Format: Paperback, 336 pages
Release Date: January 21, 2020
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Genre: Thrillers / Suspense
She’s investigating a cold case no one else could—by going places no else would dare.
In spite of a harrowing past still haunting her, Gwen Proctor is trying to move forward. Until a new assignment gives her purpose: the cold-case disappearance of a young man in Tennessee. Three years missing, no clues. Just Ruth Landry, a tortured mother in limbo. Gwen understands what it’s like to worry about your children.
Gwen’s investigation unearths new suspects…and victims. As she follows each sinister lead, the implications of the mystery grow more disturbing. Because the closer Gwen gets, the closer she is to a threat that looms back home.
In a town that’s closed its ranks against Gwen; her partner, Sam; and her kids, there’s no bolder enemy than the Belldene family—paramilitary, criminal, powerful, and vengeful. As personal vendettas collide with Gwen’s investigation, she’s prepared to fight both battles. But is she prepared for the toll it could take on everyone she loves?
Bitter Falls, by Rachel Caine, is the fourth installment in the Stillhouse Lake thriller series. For Gwen Proctor, her daughter Lanny, her son Connor, and her partner Sam Cade, Stillhouse Lake is no longer the
sanctuary it once was. Now, the townsfolk are against them and
everyone, except for a select few, want them gone and they aren’t afraid
to show it. The most dangerous adversary for Gwen, Sam, and her kids are the Belldene's who Sam has already had run-ins with. The family is powerful, criminal, vengeful, and looking for a bit of payback.
Gwen's recent publicity created renewed tensions between them and the
Belldene family whose paramilitary and drug-related activities don't
want the attention. Gwen started working as a private investigator for J.B. Hall's Kingston Investigations, Sam's construction business has all but
dried up forcing him to work out of town, Connor is being bullied in school, and is living in constant
fear, while Lanny, still nursing a broken heart from her breakup, is a typical teenager who never sees the
consequences of her actions.
Gwen takes the case Remy Landry, a young man who went missing in Knoxville
(3) years ago. Remy is a college student who tried to help a girl escape from a cult and hasn't been seen or heard from since. His mother refuses to move on and all but lives in his former apartment. Further investigation leads her to Father Tom and the Assembly which threatens, kills, and enslaves women in
their clutches. They are evil and the cult's leader mimics those like
Jim Jones and others of his ilk. When the cult attacks Gwen and her family at home and kidnaps Sam and Connor, she will do anything and everything to get them back.
With lives on the line, Gwen proves that she is a formidable opponent. She knows how to stand and fight and when the going gets tough,
she rolls with the punches and punches back. Even though she is still being stalked by trolls on the internet who want her kids to kill themselves, as well as Sam's former group who is now targeting him as being brainwashed, Gwen refuses to back down and run away again. As often times as she's been threatened, it's always a surprise when Gwen can walk away from a situation without much damage being done to herself or her family. The return of Vera (Vee) Crockett from the Wolfhunter River adds a bit more intrigue as well as danger.
Similar to other books, the author rotates her narrative between Gwen, Lanny, Connor, and Sam. I often times whine, yes I said it, about the numerous narratives but in this case I think they are more than warranted due to the circumstances each character finds themselves in. The ending both felt a bit rushed, as well as the end of the series. Not sure if there will be another book, but obviously the situation has drastically changed and so will the scenery. We shall see.
i've seen this one around and everything about it appeals to me. great review
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental