Gee, I enjoyed this thriller, it kept me up long into the night. It's the third installment of Anne Frasier's Detective Jude Fontaine series, though it does read okay as a standalone. It would probably be beneficial to have read the earlier books, but not really necessary.

We have Detective Jude Fontaine, a damaged woman who holds her emotions close. In this novel she's investigating a case of the body of a child found in a frozen lake in midwinter Minnesota, with another boy found soon after. It soon becomes apparent that the boys have been dead for some twenty years. But where have they been? And why are they being found now? More perplexing to Jude is the young child she finds freezing on her doorstep when she comes home one night. Who is this boy? And why has he been abandoned on her doorstep?

Lots of questions that need answering, a complex case for Jude, and it all leads to a smashing finale with a satisfying conclusion. I found The Body Keeper to be a fantastic novel that I recommend to all lovers of crime fiction. I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for other books in this series.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Normally a third book in a series isn't as good as the first, I actually liked this one the best. Detective Jude Fontaine took a bit of time to grow on me, but she really has and I want more!

"A boy’s frozen body is found trapped in the ice of a Minneapolis lake. The horrifying discovery leads Detective Jude Fontaine and her partner, Uriah Ashby, to more bodies in the ice, all of twelve-year-old boys missing for twenty years. Then, in one of the worst blizzards the city has ever seen, a four-year-old is abandoned on Jude’s doorstep. The child can’t tell them where he’s from, who his parents are, or how he got there. He doesn’t even know his name. But in his unspoken language, Jude reads something horrifying—a connection to the dead boys. Now a four-year-old with no name may be the only key to a twenty-year-old, very cold case."

This is actually the last book in this series (wish there was more!) and Anne Frasier as always wrote an amazing book. Her character development is like no other. I truly fall in love with all her characters. The descriptions, the scenes, the mysteries with twists and turns are always amazing.

I read this in two days. If I didn't have something to do, would have finished the first night. I'm still not over the the Elise Sandburg series being done so Jude had a lot to live up to for me. I didn't think she could, even though I did truly enjoy the first two books in the series. Anne Frasier really came through by this one though. I fell in love with Jude. She had so much growth in this book, and it was amazing reading seeing how she dealt with being kidnapped all those years. She is such a strong character. This is really amazing series.

I recommend starting at book one in the series and binge reading all 3 in a row if you haven't read any yet! Then go back and read everything by Anne Frasier, seriously she is such an amazing author. Really one of my top 10 favorites. I will read anything she writes!

I've been a fan of this series since the first book and wanted to read this book the minute it came out. It's a great addition to this series!

A young boys body has been found frozen in a lake by ice skaters that know Jude and then shortly after a young boy is left outside of Jude's apartment building. Jude is pulled into both cases. We get glimpses into people connected to the case and it was really hard to put the book down. Uriah's situation added a nice layer to their character development. I read this one late into the night until it was difficult to keep my eyes open.

I would definitely love to read more in this series.

The Body Keeper
(Detective Jude Fontaine Mysteries #3)
by Anne Frasier

Kindle Edition, 300 pages
Published June 4th 2019 by Thomas & Mercer



Amazon synopsis:
The Thriller Award–winning series continues as Detective Jude Fontaine finds a decades-old connection to missing children that will freeze her blood.
A boy’s frozen body is found trapped in the ice of a Minneapolis lake. The horrifying discovery leads Detective Jude Fontaine and her partner, Uriah Ashby, to more bodies in the ice, all of twelve-year-old boys missing for twenty years.
Then, in one of the worst blizzards the city has ever seen, a four-year-old is abandoned on Jude’s doorstep. The child can’t tell them where he’s from, who his parents are, or how he got there. He doesn’t even know his name.
But in his unspoken language, Jude reads something horrifying—a connection to the dead boys. Now a four-year-old with no name may be the only key to a twenty-year-old, very cold case.


***

5 Stars

This is book three in the Detective Jude Fontaine Mysteries series. Book two ended with a cliffhanger… the revelation that Elliot is Jude’s half brother from their sicko ex-Governor father who died in book 1. Other of Daddy’s little offspring do come up in this book as well.

This book focuses on a body of a blond blue eyed boy found frozen under the ice by none other than Elliot. They are in the middle of a crazy cold winter and the body is frozen through. The kid ends up being a missing child from twenty years earlier and has barely shown any signs of decomposition. When a second body is found in the ice a day later of a similarly colored boy of the same age, they know they have a big investigation on their hands.

The mystery of the dead boys pales in comparison to the secret Uriah is keeping from Jude. The characterization of everyone is just stellar in this entire series. Life is messy and the relationship between Jude and Uriah shows this off perfectly.

In the midst of the investigation, Jude finds a young boy about four years old near the door of her apartment building nearly frozen in the snow. This young kid really helps Jude open up her own hidden emotions and what she finds is just an explosion waiting to happen.

This book is excellent. An awesome study of how police work can effect your life and how you deal with what you see everyday. Everyone deals with such things in their own way and this book shows this with style.

Highly recommended. The entire series is just beyond words amazing.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

This is the final installment of the series and it I'd a thrilling dark ride full of twists and turns. We have gone a crazy ride with Jude. Sometimes wanting to shake her, but always cheering her on. The author paints a vivid picture of not only the situations, but every aspect of the book. The cat, Jude herself, the apartment, each crime scene and even the landscape around. The author takes you along for the ride. Such a great series. The blurb gives a concise description, so. It gonna repeat. Also don't want to give away spoilers. Highly recommend this series.

Today is the day!! Jude and Uriah are back again with a suspenseful book! Frozen 12 year olds that have been in ice for over 20 years. Follow along as they follow up with the arrival of a four year old with deadly connections to their cold case. This book, as always kept me on my toes and wanting more. I do hope this series continues. This is a great pool read. Make sure you check out the two in the series before this. Anne Fraiser never fails to disappoint!

This is book three in the Detective Jude Fontaine series ! A boy's frozen body is found trapped in the ice of a lake . Then more bodies are found , all twelve year old boys missing for twenty years . WOW ! A horrifying , disturbing and dark thriller that will haunt you for days to come ! Anne Frasier is a remarkable storyteller ! I highly recommend ! Thanks to Netgalley , Thomas&Mercer , Mercer and Thomas&#38 for the opportunity to read and review this book ! Opinions are my own ! #Netgalley #Thomas&Mercer #Mercer #Thomas&#38
#TheBodyKeeper

Totally gripping thriller that reminds me of the PJ Tracy crime novels which are also set in Minneapolis. The characters come onto the page as fully developed individuals with their own limitations and issues which mesh with with the crime plot.
At times brutal and violent this is a deep immersion into the world of homicide detectives working in a hard cold setting.
My only isue is that this is clearly part of a series and prior knowledge of the earlier books would add more depth to the character arcs and interactions.
Recommended.

After reading the Body Reader, I was thrilled to read another Jude Fontaine adventure featuring the strong, slightly damaged, easily imagined detective we all secretly want to be. Centered around human trafficking of children this is a dark broody tale set against a cold winter lake. Suspenseful and deliberate this was a thoroughly engrossing read.

Love the conclusion to this series! There are many twists and surprises in this book it kept me hooked til the end. Anne Frasier is a very talented writer so much that I'm in 90 degrees weather and she had me feeling the chills of the very cold weather in Minnesota from the book from her descriptive writing. This book had me so intensely hooked I ended up with raw nails from biting while reading and even at moments in tears from the dark and raw moments beautiful written. Ever time I think I have a favorite book from Anne Frasier she out does herself with the next one. I highly recommend this thriller and suspenseful book.

A page turner!
Excellent writing from one of my favorite authors.
This third installment in the D. Jude Fontaine Mysteries covers a spine-chilling topic, with an intricate plot and some unexpected twists that makes it more compelling and sensitive.
This is the kind of story that will stay with you for a long time.

This was a very suspenseful third book in the series! I really enjoy how the main character Jude’s past always has a direct effect on her work as a detective. This story added twists and turns that were very interesting and made the book hard to put down. I really hope there will continue to be more books in this series.

I admit to being a fan of Jude Fontaine, a woman who could have easily curled up and disappeared into herself or gone off to the forest but who decided to get up and go after bad guys. If you haven't read the series, Frasier will catch you up on how Jude came to be who she is and on her relationship with her partner Uriah, who has his own struggles. This time out. Jude encounters the horrors of human trafficking of children. This is atmospheric (love how Frasier uses the Minnesota winter as almost another character) and just when you think it's going too far, she reins it back in. Thanks to Netgalley for the arc. For fans of crime fiction with strong, albeit damaged, female characters who have taken control.

I can’t recommend this book enough! Number three in the series and I did not feel things could get any better better after reading book two. Wrong!!! This book had me within it’s grasp from the start. If there were enough hours in my day, it would have been read in a matter of just a few, it was that good! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Thrills, chills, murder, mystery, female lead. I mean, seriously grab books one and two, and get ready for the release date in June. You will NOT be sorry you read this one! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Great work Anne! ⠀

The Body Keeper by Anne Fraiser is the 3rd book in the “Detective Jude Fontaine Mysteries. “
Detective Fontaine is working on a 20 year old cold case. Frozen bodies of 12 year old young boys were discovered in a frozen lake. Now a very young child has been left on her doorstep... during a blizzard.
Is there a connection to her past? In the first book of this series, Jude was abducted, abused and tortured. Thankfully, she was able to escape her captor, but was left scarred in many ways.
This story is dark with glimpses of light shining through.
If you are looking for an intense and engaging read... look no further.
Anne Frazier never disappoints. She knows how to grasp her readers and not let go.
The conclusion to this series was well plotted and satisfying.
This can be read as a stand alone novel, however, I’m so glad I read it as a series.

I've read the first book in the series and somehow missed the second. Even so I didn't feel like I missed anything major and could up with the characters.
I loved this book and couldn't put it down. The characters pull you in and I can't wait to find out what happens next.

I'm a huge Anne Frasier fan. Her writing is beautiful and gripping. The Body Keeper was no exception. Wow! Talk about brilliant. So many twists and turns and surprises. My mind is still reeling with all of the intricate connections of the different stories in this book. I kept asking myself how on earth she comes up with all of this stuff. I can't wait for more. Thank you to Netgalley for letting me read an early copy of this book.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first Anne Frasier book I've read, and I had a bit of difficulty getting into it at the beginning, as previous events (from previous books, I assume) were often referred to. In that sense, I didn't feel it was quite as stand-alone as it purported to be, and I was constantly trying to fit the pieces of the past - as known to me - together.

That said, the story is compelling and very dark, and holds a rich and complex group of characters. The author has the ability to help us see and feel what Jude does, and that really pulled me in - even though what she must have gone through in her past is beyond my comprehension. Another major character in this story is Minnesota - and more specifically, Minnesota in the grip of a harsh and unforgiving winter. Having grown up with harsh Michigan winters, I can relate. Most, if not all the supporting characters were equally well-drawn.

The twists and turns, many of them not foreseeable, and the final victory, made this a very satisfying read. Highly recommended!

If you have been following the Jude Fontaine series, you will not be disappointed! This is another superb book by Ann Frasier.

I have never read Anne Frasier before, and after reading this, in what appears to be the final part of her Detective Jude Fontaine trilogy, set in Minneapolis, Minnesota, I can understand why the author has such a huge and loyal group of readers. The writing is so good, and so atmospheric, her rich descriptions of the endless snow, bitterly icy winds, and frozen winters experienced the residents made me feel as if I was right there, in the deadly wintery conditions. Jude is a woman with a heartbreaking history of being abducted and tortured, cursed with a father that was nothing short of the worst of horror nightmares, it is unsurprising that she finds it hard to trust and shies away from any human contact. Her strongest relationship is with her cop partner, Detective Uriah Ashby, the two have a relationship that displays their deep understanding of each other, with their ability to communicate with each other that so often needs no words. Jude is gifted with the quality of being an empath, she can tune into the heart of what is going on within a person, and often the dead too.

The frozen body of a child is found beneath the ice of a Minnesota lake, and so the most disturbing of investigations opens for Jude and Uriah that take in events from over 20 years ago as it turns out there are more bodies of young boys, all with similar features of being blond and blue eyed. An older woman abandons a vulnerable 4 year old boy in desperately freezing conditions on Jude's doorstep. The boy appears to have no name other than boy, is filthy, obviously neglected, with marks on his body that hint at terrible abuse, and clearly has no experience of socialising with others at all. Despite all this, he is a cute and remarkably sweet child that pulls on Jude's heart strings. Weather conditions prohibit any quick intervention by Child Protection Services, forcing Jude to connect with the child, and Elliot in her apartment building helps to look after him. In a story of the misery and darkness of child human trafficking, Jude finds Uriah has been keeping secrets from her, and there are connections from the dark deeds of the past and the entry of the young boy in her life, which puts her and him in danger as she tries to ensure his safety.

This introduction to this series can be read reasonably well as a standalone as Frasier provides enough information of previous events and characters. Frasier's complex characterisation of Jude, burdened with a past that would be sufficient to break anyone, is done with remarkable skill, and this extends to other people that inhabit this brilliant piece of disturbing and unsettling crime fiction, such as Uriah and Elliot. I loved reading this so much for so many reasons, such as the atmospheric setting and challenging weather conditions, and for Jude and the others who felt so real to me throughout. The award winning Frasier has certainly made an indelible impression on me with this book, and in the overcrowded crime fiction genre, that is saying something. Many thanks to Thomas and Mercer for an ARC.