When the remains of a young woman are discovered on the edge of Saranac Lake in upstate New York, local law enforcement immediately call Detective Harlow Durant. When she arrives at the scene, she instantly knows this case will get under her skin. Lying just beyond the picturesque lake popular with families are the remains of a victim who has seemingly been burned to death. With very little evidence remaining, Harlow begins scouring missing persons reports.
The victim is identified as twenty-six-year-old Ellie Gordon—a fun-loving young woman who worked in the bookstore and enjoyed going out with friends. When her mother comes to ID the body, she reports her daughter’s gold crucifix missing and the hunt begins to locate it and any potential DNA evidence. But as Harlow starts to piece Ellie’s last movements together, another body is found. The victim was killed in exactly the same way and worked with Ellie.
Witness statements identify a local man who was obsessed with both women and when Harlow sees video evidence of him pawning the gold necklace, she thinks she has her man. But when he too winds up dead, Harlow has to start over. The only other link to the women is Gavin Croswell, one of the most powerful men in the town. But with a whole host of alibis, pinning the murders on him is almost impossible.
With time running out to find the killer before another woman loses her life, the case soon becomes personal when Harlow’s car is violently run off the road. Someone wants to warn her off the case and they will use anything they can to threaten her. Even if it means exposing her own dark secret.
Can Harlow confront her demons to save another innocent life from being lost? And just how much is she prepared to sacrifice?
An absolutely addictive serial killer thriller perfect for fans of Melinda Leigh, and Robert Dugoni’s Tracy Crosswhite series.
Author Bio:
Author Dea (D.H) Poirier is the author of NEXT GIRL TO DIE, which hit #1 in the Amazon charts. She was raised in Edmond, Oklahoma, where she got her start writing in creative writing courses. She attended The University of Central Oklahoma for Computer Science and Political Science. Later, she spent time living on both coasts, and traveling the United States, before finally putting down roots in Central Florida. She now resides somewhere between Disney and the swamp. She spends her days at her day job as a President of Digital Marketing, and her nights writing manuscripts.
Buy Link:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B09KCDJLT4social
My Review
The Girls in the Fire is the second book in the Harlow Durant series. I read Find Me In The Dark a little while ago and was keen to revisit these characters. Harlow is a strong female lead which is something I particularly enjoy in this kind of book. (Any kind of book if I'm honest.) This might be the Harlow show, but it isn't just about her, her sidekick Lucas, who is an interesting character in his own right, is right alongside her helping her get to the bottom of things. I particularly enjoy the two of them together.
As with the first book, we see flashes of Harlow's past, alongside the current case that she's investigating. Whole chapters appear with events from twenty years previously. Not only is she a detective dealing with murderers, but her own father is a serial killer. Whether this gives her a unique insight into the criminal mind or doing what she does just helps her to deal with her past, without ever being able to come fully to terms with it. I'm not sure that she would know either.
The murderer this time specialises in young women who he brutally disfigures and then sets alight. While in some books it's obvious who is behind it all and why, before some kind of big reveal, that wasn't the case here. Instead, we follow alongside Harlow and Lucas as they uncover what is going on.
This was a gripping read and one I really enjoyed. I hope that we will be seeing more of this pair soon.
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