My second read of Loreth Anne Whites started a tad bit slow, but sure picked up speed along with my heart beat, as “The Drowned Girls” kept resurfacing, brutalized, sodomized and victims of a larger, more powerful and unspeakable evil.

And Detective Angie Pallorino is trench deep in finding a serial killer targeting young girls, a case that can actually make her or break her. With her personal life shattered with a sick mother, and a wary relationship with her father, Angie is thrown into battling repressed memories of a childhood she can’t really reconcile.

Working alongside her new boss turned lover James Maddocks, both have a shitload of personal baggage they need to take care of, yet there are sparks and enough chemistry to support each other, work alongside to catch the killer or together die trying to save more innocents. They care, they help, and they have some kickass cops as family to protect and serve.

First of her new Angie Pallorino Series, “The Drowned Girls” sure will drown you in pages of suspense, the evil that hides behind power, of innocent lost and of secrets that people carry, that always have painful repercussions. I have to admit the beginning started off a bit slow, but boy did it pick up speed and action after the first few pages.

And coming to Loreth Anne White, she seems to be an eloquent writer wielding pen or maybe her laptop, and a brilliant creative mind! She did a fabulous job with Pallorino and Maddocks. They may have different family dynamics and diverse personalities, but the common goal of justice gives them a purpose and the abundance of care gives them hope to do their jobs, protect the innocent and maybe manage a relationship amidst the crazies. The plot is captivating, enough twists to keep you guessing, and the secondary characters are the special condiments adding flavor to this thriller.

A definitely will follow Pallorino and Maddocks, now that my curiosity is raised with Angie’s mysterious past and how Loreth will develop Maddocks’s and Angie’s relationship.

: 4.75 stars--THE DROWNED GIRLS is the first installment in Loreth Anne White’s adult, contemporary ANGIE PALLORINO mystery/ psychological crime thriller series with the addition of a little forbidden love and romance.

NOTE: THE DROWNED GIRLS contains mature scenarios of graphic violence, abuse and sexual mutilation that may not be suitable for all readers.

Told from several third person perspectives THE DROWNED GIRLS follows numerous paths that focus on the resurgence of a violent rapist who has upped his MO turning to mutilation and murder. Detective Angie Pallorino works the sex crimes division of the Metro Vancouver police department and the recent spate of violent sexual assaults is eerily similar to a couple of unsolved cases from years before. When the latest assault victim dies of her injuries, and another body washes up on shore, Angie finds herself with a new partner-homicide detective James Maddocks-a one night stand that demands something more. What ensues is the search for a killer while Angie and James battle the upheaval in their own personal lives-back home.

THE DROWNED GIRLS is a story within a story; a dark and gritty tale of a psychopath; a serial rapist and murderer who uses religion as his justification for his actions but THE DROWNED GIRLS is also a story that reveals the depths to which the powerful elite will bury their sins for a piece of the pie. The world building takes the reader into the seedy underbelly of a city gripped by fear; of a people controlled by sex and drugs; of a police department that begins to turn upon its self. As the Metro Vancouver PD begin to uncover the truth, secrets, lies, and betrayal become road blocks to stopping a killer who is devolving with every victim and assault.

Similar to Silence of the Lambs with a police department ala Law and Order: SVU THE DROWNED GIRLS is a suspenseful, descriptive story line with palpable energy where the reader looks into the killer’s mind-his needs, his rituals, his rationalization for all the he does-Norman Bates meets Hannibal Lecter with all of the gory details and graphic imagery that a psychological thriller throws at the reader. The character development sets the stage for the who, what, and why ; the world building is rich in technological detailed narration and presentation; the romance is the forbidden fruit between two peoples whose personal lives have fallen into the abyss-Angie Pallorino is desperate to escape Wonderland and uncover the truth.

THE DROWNED GIRLS is a decadent, intriguing and enthralling story line; an energetic and dramatic look the people and places behind the headlines and stories that affect us all. The premise is complex and chaotic; the characters are numerous, sensational and charismatic; the romance struggles in the face of duty, secrets, lies and the unknown. Loreth Anne White’s THE DROWNED GIRLS is a powerful tale with memorable characters, and disturbing situations against the backdrop of Vancouver, BC, Canada.

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This was an extremely difficult book for me to read in certain parts. It's very gritty, written harshly, and I had trouble many times understanding what the hero and heroine's true motivations were. Not for the faint of heart by any means.

Excellent Book. Great main characters and plot. This book really kept me gripped all the way through. I would recommend this book.

WOW! This was a great story. Don't plan on reading this book (especially the last 25%) until you have the time to NOT put this book down. I couldn't especially for the ending. This Author just slams you with this terrifying story. Thrilling and Horrible at the same time. This book is about Murder, Rape, Sex Crimes, Death and lots of other horrible things. If you don't think you can read about that kind of horrific stuff, then I'd say this is not the book for you.
1st-in-series, 5-stars, arc, contemporary-romance, emotional, murder, mystery, romance, suspense, thriller
*Thank you to the publisher, the Author and NetGalley for a copy to read. I loved this book and chose to review it. I was not compensated in any way for this review.

Angie is dealing with the loss of her partner and a small child in an unfortunate situation at her job. Her partner was one of the most respected officers in the MVPD and some people are gunning for Angie to pay for her sins.

One night after a rough shift Angie heads to a strip club where she has a room paid for next door to bring her conquest back to. She finds her a tall handsome man and as soon as she sees him she makes an offer he can't refuse!

While she is with this tall handsome man she gets a phone call. She has to leave immediately. But before she goes she cuts him from the zip ties and breaks one of her ultimate rules about men. She gives him her real name and a burner phone number, he wants to meet again to finish what they started.

She gets to work and later sees the tall handsome man. He is now her boss and in command of a task force to help bring down the sick pervert who is now killing and mutilating women. Angie goes on a journey all her own to find out who she really is and where she fits into everything.

James Maddocks is new to Victoria BC and is here to be with his daughter. But when he runs into a red headed beautiful woman at a strip club, he goes to her room and is interrupted mid coitus by a call she gets and she has to leave. As he is rubbing his wrists from the burn from the zip ties he cant stop thinking about her and how he's going to get back in bed with her.

James is nothing short of surprised to see Angie when he goes into work after a call about a homicide. He had even texted her and said he couldn't wait to see her again. He definitely wasn't expecting seeing her at work much less to be her superior. James also goes on a wild ride as his family comes to be in danger and jeopardy because of the Baptist.


This book was nothing short of enthralling, amazing, and addicting. I couldn't get enough of this book. These characters were so intriguing and kept you guessing as to what they were going to do next. Everything you thought would happen didn't and everything you never would have guessed did happen.

This book was one of the best books that I have read all year and I cannot recommend this author enough she deserves MAJOR kudos for this amazing story. Not only was it enthralling and addictive it is worthy of being made into a movie!!!

I couldn't stop reading long enough to get to a point where I could be satisfied. This was definitely one of those books I stayed up reading till 3 am and really didn't want to put it down, but alas I cannot function without sleep.

Angie is such a complicated and amazing character that gives us as the reader so much to work with. You never know what she is thinking until it comes out of her mouth and you definitely don't know at she is going to do until it happens. She has issues that so many people deal with but others that are sometimes hard to understand. Even though Angie gets herself into plenty of trouble on her own she wants nothing more than to be loved unconditionally. I think most people want that for themselves and she shows how hard it can be to relinquish the control she loves so much. In steps James Maddocks who not only is a tall handsome man, but also someone who is willing to help Angie in every way possible to keep her from self destructing. Not only does he lust after Angie he falls in love with her because she is who she is unapologetically.

James made a career move to be with his daughter and that takes a lot for someone who has an impressive career to uproot everything he has known to make sure that he is there for his daughter. He is a dad that so many other people in the world would give to have as their dad. Because even though he could be seen as selfish up until this point he is making strides to be able to do whatever it takes for his daughter to see that he is really trying his best!

Once again I jus cannot give enough praise for this book and author!! I am super exited about the next installment in this series!!

If you have yet to experience a Loreth Anne White novel, I’m here to tell you, you’re missing out. She’s proven time and again to this reader, she’s not an author that skimps on the details. In fact, it’s pretty apparent, especially with this storyline, she put a ton of research and thought into the psyche of her characters, the inner workings of the investigation and the underlying religious aspects; while still managing to strike a nice balance between the suspense and romance. The one caveat I feel I should mention—this isn’t one I would recommend for the timid, queasy or faint-hearted. The sex, violence, gore and depravity is graphic and often grotesque—to the point it gets under your skin and may start to chip away at your sunny outlook. You’ll be living and breathing every dark aspect of this complex investigation.

A sex crimes investigator for the last six years, Angie Pallorino is looking to get out. To make a move to the homicide unit and leave behind the sordid things she's witnessed and the recent loss of her partner. She’s pretty much a badass—fierce, fearless and smart—but that’s not to say she doesn’t have a boatload of issues. I’m convinced at this point, there aren’t many detectives that don’t harbor some type of addiction, at least in the fictional world of policing, and Angie is no exception. Her drug of choice—anonymous sex.

The situation in which she meets her temporary partner, James Maddocks had to be my favorite part of the entire story (I've mentioned I’m a total romance junkie, right?); talk about an unexpected twist of fate. On second thought, maybe it was the phone call the next morning or the nickname she came up with for him, after failing to learn his name, that got to me. For some reason, that nickname made me laugh every time it popped up in her head and even though she chose to keep it to herself, I'm convinced Maddocks would have appreciated it.

Maddocks and Angie are partnered up on a joint task force to take down a serial killer. One they believe has escalated from rape to female circumcision and murder. There are a host of issues at play here—the fact that Maddocks has been asked to report back on Angie's conduct, the hallucinations and flashbacks that render Angie helpless at the most inopportune times and underscoring it all, the unwavering chemistry between the two detectives.

While the meat of this gritty story is the suspense surrounding the case, there’s also a healthy side of romance that provides the balance. There’s no denying Angie and Maddocks have a crazy intense connection, the question becomes—is trying to make a relationship work worth the risk? Honestly, lets be real for a minute though, who could resist falling for Maddocks—a gorgeous and genuinely nice guy that happens to be a fixer of sorts, rescuer of Jack-O and then there’s that nickname again; can’t forget about that.

The setup of the story grabbed me, held on for dear life, and pretty much demanded I do nothing else but solve this case right alongside Maddocks and Angie. They weren’t the only interesting characters in this bunch though. Kjel Holgerson (Angie’s replacement partner in sex crimes) always seemed to have something up his sleeve and hopefully we find out just what it is in The Lullaby Girl, along with the answers to all of the other nagging question I have.

Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by the Author and Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an fair and honest review.

Gritty, intense with lots of twist to the plot. Those are just a few of the reasons I love Loreth Anne White. She does Romantic-Suspense with a sharp edge like few other authors in the genre do. At times it got a little technical, but overall this is a dark, intense and riveting book.

Red-headed Angie Pallorino is a sex crimes detective who wants a shot at a job in homicide. She is also wondering if her mother's mental illness could be lurking inside her also. The unsolved rapes of young women also haunt her. Her outlet is sex with anonymous strangers. Her chance at a homicide job comes when two more girls turn up dead with eerie similarities to her previous cases and she is assigned to the Task Force. Only one problem: it looks like instead of a opportunity to prove herself, this is a opportunity to bury her career. But with everyone around her looking out for their own self interest, who will look out for the interests of the victims?

James Maddocks, Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome, is new to the Victoria Police Department. He took the detective job in their homicide department and relocated to Victoria from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in order to be close to his daughter, whom he has had a hard time connecting with. His one-night stand with Angie before his job even started was too short and may cause problems when he ends up being her boss on the Task Force created to solve the rapes and a murder.

Very good mystery. I had no idea who did it till the end. Will be recommending this book to my mystery readers

The Drowned Girls by Loreth Anne White is a spellbinding addictive thrill ride. The protagonist is Angie Pallorino detective in the sex crime unit of Victoria BC police department. She is on the hunt for a sadistic rapist known as The Baptist. The book is filled with a lot of twist and turns, in depth characters and a heroine that is strong, gritty and at the same time vulnerable. The main characters is surrounded by three dimensional supporting characters. I really loved reading about Angie as she unravels the case that goes from the highest ranks of Victoria society to the lowest.

In this book the police procedural theme is forefront, as are the character relationships. Angie's life is a jumbled mess, both professionally and personally; which really made this a very thrilling read. I was disappointed that the potential great character was killed off in this book. I won't ruin the book by outing the killing but so much potential could have been wrought with this character. I can't wait for the series to continue.

I both read and listened to the book, and the audio book was narrated nicely; but the characters voices especially the females did run together.

Wow! I have two simple words to say it all - movie deal. This is undoubtedly the best crime thriller I have ever read. The characters are complex, flawed, and so very likeable. The plot builds and builds, leading to a very satisfying conclusion.

WOW, WOW, WOW!!!

This book is really something!!! I don't know where to start my review...

Maybe with the heroine? Angie... She was really something else! I don't know how to "classify" her. She seems angry, but she doesn't know why. She's suffering but does not have a reason. She's tough, but afraid that a slight bump can brake her.

To destress she has one-night-stands with men she picks up at a strip club!!!! O_O

And who she picks up? Her new collegue!!! And we all know how that will end!

But that's not the focal point of the story, even if it makes the story peppery!

The focal point, or shall I say points?, are the masterfully vowen multiple stories of crime, depravation, secrets... And that's just WOW!!!

It starts with one horrific sex crime, but during the investigation things just pile one upon the other, until the very end where everything fits like puzzle pieces!

So, I was chewing my nails and turned pages,just so I could discover another piece and see how it fit!!!

As a cherry on top we also get few glimpses inside the sick killer's mind! Oh, buy is he sick!!!

But he's not the only villain! There's sex scandal, slavery sex trafficing, murder... Oh, so many, many things that make a tapestry of crimes all connected!

Simple genius!!! Is you like yours books gritty, complicated, horrific, bloody, with conspiracy and some hotness, this one is just for you!!!

I'll be oh, so looking forward to the next one!!!!

The drowned girls by Loreth Anne White.
He surfaced two years ago. Then he disappeared.

But Detective Angie Pallorino hasn’t forgotten the violent rapist who left a distinctive calling card—crosses etched into the flesh of his victim’s foreheads. When a comatose Jane Doe is found in a local cemetery, sexually assaulted, mutilated, and nearly drowned, Angie is struck by the eerie similarities to her earlier unsolved rapes. Could he be back?

Then the body of a drowned young woman, also bearing the marks of the serial rapist, floats up in the Gorge, and the hunt for a predator becomes a hunt for a killer. Assigned to the joint investigative task force, Angie is more than ready to prove that she has what it takes to break into the all-male homicide division. But her private life collides with her professional ambitions when she’s introduced to her temporary partner, James Maddocks—a man she’d met just the night before in an intense, anonymous encounter.

Together, Angie and Maddocks agree to put that night behind them. But as their search for the killer intensifies, so does their mutual desire. And Angie’s forays into the mind of a monster shake loose some unsettling secrets about her own past. How can she fight for the truth when it turns out her whole life is a lie?
An absolutely fantastic read with brilliant characters. Really had me thinking. The killer was evil. I liked Angie. Can't wait for next part. Highly recommended. 5*. Netgalley and montlake romance.

Angela „Angie“ Palladino ist mit Leib und Seele Polizistin in der Abteilung Sexualverbrechen. Der Job mit seinen dunklen Seiten verlangt ihr einiges ab, doch auch im Privatleben findet sie keine Ruhe: nach einer Affäre mit einem Kollegen stillt sie ihr sexuelles Verlangen mit anonymen One Night Stands, die nach ihren eigenen Regeln ablaufen. Außerdem wurde ihre Mutter soeben in eine psychiatrische Anstalt eingeliefert, nachdem sich ihre schizophrene Störung verschlimmert hatte. Dass diese Krankheit vererbbar ist, erleichtert Angies momentane Situation nicht gerade. Eines Abends nimmt sie einen gutaussehenden Fremden mit in das eigens dafür angemietete Motelzimmer und verführt ihn. Dabei werden sie von einem Notruf unterbrochen. Mit diesem Anruf wird die Suche nach einem Serienmörder in Gang gesetzt, der junge Frauen sexuell missbraucht, verstümmelt und „tauft“. Um ihn zu finden, wird eine eigene Sonderkommission gebildet, deren Vorgesetzter ausgerechnet der Mann ist, den Angie verführt hat: James Maddocks. Dieser ist gerade erst nach Victoria gekommen, um in der Nähe seiner Tochter und Exfrau zu sein. Die beiden beschließen, ihre gemeinsame Nacht hinter sich zu lassen und zusammenzuarbeiten, doch das ist leichter gesagt als getan. Zu dem schwierigen Fall kommen auch noch Halluzinationen/Erinnerungen, die Angie zu schaffen machen. Wird sie ebenfalls krank oder ist die Lösung dafür in ihrer Vergangenheit zu finden?

Loreth Anne White hat es mal wieder geschafft, mich mit Angies Geschichte komplett einzunehmen. Ich konnte die spannende Geschichte rund um die „drowned girls“ und vor allem auch Angies persönliche Probleme einfach nicht zur Seite legen, sondern musste bis zum Ende dranbleiben. Außerdem gelingt es ihr erneut, diese unheimliche, düstere Atmosphäre gekonnt einzufangen.

Angie ist ein toller Charakter. Sie ist eine Einzelgängerin und hat wenig Freunde, aber gerade diese Verschlossenheit und Einsamkeit macht sie interessant und manchmal tat sie mir sogar leid. Sie ist also bei weitem nicht perfekt, aber klug, komplex, stark und einfach realistisch. Dasselbe gilt für Maddocks, der seine ganz eigenen Probleme hat, Angie aber dennoch zur Seite steht. Ich bin gespannt, wie es mit den beiden weiter gehen wird!

Ein spannender, dunkler Thriller mit ein paar romantischen Einlagen, der mich gepackt hat. Freu mich schon sehr auf Teil 2 – „The Lullaby Girl“ -, der im November erscheinen wird!

The Drowned Girls – the first book in Loreth Anne White’s Angie Pallorino trilogy – is a superbly plotted, intense romantic thriller which sees the heroine trying to come to terms with family problems, the recent death of her work-partner and concerns about her own mental health – all while continuing to work as a detective in the Metro Victoria PD sex crimes unit and gunning for a promotion to the elite, all-male homicide division.

Angie has always been a bit difficult to work with. She’s hot-tempered, stubborn and doesn’t work well with others, but she’s good at her job and truly believes she makes a difference by doing what she does, putting away the sick bastards who prey (mostly) on women and young girls. But dealing with the sorts of things she has dealt with on a daily basis for the past six years has gradually taken its toll, and even before her partner was killed a few months earlier, Angie had begun to shut down her emotions and close herself off, to become all about the job and nothing else. But since his death, and the death of the child they were working to save from her abuser, Angie has pretty much gone down the rabbit-hole; she’s in a self-destructive downward spiral, driving herself harder and harder, having to work hard to contain her aggression and fury and needing to maintain control at all times, using meaningless sex with strangers as her coping mechanism and way of blowing off steam.

When a comatose sixteen-year-old girl is found dumped at the foot of a statue of the Madonna in a local graveyard, having been brutally assaulted, mutilated and almost drowned and has the shape of a crucifix carved into her forehead, Angie is sure it’s the work of the same killer she and her partner had been trying to put away three years earlier. There were two victims (that they knew of) both sexually assaulted and with a crucifix drawn on their foreheads with a red marker. The further disfigurement of the latest victim would indicate that the perpetrator is escalating – and the discovery of another body bearing the same mutilations and signs of assault, this time one who has been wrapped in polythene and dumped in the river – definitely supports that theory and indicates that he is almost certainly going to strike again soon.

Sergeant James Maddocks, formerly of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) has recently moved to the area in order to be close to his daughter, Ginny, who is a student at the University of Victoria. His marriage broke down under the strain placed upon it by his job and while the move to the Victoria PD is a bit of a step-backwards career wise, he wants to be near Ginny and to be a better dad. He is assigned as lead on the case of the body found in the river, and when the victim from the graveyard dies, the case turns into a double homicide.

With the death of the assault victim, the hunt for a serial rapist becomes the hunt for a serial killer, and, given her familiarity with the killer’s MO and with the earlier unsolved murders, Angie is seconded to the homicide team investigating both murders. The discovery that her new partner and boss is the guy she’d picked up in a bar and fucked the night before just pushes her closer to the edge; how can she work with someone who knows something so personal about her, and who – she is sure – must know she’s screwed up inside?

But Maddocks is a good guy. He doesn’t push and he agrees with Angie that they should put that night behind them – although it becomes quickly clear that isn’t going to be easy for either of them. There’s an attraction there than neither can ignore; and for Angie, it’s a problem. She has rules, lines she mustn’t cross; sex for her is about control, not caring, but she senses that Maddocks is someone she could come to care for and it scares the hell out of her.

This is the first book I’ve read by Loreth Anne White, and it definitely won’t be the last. I was completely gripped by the story from the start and kept eagerly turning the pages as she ratcheted up the tension, introducing new plot threads and characters into the mix and weaving an increasingly complex and engrossing story involving political corruption, a rogue reporter with connections to the earlier victims, and possible links to a sex-trafficking ring.

But at the heart of the book is Angie herself, a woman who pushes herself too hard and is clearly on the edge of a major breakdown. At the beginning of the book, her father has just had her mother admitted to a psychiatric care home for a mental illness that began to manifest itself several years earlier. Angie’s relationship with both her parents has deteriorated badly in recent years, and it’s clear that her father, a university professor, is not happy about her chosen career. When Angie starts hallucinating, seeing a little girl in a pink dress, she starts to wonder if it’s because she’s gone too long without sleep… or if perhaps her mother’s condition – which can be inherited – is starting to affect her. Angie is a complicated and not always likeable character who makes some questionable decisions, but there’s no doubt that she cares deeply about getting justice for the victims of the crimes she investigates. Her relationship with Maddocks is nicely done; they’re combustible together but neither is prepared for the emotional pull they feel toward one another, or for the degree of trust that builds between them.

The Drowned Girls kept me reading late into the night as layer upon layer was peeled away to reveal the intricate connections between the various characters and the extent of their involvement with the killer. Angie’s storyline is equally compelling; she’s a mess of issues around control, trust and intimacy, and needs to face up to them if she’s ever going to climb out of the hole she’s dug for herself. She has the guts to do it – but in doing so, uncovers secrets about her past that cause her to question everything she’s ever known.

The balance between thriller, romance and Angie’s personal journey is just about right, and Ms. White does a terrific job in inexorably building the dramatic tension as she propels us into an exciting, high-stakes climax. But while the case is solved by the end of the book, Angie has much to learn about herself, and I imagine that her search for answers, together with her developing relationship with Maddocks will continue through the other books in the trilogy.

The Drowned Girls is strongly recommended for fans of edgy heroines and gritty romantic suspense. I’m already counting the days until book two comes out in November.

Grade: A- (DIK)

Wow! This one is intense. I have never read Loreth Anne White, but this novel made me a fan.

Detective Angie Pallorino has an agenda...move from sex crimes into homicide. But she also has a problem...the powers that be think she's a liability. Then a young woman is found, mutilated and almost dead, the victim of a heinous act, and Angie gets the call. Not long after, another body surfaces, literally, and the two are linked. Battling her own demons, Angie fights to find justice for these women. Complicating matters, there's a new detective on the force...and they have met before, but under startlingly different circumstances. Will that cause their investigation to derail? And there's a leak in the department, so they don't know who to trust.

Intense and fast paced, The Drowned Girls grabbed me and didn't let me go. Glad I got the chance to read this one! Definitely recommend this book!

Wow! Very intense. Could not put it down. Highly recommend and can't wait for the next in the series.

Angie Pallorino is a cop in the Metro PD, in Victoria, Canada. (Took me a while to figure the location…) She is part of the sex crimes division. When she is called in the middle of the night because an asshole she hunted years before might have assaulted someone again, she leaves her one night stand, “Mr Big Dick” as she calls him and runs to the victim’s side. When that victim dies, days later, the case is turn over to the homicide crimes division but Angie won’t let them take over. She is then partnered with the new cop in town, James Maddocks.

I truly enjoyed how the book was told. There were many points of views but it only added to the huge puzzle that this book was. The two main point of views were Angie’s and James’s, but we also had the point of view of the victim in the prologue and of many side characters, including the rapist asshole murderer. This meant that we knew more than the cops did, so we could root for them to find out more every time. I feel like I’m not making much sense but still, it was really interesting.

Truth be told, I was afraid getting into this book because except from very particular books, I don’t read may 500+ pages books. They usually turn me off a bit, but I was very pleasantly surprised, the story was very limpid, I basically read this in two days and was into it from beginning to end.
The intrigue kept me on my toes the entire time and even if I had many pieces of the puzzle, I couldn’t figure out how exactly they connected to make the whole picture.
There were several storylines in this book and, in my opinion, there were all captivating.

The characters were very well developed and I enjoyed getting to know each and everyone of them. Angie was very flawed which made her even more interesting, relatable in some ways and not at all in others. I fell for her little by little, even when she annoyed me.
I found the journalist, Merry Winston, to be very interesting also.

Finally, I would just like to say that the story was a times very graphic, in ways that could be harmful to some people. The rapes were sometimes described, and just what the main asshole dude did to his victims could be rough to hear. Also, his point of views made me very uncomfortable. I think trigger warnings should be somewhere on the covers.

Angie is a cop who works in sex crimes and is assigned a case where a young woman is assaulted in a similar manner to several previous cases she works. When the girl dies and a dead body turns up with signs that it was all done by the same person, Angie is temporarily transferred to homicide and partnered with a new detective - whom, it turns out, she had had a one-night stand with the previous night. This was kind of a mystery/suspense mixed with a romance novel, and there were a lot more sex scenes than I am used to reading in this type of book. Not really my thing, but I still enjoyed the book. It seems like this is going to be part of a series, and I would be interested in a second book (which apparently will focus on a personal sort of "mystery" from Angie's past. I'd like to read more about that.) Overall a pretty good book. I'd probably say 3.5 stars, but rounded up to 4.

3.5 Stars

I don't really know how to rate this book. I didn't start really liking it until about 60% in, but from then on, I really, really liked it.
What I liked:
The mystery of who the killer was. We only know him by his serial killer name and have no clue who he is and why he picked these girls until almost the end.
The action at the end when everything came to a head. I was on the edge of my seat, anxious over how things would play out.
The sex (this will be on the like and dislike list) between Angie and Maddox was usually pretty hot together.
What I disliked:
There.Were.Too.Many.Povs. Sometimes I didn't even know who the heck I was reading about until a few paragraphs into a chapter, and often I had to think really hard to remember who the person was anyway.
Angie's issues would have been great... In another story. I was waiting and waiting for her issues to correlate with the story, and to me, they just never did. (Maddox had issues as well, but they were a big part of the story.)
The sex (I told you it would be down here) was sometimes oddly timed. I'm reading about mutilated girls, then all the sudden I'm reading about sex and it's like, I like it dirty but geesh this is awkward.
There wasn't much going on in the beginning. Yes, the detectives were connecting the dots but I was so bored at times.
But... Around 60%, things really picked up. That bumped up my rating a lot. Overall, I'd say the beginning was shaky, but the ending made it a decent read.