The lullaby girl by Loreth Anne White.
Angie Pallorino, Book 2
Detective Angie Pallorino took down a serial killer permanently and, according to her superiors, with excessive force. Benched on a desk assignment for twelve months, Angie struggles to maintain her sense of identity—if she’s not a detective, who is she? Then a decades-old cold case washes ashore, pulling her into an investigation she recognizes as deeply personal.
A really good read. Great story and characters. 4*.

The Lullaby Girl is the 2nd book in the Angie Pallorino series. It's a continuation from the 1st book so you must read the previous book first. This series is outstanding so far. This book had a tight plot, excellent character development, and a thrilling conclusion. The characters, major and minor, are interesting and likeable. The story is gripping, complex and fast-paced. A truly compelling read. I highly recommend this series.

Thank you to NetGalley, Montlake Romance and Loreth Anne White for a copy of "The Lullaby Girl" in exchange of an honest review.

The Lullaby Girl by Loreth Anne White is the second book in the Angie Pallorino series, books centered around the lead female detective, aka Angela Pallorino (Angie). These are not standalone books, so if you want to immerse yourself in the ‘dark’ escape that this series provides, you will have to read the books in order. I say dark escape because Loreth’s books delve into the darker side of suspense with just enough romance going for it to suit readers like myself.

The Lullaby Girl begins two weeks or so after The Drowned Girls end, rather eventfully I must add. With Angie taking down a serial rapist turned killer (Spencer Adams) working her now life partner (of sorts), Sergeant James Maddocks, Angie’s life had considerably turned upside down since the hunt for Spencer had started. Angie, who had then being working sex crimes, had been partnered with James, the man she had tied to a motel bed and drowned herself in him on her way to oblivion – Angie’s method of escape from the voices that hound her.

Since then, Angie and Maddocks had managed to bust wide open a case that has all the elements that makes society gasp in indignation and fear. A rapist & killer who mutilated his victims, who had found easy pickings aboard a ‘pleasure vessel’ known as Amanda Rose, which had also exposed dirty politicians that had benefited from the operations.

While Angie had been placed on leave until the investigation into the culmination of the Spencer Adams angle in the case had ended, Maddocks meanwhile had continued the probe into the human trafficking of young girls and how far the tentacles of the case reaches.

Angie had in the meantime, started inquiries into her childhood, the lies which had pretty much defined her existence having come out into the open during the strenuous hours spent on the case. It is as Angie digs her heels into finding out more, that two detectives seek her out on a cold case of a DNA match with Angie’s, bringing home the possibility that Angie must have family somewhere that could possibly have been looking for her all these years.

With her position as a detective in the department at peril and placed in the social media division, Angie has no choice but to go along for the ride, if only for the ‘benefits’ being on the job would bring in the line of her own investigations. But resent the punishment, she definitely does.

So finds Angie going along with the investigations into her past, while Maddocks pursues the leads on his case, which takes on Russian organized crime amidst international human trafficking angle which brings takes the case to a whole new level. But it is when these two separate and distinct investigations collide that things take a turn which brings the whole house of cards tumbling down.

The Lullaby Girls proved to be just as engrossing a read as it’s predecessor. Angie’s character was just as thorny, perhaps more so owing to the different upheavals that her life has been subjected to along the way. Angie doesn’t see the destructive path she is on, though it is hard not to empathize with what she’s going through as well. She has had her whole world turned upside down, and to come to know that she had had a life that was vastly different from what she remembers to be her childhood, enables her to understand her affinity with crime solving and sex crimes in particular.

The inability to see the “difficult” side of her character prevents Angie from seeing the punishment she is given at the department for what it is; that it had been owing to her actions and behavior along with her strained relationships with her partners, and her lack of ability to follow orders while keeping a level head about it.

This of course makes Angie lash out, and lash out she does, which makes things pretty difficult for Maddocks. Because for Angie, there is nothing more vulnerable than letting someone into her life to a point where he would have the ability to destroy her whole world, if it ever comes to that. Angie likes control, well let’s be honest, who doesn’t. But then again, Angie’s need for control makes it almost impossible for her to see the damage she is doing to her own life, the relationships she forges with everyone around her, and her inability to connect with people long enough to forge meaningful relationships with them.

And then there is Maddocks. Whose own life has clearly not been a walk in the park. The case which forces him to return to his old haunts brings back the memories of a failed marriage, his idealistic views on what his life should have been like, his frayed relationship with his daughter, and most of all, his tendency to be attracted to the broken that needs fixing, which explains Angie and his need for her in his life.

Like I said in my review of the first book, if it were any other man but Maddocks, he would have washed his hands off of Angie and walked away a long while back. But there are reasons which makes Maddocks stay, reasons which I as the reader see for myself when I keep wading through the complexity that is Angie. There is that damaged side to her character which is hard not to empathize with, and there is that wonderful person she could be if there wasn’t so much darkness clouding her life, a person that peeks through from within the layers every once in a while that makes Maddocks’ patience worth it.

Angie coming full circle with her past and uncovering the roots of her beginnings was something to behold. I enjoyed every single minute of it, rooted for Angie with every fiber of my being, and held my breathe every single time things started heading south. But life holds little meaning, if it ain’t for the struggles which you triumph through.

Recommended for fans of thrillers and suspense novels that keeps you at the edge, because a book that doesn’t make you sweat for the characters you root for, ain’t a book worth reading.

Final Verdict: The Lullaby Girl delves deeper into the psyche of Angie and brings to the forefront the horrors of sex-trafficking, taking on the world of transnational organized crime and delivers a story as informative & unsettling as they come.

Favorite Quotes

People don’t understand the toll that job can take on a police officer or his family. They don’t know how we all have to tiptoe around the ugly side of the job, the mood swings, the depression, the drinking.

He caressed the line of her jaw with his thumb. And something fierce and angry erupted inside her—a desperation to burn down her own insecurities, to kill the pain, to blind herself to the fear of what her own memories might reveal, the realities that she might have to face about what had happened to her in childhood. She grabbed his tie and yanked him closer. Drawing his head down, she reached herself up and pressed her mouth hungrily to his. His lips were cold from outside. He hesitated a nanosecond before suddenly cupping her buttocks and jerking her hips tightly up against his pelvis. His mouth bore down on hers, forcing her lips open. He slid his tongue inside, met hers. Lust blinded Angie as she felt his erection stiffening against her belly.

His eyes, intense, held hers as he allowed her to pin his wrists above his head against the floor. Angie straddled his hips and slid the crotch of her skimpy panties aside. Widening her knees, parting her thighs, she sank down onto the hot, hard length of him. With a bliss-filled sigh she spread her thighs farther, making him go deep, deeper. And she began to rock her hips, creating friction deep inside the core of her body. Her breaths came fast, faster. She rocked harder. She became slick around his erection. Her body began to tingle. A hot, raw anger exploded, ripping through her gut, driving her wilder. She closed her eyes, put her head back, mouth open wide, panting, her skin going damp. And she rode him hard and fast and half-clothed, forcing her mind back, mentally reliving that very first night she’d spent with him at the Foxy Motel. She gasped suddenly, froze, then cried out as muscle contractions slammed through her in rolling waves, taking control of her body.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N

Rating = 4.5/5 [AMAZING READ]

Loreth has had me intrigued form the very first book in the Angie Moreno series and I cannot get enough of this series!! It is one of my most highly anticipated when it comes out!

This story was no different! Angie Moreno captivates me more each time she has a new case that she is working on and what she has going on in her life!

The writing in this series is absolutely phenomenal and I am super excited to see what happens next!

I read the first book of this series about a year ago and I really liked it.
I’ve been putting off reading this one for months, not because I didn’t want to read it but because procrastinating is the best.

This book was really too. The characters and the plot were just as interesting.
The whole thing was well built and exhilarating.
I don’t know what to say. It’s what you’d expect from a good thriller with a dash of romance.
Angie is a relatable character even though she has her particularities that you can’t really relate to.
It really kept me on my toes the entire time and I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who like mystery & thrillers as well as romances.

As I was reading the Lullaby Girl in some ways it felt like it should be the third book in the series. We find out who Angie was and where she came from. The finding out isn’t easy and takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride that they won’t see coming. White’s trademark suspense is well in evidence. Finding out who Angie was only leaves more questions as to who she’s going to become. I can’t wait to read the third book to see how they are answered.

The Lullaby Girl is the second phenomenal book in the Angie Pallorino series written by author Loreth Anne White. Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for the advance copy.

This book picks up close to where the previous one in the series ended. Detective Angie Pallorino must face the repercussions related to her behavior during the Baptist case and her seemingly overkill of the suspect in the end. Meanwhile, her lover Detective Sergeant James Maddocks is investigating the fallout from that case where six young girls were found on the yacht they raided. They’re obviously victims of the sex trade and he’s trying to find out who’s at the head of this sex trafficking operation.

There wasn’t a moment to catch my breath from start to finish. So much was developing from Angie’s search for the truth of her identity and Maddocks’ sex ring investigation that it was mesmerizing. The consequences of her actions were pretty tough and Angie compounds the issue at every turn. Maddocks continues to impress me as a detective and a stalwart, steadying influence for her. It’s a powerful and unpredictable dynamic these two have and, on a strange level, they somehow fit. The suspense was almost palpable, the danger constant and the mystery just kept pulling me forward.

The writing is exceptional, with complexity in plot and characterizations. Again we’re given a strong sense of place in every venue in British Columbia, making me feel as if I was right there. I love this author’s style and her characters, even when I was uncertain if I respected Angie. I’m so looking forward to what’s next for her and others, especially given the dramatic ending.

I can’t wait for the next book in this series. That’s how good it is: I’m already looking forward to reading more. This book combines romance, thrills and a healthy dose of suspense to bring readers an amazing new chapter in the Angie Pallorino saga.

This book takes place shortly after the events of the first book and Angie is facing the consequences of that investigation both at work and in her personal life. As Angie digs deeper into her past and Maddocks follows up on the Amanda Rose girls, they find the cases colliding and their lives in danger.

I really enjoyed the dynamic between Angie and Maddocks. They’re definitely a couple to root for and Maddocks is a great male lead, in particular. I also liked getting to see more of Holgersen, and I can’t wait to see where his character goes.

The central mysteries were also very intriguing, and actually quite scary - it’s very realistic and very intense. I wish we got to see a little more of the girls themselves, but I understand that there’s only so much room in a book.

I’m honestly a huge fan of this series, and really enjoyed catching up with these characters. If you’re a fan of romance, suspense, or both, I’d highly recommend checking it out.

I have really become a fan of Ms. White over the last couple of years and this new series has quickly become a favorite. The Lullaby Girl was a great follow up to The Drowned Girls.

On one hand, it was very upsetting to see Angie's professional live crumble. This is how she identified herself. On the other hand, I don't like when a lead character can't function in their job and an author lets them remain in the job. Kudos to Ms. White for a difficult development for Angie. It made her character's situation feel so real.

And the rest of the characters don't disappoint either. One of my favorite elements of this series is the depth given to the supporting cast. They feel real and not cookie cutter. The character of Kjel is growing more interesting as this series progresses. My only complaint is not enough Maddocks.

But not only are the characters great, but the story telling is awesome. Ms White wowed me with this plot! What an excellent story that evolves from Angie's past. I could not put my reader down. In fact that's one of the biggest complements that I have for books - I made no notes! Who wants to take time off from reading to make notes. I generally do this when a book disappoints and this book did not disappoint.

I'm looking forward to the next book (The Girl in the Moss) in this series, but
June seems a long time away. A huge thank you to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for an opportunity to read and review an ARC!

The Lullaby Girl follows Detective Angie Pallorino in her quest to live and keep her job after an overzealous shooting in the previous novel. Whilst I didn't know there was a first book, I was able to keep up easily. Angie is a hot headed, spontaneous detective, ready to self destruct at any moment. This book leads Angie to discover her origins and brings in many different characters and walks of life like the mob, polish and Russian gangsters and the like. A bit of a scatty novel but intriguing all the same.

This 2nd Angie Pallorino book was an excellent follow up to the previous one. Angie is a flawed character, but one that I really like. In this book, she has been suspended from her position as a detective. A cold case catches her attention, and she is unable to stay out of it, even though she is supposed to stay far away from investigations while suspended. She goes ahead and investigates, even knowing what it could do to her future. Not only her career, but even her life, are placed in jeopardy.

I was really glad to have James Maddocks in this one. I like the relationship between he and Angie. The storyline in this one was very suspenseful and intriguing. It caught my attention right away and kept my interest all the way through. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

I was excited to read the 2nd book in the Angie Pallorino series after reading the first one. Unfortunately, this one just didn't hold my attention. I was a little confused by all the characters also. But to be fair, it could have just been that I had a hard time concentrating on it. So I would still encourage others to give it a try if you like police procedurals or mysteries.

I love Angie and finding out about her past in this follow up was a nail-biter. I can't wait to see what she's up to next.

This series is one I'd love to see made into a movie! The action and suspense are very well written. Seeing Angie Pallorino with her dark red hair and beautiful scarred face would be exciting. The chemistry between her and Maddocks is sizzling.
On a side note I'm also so drawn in to the puzzle of their partner Holgersen. I feel theres a very good story behind his nicotine addiction and way of speaking.

NetGalley has provided a copy for review.

Some spoilers ahead if you haven’t read the first book.

The Lullaby Girl takes us back to the life of Angie Pallorino, and after the events of the last book her career as a detective is in jeopardy. She’s being accused of excessive force in taking down a serial killer! Really? I sort of thought this was ridiculous, and even if she did fire off a bunch of rounds into him, hello, he was a really bad guy and deserved it! This is important to Angie, but she’s distracted by her own mystery, and getting to the bottom of her identity; what happened the night she was abandoned at the hospital takes precedence. She remembers blood, gun fire, and lullabies sung in Polish.

Maddocks has his own hands full with the bar code girls; girls forced into sex work on the Amanda Rose. All evidence is pointing to organized crime, and Maddocks is trying to find the responsible parties so no other girls will suffer or die. Angie’s past and this current case have some disturbing things in common, and it soon becomes evident that Angie is in danger. The ending wrapped up with some exciting and tense moments and had me on the edge of my seat!

All this is taking place while Maddocks and Angie try to navigate their new relationship. I was afraid Angie was going to get skittish and push Maddocks away for good, but thankfully that wasn’t the case. She did have her moments, but she did think things through and thought of the big picture before ruining things. Maddocks was a prince! I just loved this man! He realizes some of the reason Angie’s in hot water is because she was trying to protect him and his daughter; it touches his heart that she put herself on the line for him like that. He also is pretty understanding that Angie has issues because of her past, and cuts her a lot of slack. I know these two have what it takes for the long term! They just sizzle and spark every time they’re together!

The Angie Pallorino series is captivating and thrilling, with flawed, but likable characters. It’s must for anyone who enjoys a well written police procedural, but truly, the romance is my favorite part, and I hang on every interaction between Angie and Maddocks! I’m anxious to find out where Loreth Anne White takes Angie and Maddocks in the next book, especially with how things turned out here!

The Lullaby Girl is the second book in Loreth Anne White’s Angie Pallorino series. It is a direct continuation from the first book, The Drowned Girls. You have to read the first book if you want to have a good understanding of what is going on. Angie Pallorino is a police officer who is currently on suspension for the number of bullets she put into a serial killer. However, that is just the tip of the iceberg as it relates to everything that is going on with her. In addition, her new boyfriend, Detective James Maddocks is continuing the investigation into a human trafficking ring that they came across while they were hunting aforementioned serial killer. Somehow, that prior investigation helped to unearth childhood memories for Angie that brought to light the fact that she was adopted.

Since this is a mystery/suspense, there is only so much that I can get into without spoiling everything. Needless to say, there are a lot of layers to this mystery. As Angie digs into her past, her present and future begin to unravel. She discovers that her past is so gruesome that her younger self had to forget everything in order to survive. Even her secrets have secrets. In addition, Maddocks’ investigation into the human trafficking ring will have an unimaginable overlap into Angie’s past. And that is as much as I can get into. Loreth does an uncanny job of weaving everything together. I was captivated until the very end. At times, it was hard to root for Angie because she is so self-destructive but once the truth about her past comes into focus, I understood her so much more. And Maddocks was a truly admirable guy who just wanted to be a good cop, father, and lover. He was compassionate and never let Angie down even when she tried to push him away.

I have no idea what the next novel will be about because it seems that a lot of questions were answered this time around. Nonetheless, I look forward to reading the next book because I am curious to know what happens next for Angie and Maddocks.

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

You must read The Drowned Girls first or you will be lost as The Lullaby Girl picks up two weeks after the end of that book. A lot of loose ends left from "The Drowned Girls and the aftermath is messy, to say the least. Loreth Anne White is nothing short of a sensational author. She has it all: mystery, romance and plots that grab you and won't let you go. Her characters are truly unique and don't behave as you would expect in any other romantic-suspense book. This book is about three different cases, or are they really?

Detective Angie Pallorino is on administrative leave and could be faced with criminal charges stemming from the fatal shooting of a serial killer. Fortunately, she dodged that bullet, but she has been placed on a desk assignment for the next twelve months, with mandatory counseling required. Heavy sentence for Angie whose sole purpose in life is her job as a detective. So, she dives deep into her past as "the cradle child" looking for answers and justice. Then, a severed foot that washes up is a link that Angie didn't expect.

Detective James Maddocks, Angie's former partner, current lover, and workaholic whose job has already cost him one marriage, is heading the case that he and Angie broke about a sex-trafficking ring. Trying to control Angie’s obsession with her past is really tough when the two cases have some unexpected connections. He needs to figure out what is going on before Angie is in too deep to dig herself out.

4.75 stars--THE LULLABY GIRL is the second instalment in Loreth Anne White’s contemporary, adult ANGIE PALLORINO murder/mystery/suspense series focusing on Vancouver Police Department sex crimes Detective Angie Pallorino, and her partner/lover Detective Sergeant James Maddocks. THE LULLABY GIRL can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series in order for backstory and cohesion.


Told from several third person perspectives including Angie and James THE LULLABY GIRL picks up immediately after the events of book one-The Drowned Girls-in which Angie Pallorino discovered that the life she lived has been based on a lie. Our heroine has recently been demoted and assigned desk duty in the face of violent take-down that was deemed excessive and unnecessary. Now with time on her hands, Angie begins a personal investigation into a thirty-year old cold case that will alter her life in more ways than one. Going rogue, and without the help of the man that she loves, Angie will come face to face with her past-a deadly encounter meant to end her life-a second time around.

Meanwhile, James Maddocks investigation into a sex-trafficking ring has caught the attention of the FBI and Canada’s RCMP. Partnering with the elite forces James will discover similarities between his case, and the one Angie has been investigating; and a potential showdown with the people in charge places Angie in the direct line of fire as she inserts herself where she doesn’t belong.

THE LULLABY GIRL is a story of betrayal and revenge, of power and control. The imagery and descriptive nature of the story line is dramatic and realistic. The emotional fall out is palpable and intense; the suspense is riveting and powerful. Loreth Anne White’s attention to detail is brilliant; the character development and world building is phenomenal; the energy and passion inspiring; the delivery fluent and artistic- a movie for the mind.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

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CHAPTERS/INDIGO: (Sandy_At_the_Reading_Cafe) posted

B&N (Sandy_thereadingcafe) posted

EXCERPT: "It affected us all, you know, finding that bleeding and mute toddler inside. She was a beautiful child - that pale complexion, the long dark-red hair, and that tattered little pink dress with frayed lace." A pause. "We all thought someone would come forward to claim her instantly - that she had to have some family who was missing her. But no one did - not a soul. No mother presented at Saint Peter's with injuries later. The other hospitals in this health-care region reported nothing suspicious either. It was a mystery. An absolute mystery."
"Tell...tell me more about the child," Angie said, her voice husky.
"Her mouth had been slashed open by a sharp weapon - it had sliced through both the upper and lower lips on the left side of her face. She was bleeding copiously from the wound. Blood saturated her dress, the bassinet. She was clutching the Teddy we'd placed inside, like a lifeline. Blood soaked the Teddy as well. She was in shock, grey eyes like saucers. And she made no sound at all. As though she was beyond crying and had perhaps been that way for a long time before."

THE BLURB: Detective Angie Pallorino took down a serial killer permanently and, according to her superiors, with excessive force. Benched on a desk assignment for twelve months, Angie struggles to maintain her sense of identity—if she’s not a detective, who is she? Then a decades-old cold case washes ashore, pulling her into an investigation she recognizes as deeply personal.

Angie’s lover and partner, James Maddocks, sees it, too. But spearheading an ongoing probe into a sex-trafficking ring and keeping Angie’s increasing obsession with her case in check is taking its toll. However, as startling connections between the parallel investigations emerge, Maddocks realizes he has more than Angie’s emotional state to worry about.

Driven and desperate to solve her case, Angie goes rogue, risking her relationship, career, and very life in pursuit of answers. She’ll learn that some truths are too painful to bear, and some sacrifices include collateral damage.

But Angie Pallorino won’t let it go. She can’t. It’s not in her blood.

MY THOUGHTS: The Lullaby Girl by Loreth Anne White is a fast paced, action packed read. The storyline is complex, without being complicated, the writing punchy, the characters interesting. There is romantic content and reasonably explicit sexual content, both of which are handled well and integral to the plot.

This is the second book in a series, the first of which, The Drowned Girls, I have not yet read. I probably should have as there are references to the content of that book throughout The Lullaby Girl. But at no point when I was reading did I feel lost or out of the loop, there was enough explanation of past events given to make everything clear.

The Angie Pallorino series is one I am going to follow with interest, including going back to read the first book. And at the end of The Lullaby Girl, is a teaser for the third book in the series, which has whet my appetite for more.

A good solid ☆☆☆☆ read.

Thank you to Montlake Romance via Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of The Lullaby Girl by Loreth Anne White for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system.