I appreciate the total lack of crude language or scenes. She writes an excellent story!
I love reading cop/mystery/action/suspense books. Eva Sparks has it all. The characters are rounded out well and you really get to know and care about them. I appreciate the total lack of crude language or scenes. She writes an excellent story!
February 25, 2023
good!
This book started great but it was slow in the middle to me. But then at the end I couldn’t put it down and it did not disappoint. I can’t wait to read the last one in the series to see what happens.
This book started great but it was slow in the middle to me. But then at the end I couldn’t put it down and it did not disappoint. I can’t wait to read the last one in the series to see what happens.
December 28, 2023
This was a great continuation of the series. We get a new, interesting case, with tidbits thrown in about Darcy's sister and that investigation. Wonderful, thrilling series, that's really enjoyable to read.
March 5, 2024
I found some editing issues that caused some confusion for me. In my opinion Eva Sparks does hide the killer well. In my opinion it's to repetitive Eva Sparks keeps repeating things from previous books. I get trying to make books standalone but this series is not. I read on Kindle Unlimited.
May 18, 2024
The further I read this book series the more I wonder what is the difference between Daryl and Skylar. In real life, Skylar should have been fired already. Incompetent, not doing anything and wasting the work space and taxpayer money. Don’t know what author was thinking when writing these books.
April 9, 2025
Kidnapped
Darcy is shoved back into a 3 year old cold case, hers, when a young woman commits suicide.
The case seems intertwined with the case of her missing sister and the murder of 7 women.
It's a fest paced thriller with lots of questions.
Darcy is shoved back into a 3 year old cold case, hers, when a young woman commits suicide.
The case seems intertwined with the case of her missing sister and the murder of 7 women.
It's a fest paced thriller with lots of questions.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews