My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Many Thanks to Netgalley, Thomas& Mercer and Rachel Caine for a chance to review this brilliant book.
Gwen Proctor is back and how!
Bitter Falls is book #4 in the Stillhouse Lake series and it continues right from the events in WolfHunter River. These books can be read as standalones as enough background is provided in the story but as such I recommend reading the whole series in order to understand the growth of each and every character especially Gwen, who has transformed herself into a female Ninja warrior sworn to protect her family which includes her partner Sam Cade and 2 kids Lanny and Connor.
Melvin Royal is dead but his dark shadow is still looming over the heads of Gwen and her family, the trauma of having fought against his clutches and the vicious online media trolling and hatred that followed it still causing a pall of gloom in their lives. All of them are undergoing therapy individually and as a family and Gwen has begun work as a PI, when she’s given a missing case of young Remy Landry who has vanished almost 3 yrs back. Gwen who understands a mother’s pain takes up the inquiry but the case has unforeseen consequences and Connor, Lanny, Sam and Gwen are plunged headfirst into the icy depths of terror and torture.
I admire Rachel Caine for the ingenuity of the story line by bringing in the woes and struggles of the family of a serial killer, of the perils of social media justice, of being targeted again and again and still fighting to live with dignity. I loved how the author has used the voices of Sam, Connor and Lanny along with Gwen to provide a more wholesome story and provide glimpses to the reader of each of their psyche. Connor grappling with the events in school and bullying and finding the courage to face his demons was especially touching. Maybe I am more bloodthirsty than I thot, but I really wanted a more brutal ending for the evil in disguise. Those final few chapters were so intense and emotional that I was literally glued to the pages to get to the end.
This series is definitely growing in strength and am looking forward to more of Gwen and her family’s adventures. So, after 4 books of fighting never before imagined adversities, I hope the family finds at least some semblance of ‘normal’ in their lives.
Eagerly waiting for the next book in the series!
Blurb
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?