Trace of Evil starts like greased lightening but quickly slows to crawl. Natalie is a the only woman police detective in her town so she is saddled with a cold case of nine missing women. This case is a thorn in my side because very little is worked on or really investigated until the end of this story. The main story unfolds with Natalie's investigating the death of a school teacher who is also her older sister, Grace's best friend. Natalie is haunted by the death of her other sister, Willow when she was a little kid and it effects everything in her life. The story spices things up with a little bit of the occult and hints of a flirtation between Natalie and the lead detective Luke. The end blindsided me with the whodunit and the twists blew me away. The end make the story worth reading. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

I adore when a novel takes me by surprise! Trace of Evil is a fantastic mystery/thriller (and then some)! The premise is very original which is what initially hooked me, but the well thought out storyline is what kept me riveted until the last page! Alice Blanchard did a great job with keeping me on the edge of my seat—love that! My favorite part of this novel is what awesomely bad-@ss character Natalie Lockhart is! Trace of Evil is a total and complete 5 star read! I am keeping my fingers crossed that Alice Blanchard turns this into a series centering around Natalie Lockhart!

Great characters and intriguing mysteries make this first book of a new series one not to be missed. Natalie and Luke are both complex characters and I look forward to seeing them develop as the series continues. I'm pretty sure this book barely scratched the surface. There were plenty of twists to keep the suspense high.
My only complaint is that some of the details about the town's history were repeated a few times. The history is interesting, however, I didn't feel like the previous details needed to be repeated before new ones were given. I almost missed some new things because I was skimming what I had already read.
Overall the book is a great read and the series looks very promising. I look forward to the next one.

Definitely a book that gets to you. It kept me mesremised with a need to finish it and see what happened, and I certainly didn't see that ending! This author definitely has a craft to her storytelling and this is a book you are certainly going to remember. I will.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A riveting good read that i really enjoyed. Loved the main character thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

Thank you to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of Trace of Evil.

I was excited when my request to read Trace of Evil was approved. I'm always eager to read a mystery series lead by a heroine.

Natalie Lockhart was born to be a detective, following in her father's footsteps, the former chief of police, in her small town of Burning Lake, notoriously famous for its witch trials in the past and a hot tourist draw.

As the newest member of the police force, Natalie has the rookie job of reviewing old case files including a file dubbed "The Missing Nine."

As she works through that, and dealing with the loss of her beloved sister on the anniversary of her death, a schoolteacher is attacked and murdered in her home.

The obvious culprit; a troubled teenager in the woman's class. But as Natalie probes the case, she realizes nothing is what it seems, and that her family may be in the center of it all.

And the culprit behind the Missing Nine is even closer than she could ever have imagined.

I liked Natalie. She's a tried and true detective, recalling the lessons she learned from her father when she was young, always knowing her true path in life was detecting.

She didn't whine or complain. All she cared about was her family, the case and solving a vicious crime.

There are a lot of spooky elements woven into the story, not the least the town's sordid past with witchcraft and the women who were falsely accused of it.

Not surprisingly, a town suffused with such a dark past is a source of fascination with the young people, especially the teenage girls.

There are touches of The Craft mixed with Mean Girls but with a more sinister undertone leading to a frightening showdown towards the end.

My main issue was the identity of the perp.

It felt like it came out of left field, done more so by the author to be shocking.

There were no clues or giveaways for the readers to follow so when the villain was revealed, the identity of this person felt shallow.

Also, the cliches abound here; the beautiful dead girl, the beautiful dead teacher, the handsome police officer, Natalie's superior is also handsome. I think the author mentions his 'broad shoulders' and 'striking appearance' several times.

Is this really necessary?

How many hot men and women live in Burning Lake?

Do you want to bring me out of the story by forcing me to suspend my disbelief at a level to which it cannot go because I'm supposed to believe this town is full of hotties.

Can we not have a book in which the appearance of a man, any man, is constantly commented on?

It doesn't move the story forward in any way.

I did like how the author wrapped up the cold case Natalie was investigating, almost like an afterthought.

The readers are still reeling from the shocking climatic scene close toward the end but the author's not done with us yet.

Natalie still has one more case to solve.

I look forward to reading more about Natalie Lockhart in future books.

This book surpassed all of my expectations and I honestly couldn’t put it down. The multiple story lines, witch craft, and charms town were so captivating. The only thing missing was what happened between Luke and Natalie. I seriously hope this is the first book of a series because this writer is excellent and I have to know what happens next.

This book had me hooked from the very first page! A dark and suspense read set in a town, with ties back to the witch trials in Colonial America. The main character is a haunted by many different deaths that have affected her life, and have shaped who she has began. She is a police officer following in her fathers steps. I felt a connected to her, being that I have two sisters as well. It was my first book by this author, and it will not be the last. Anxiously awaiting the next book in this series. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book.
#netgalley

Natalie is a rookie detective in her hometown of Burning Lake, Maine. Her family history is one marked by great tragedy. The murder of her older sister when she was a teenager eventually led to her mother's loss of vigor and personality. Luckily, Natalie's father was a cop and gave generously of love and information for the budding detective, before he died. Now, with only one sister left and a niece, Natalie is fairly alone in the world. She gives 120% to her job with no personal life, after breaking-up with her last boyfriend. With a cold case on her desk, Natalie begins looking into the deaths of nine people from the area, all of whom were transient. It's what all the rookies have tried to solve before her. However, her attention is demanded elsewhere to investigate the murder of the wife of one of her brothers in blue, who was also best friends with Natalie's sister. It's a complicated case with unexpected twists, misdirection, and a surprise ending; the same is true for the cold case she finally solves. If there is another book in the series, I hope it will focus more on Natalie and allow her to have some life outside of her job.

In TRACE OF EVIL, Blanchard gives us a good solid mystery with a shocking reveal. The book has spooky overtones (Burning Lake was the past location of witch burnings) but even if you don't like that sort of thing, don't let it put you off. the characters are richly and believably portrayed and Blanchard does a good job of bringing the town of Burning Lake to life. I am definitely interested in reading more by this author.