Format: Hardcover, 316 pages
Release Date: May 14, 2024
Publisher: Montlake
Source: Publisher
Genre: Mystery / Suspense
Sheriff Bree Taggert becomes a target when she follows the twisting trail of a serial killer in a bone-chilling novel of suspense by #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.
A pair of hikers find a tarp-wrapped body in a clearing in the woods. When a search in the surrounding area yields two more, Sheriff Bree Taggert knows they’ve stumbled onto a serial killer’s dumping ground.
With the help of investigator Matt Flynn, Bree works the case. They go to interview Jana, the best friend of one of the victims. But when they arrive at her apartment, it’s been ransacked and set on fire. And Jana is missing.
It’s clear the killer is escalating. To make matters worse, he threatens Bree’s family and a young mother vanishes. Will Bree and Matt uncover the link between the victims before more women die?
Melinda Leigh's On Her Watch is the Eighth installment in the author's Bree Taggert series. Key Characters: Former Philadelphia Homicide Investigator now Sheriff Bree Taggert of Randolph County, and Matt Flynn, former Deputy, and current criminal investigator after he was shot in the hand by friendly fire. Bree and her department have their hands full in this installment. The story starts out with a domestic violence situation which has a tendency to go badly for the police officers who respond. You never know if one of the parties has a weapon or not.
Soon thereafter, Bree and Matt are called to the scene where two hikers have discovered a dead body that appears to be female. When Bree calls in her K-9 team of Deputy Laurie and Grace, as well as the Medical Examiner, they discover two more bodies. The bodies are all females between 16-20 years old. To make matters worse, a ticking time bomb in the form of the flu is not only making its way through Bree's department but her own kids whom she has been taking care of since her own sister was murdered.
With Bree, Matt, and a few others not sick, it is up to them to find out if there is a serial killer loose, and if so, stop the killer before any more innocent women turn up dead, or missing. Unfortunately for Bree, another young woman is dumped literally on top of her vehicle as she is leaving for work. The message is pretty simple. You can't stop me from taking more young women, which is exactly what happens when a girl who was involved in the domestic violence incident ends up being kidnapped right outside of her place of employment.
Personally, Bree questions her role as sheriff, questions her role as a surrogate mother to her niece and nephew, and questions her growing relationship with Matt which has also included his parents, his sister Cady, and now her brother who has chosen to be more present than ever before to ensure the kids are taken care of and loved. Bree's relationship with the Country administrator reminds me of the defund the police radicals who think that social workers make better people to deal with non-violent crimes.
There are times when one has to suspend reality for a moment just to enjoy the story itself. If you were living in the real Randolph County, you would likely pack your bags and leave town quickly. I missed several of the first books in this installment which I hopefully will catch up on one day. The author kindly reminds readers of Bree's tumultuous childhood and the fact that she didn't have the best home until she was 8 years old and tragedy struck. On top of that, while she was a police officer in Philadelphia, her sister was murdered which still lingers to this day. I understand that there is another book scheduled to come out this year which features Bree in a crossover event with another author and her character. I might just check it out.
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