One hot summer’s evening, ten-year-old Piper Chase went for a bike ride. She never came home…
Piper cycles off one hot Oklahoma evening for a sleepover with her new friend Miley from summer camp. But when she doesn’t come home, her grandparents raise the alarm. Their little angel is missing, last seen on her pink bicycle, heading towards the dark woods on Black Heart Lane.
Detective Kimberley King knows that the first twenty-four hours in a missing child investigation are the most critical, but with no witnesses, and darkness falling in the small town of Dead Woman Crossing, she begins to fear the worst. She longs to find the little girl with wide blue eyes and an infectious smile, but when her team discovers Piper’s body in a woodland clearing, lying on a bed of moss, something inside her dies.
In a town where people leave their doors unlocked, Kimberley is terrified that another little girl might be snatched, and that night she holds her own daughter tighter. Desperate to find the monster who took the life of an innocent child, Kimberley chases down all the leads she has. The summer camp counsellor, who got too close to Piper and Miley and lost his job. Piper’s shifty uncle, who arrived back in town the day she disappeared…
Then she gets a call that chills her to the bone. Miley has gone missing. Has the killer who stole one little angel just taken another?
Review
I enjoyed the first book in this series and have been keenly looking out for updates on the publication of a second installment. Needless to say, I was super excited to see this stunner on NetGalley. I am glad to say that it is even better than the first one. This is definitely one of the best crime thriller series out there.
Piper went out cycling to her friend’s house when she disappeared without a trace. The police are in a race against time to find the little girl. Experts say that the first 24 hours are important in determining the outcome of the missing children’s cases. Unfortunately, a lot of time went by before Piper was reported missing. Tensions heightened when a second girl also goes missing from her home.
Dead Woman Crossing is a great setting. Small town, expansive backwoods, nosy neighbors and a creepy history from which the town derives its name, what is not to love? It is the perfect setting for this mystery. It adds to the complexity of the case as there were so many places where the little girl could have gone. At the same time, it gives readers an interesting pool of suspects.
The case is complex with many red herrings. I couldn’t correctly guess the Perp’s identity until the reveal. I had some guesses along the way but all were wrong. The narrative style with the POV alternating between different characters made this quite a suspenseful read. I also like how the author included short chapters by the Perp. They felt like little explosions going off at intervals throughout out the story.
Detective King grew on me from the first book. She is a deftly crafted main character. I love how the author portrays her as a no-nonsense detective with a hard exterior at work and then we get all the softness when we see her as a mom. Her portrayal as a mom in this installment was so relatable. I remember driving home with my husband and telling him about Detective King’s daughter who is always unplugging her phone like our little girl does. For a minute there, I almost forgot that Kimberley is fictional. I love this detective and the support characters such as Sam and Barb. I can’t wait to see how their story progresses especially since this installment hinted at a change in some of the relationship dynamics.
Last Day Alive turned out to be a brilliant read. Fast paced, twisty with an unpredictable ending, definitely a great installment to the Detective Kimberly King Series. What a stunning read.
J.R. Adler, no pressure, we really do need the third book ASAP though 😉
Author Bio:
https://www.jenevarose.com/
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https://twitter.com/jradlerauthor
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://bit.ly/3wNKqfAApple: https://apple.co/3oUoiuMKobo: https://bit.ly/3aIg97CGoogle: https://bit.ly/2OGRHwp
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A Haven for Book Lovers 
I do love fast-paced crime thrillers. The setting is interesting. The only thing that makes me a little unsure is that it involves children. I may have to check out this series, Diana. Excellent review as always!
I understand. Its not graphic but yes, the two victims are children so I know that can be tough to read. Thank you.
If it’s not too graphic, than I can read it just fine. When the Stars Go Dark was one that was borderline, but luckily not too much detail.
Enjoy your weekend, Diana. 😉
So very glad this book lived up to your expectations for the series, Diana! I sounds really good. Great review too!
Thank you so much Marialyce ❤
This is another series which I must try. Great review Diana!
Thanks Jacob. I hope you’ll get a chance to do so. It has only 2 books so far so its easy to catch up.
I love when the second is even better than the first! You know it means that each book is going to get better from here on out. I’m glad this one was such a hit for you!
Yeah, the growth of the characters also keeps getting better. This is going to be a strong series.
I enjoy mysteries where the setting is prominent and stellar, and it sounds like this is a good one!
Dead Woman Crossing is such a memorable, small town. I think you’d enjoy this one Laila
I hope you get your wish and book three isn’t too long of a wait, Diana! This sounds like another terrific and well-done procedural series and I loved your review! ♥️
Fingers crossed. Thanks Jennifer.