I was lucky to get an arc from this book by the author Debbie Herbert. I have really love this book.

Srorched Grounds is a chilling triller about a family tragedy. Della was only 8 when her mother and brother were killed. She barely herself escape the killer. Her father was the main suspect and was in prison for 18 years before being released. Which only worsen her phobia. She still believe that her father is responsible for the murder of her family but the police don't have enough proof to keep him in jail.

When new murders occured in town, some evidence seems to point toward her father. But she begins to wonder if her dad might have being frame and that the real killer still out there.

Della will have to face her fears if she want to survive.

Mystery and suspense in a story and has you hanging on every word. At no point was I bored. The author makes you really think about what's going on and who the killer really is. Is it Della's father or could it be someone else but does that make sense? So many questions and you need to read until the end to find out the truth and then some. If you like mystery then it's a definite must read and if you're not sure it's a definite must read!

Della Stallings has an almost insuperable phobia. Her father went to prison 18 years ago for killing her mother and brother. He's now been released and her fear is growing by leaps and bounds. She still believes he is guilty of murder and now that he has been released on a technicality, similar murders are occurring that seem to implicate him.

Has her father resumed his killing ... or is he being framed?

To find the truth, Della must face her greatest fears and doubts—not only to find justice for her family but to ensure her own survival.

This is billed as a Gothic Thriller, although this can cover any number of genres or combined genres. Usually there is an element of horror ... but I did not find that in this story. What I found was a well written crime fiction, that grabbed me from the very first chapters to the surprising unpredictable ending. The characters were deftly defined, and most were likeable.

Many thanks to the author / Thomas & Mercer / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

3.75 Hearts This is the second in the series but I didn;t read the first but that being said this could be written as a stand alone.

Della witnessed her mother and brother murdered and her father charged with the crime. Now he is getting out of prison and when a murder occurs Della suspects her father but she and Detective Whitt take up the investigation but is it to find her father guilty or innocent?

The suspense was very well written and I enjoyed the characters. Normal, AL seems like a place that has a lot going on. Herbert has a way of writing that makes you interested in the characters and wanting to know what will happen next.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Scorched Grounds was another fast paced suspenseful read. It kept me on the edge of my seat and the twists and turns kept me guessing until the end. I am a fan of this talented author's books and this was another amazing read. I would definitely recommend it.

In Scorched Grounds, it's now eighteen years after Della's father went to prison for murdering Della's mother and brother when Della was just a young child. Della was narrowly able to escape. As an adult, she continues to deal with trauma symptoms from that horrible event, including a serious phobia. When her father is released on a technicality, he returns to town and claims he was framed. When murders begin again and evidence suggests her father may be involved, Della begins investigating.

Della is a complex character and the depiction of her ongoing trauma symptoms seemed well done. The book moved at a nice pace and the author pulled together the story lines well at the end, answering questions and concerns I'd had throughout the book.

Content Warnings: SPOILER cross dressing (I think that was what was being depicted here though it involved only makeup) that seemed concerningly stereotypical with the character ultimately being depicted as crazy and dangerous; graphic depictions of blood, injuries and murder; physical and verbal abuse END SPOILER

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own. #ScorchedGrounds #mystery

This was my first book by this author. I think she is one to watch. The book was about a woman Della whose father was arrested 18 years ago for murdering her mother and brother. In the beginning of the book her father is released from prison and she is not happy about it because she believes he did it. Then soon after he is released a woman is found murdered. Della thinks it can't be a coincidence and she begins her own investigation to determine whether her father killed her family or not.

I found this book to be a fast read because it kept me guessing thru every twist and turn. I think the author has much potential and this was an enjoyable read.

Thank you so much to Thomas and Mercer and also #NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

I will leave a review on Amazon or B&N on Jan 28, 20

What an suspenseful book, it kept me wondering until almost the end whom the guilty party was. I actually had picked the wrong person in my mind. I have never read this author before, but I will definitely be trying more of her books. I found the book very well written, a page turner from start to finish. I would certainly recommend this book to those that enjoy reading pyschological suspense books.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my fair and honest review.

Wow, what a wonderful, intriguing book!
After losing her mother and brother, having to deal with her fathers release from prison is just too much to bear.
When similar crimes begin happening, all fingers point to the father as the culprit, but is he really guilty?
I had guessed it totally wrong! I kept trying to figure it out, but I was so wrong!
I was left absolutely speechless at the reveal. I will have to keep my eye out for other books by this author.

When I started Scorched Grounds (Debbie Herbert) I was unaware that Ms Herbert had a previous novel out about the same town. From reading Scorched Grounds I don't think there is any back story the reader is missing and these are stand alone books. Ms Herbert tells us the story by going back and forth in several different voices and manages to mesh it all together in a who done it that keeps the reader guessing. I want to thank Net Galley and Thomas & Mercer for an early copy to review.

Debbie Herbert kept me guessing until the big reveal and them some. The tension was high and the detail was superb. My only complaint was that there were a lot of mentions of Della's friendship with Libbie that weren't backed up anywhere. I think the story would have been just as strong without them.

Scorched Grounds by author Debbie Herbert keeps the reader turning the pages without taking a break! Scorched Grounds is the second in the Normal. AL series and the suspense before the end of the book had me almost on the edge of my seat. Della Stallings is trying hard to live a somewhat normal life after witnessing the horrendous murder of her mother and younger brother. Her father was convicted of the murders and sent to prison. It is eighteen years later and Della has found out her father is being released. She wants nothing to do with him.but his scheming draws her into his new drama. A new murder occurs the week after he comes back to Normal, and Della must consider the possibility that he may have killed again. She begins a friendship with Det. Nathan Whitt.as the investigation into the recent murders heats up against her father.
Della has to fight for her life before all of the answers are uncovered along with more bodies!
Publication Date: January 28, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

It's been 18 years since Della's father was sent to prison for the murder of her mom and brother. Now he's being released and Della doesn't know what to do.
Police don't have enough to put him back in jail when new murders happen. Della begins to worry her dad might have been framed.
Took a little to get into it, but once I did I enjoyed it.

I will start off saying I had not read the first book in the series, but I plan to now. With that being said I can say that you can start this book without reading the one prior to it. This is a book based on a family tragedy that has you fighting off the chills it leaves you with. Della survived the killing of her mother and brother and her father went to prison for it. But years later it looks like he may not have done it, even though she believes differently. Once he is out, the murders start again. But what if it isn't really him? Della searches for the truth as she has to look back at the past.

This was a very crafty story. I just love this author. She was able to weave mystery and suspense in and out of the lives of so many in the town of Normal, Alabama. I have to say, I didn’t see this ending this way. I sort of wondered about who the killer was but I never suspected the part of someone else. Shoot, I want to talk about it but it would spoil it. Goes to show you that some people aren’t always who you think they are. It kept me turning pages way into the night. I liked even better than the first one.

Della Stallings lost both her mother and her brother when they were murdered by her father. Needless to say, she was terribly traumatized by those events. When her father is released from prison, things get worse for her. Even though Stella believes her father killed her family, the police don’t have enough evidence to make a charge stick. Then more people are killed, the murders bearing the same hallmarks used in the killing of Della’s mother and brother. Is it possible that she’s wrong? Has her father been framed? Who can you trust when the one person who is supposed to protect you is a suspected murderer? A tense nail biter