I've been through a lot with Deputy Dave Kane and Sheriff Jenna Alton. This is the 9th in a long-running crime thriller series.

Black Rock Falls in the winter is a particularly cruel, cold place and this season the pair has their hands full as they track a serial killer who likes to display his frozen victims in a sort of tableau. The villain, known as either The Sculptor or The Preacher, is a nasty psycho as evidenced by the way he dismembers the female bodies with a chainsaw. There's clues that indicate that he has been a very busy man across several states and that he may even keep the unfortunate souls for extremely long periods of time. Along with the other long-time members of their team, and with the help of FBI consultants, Kane and Alton have their work cut out for them. And, as always, Jenna is in peril and Kane usually saves the day. NO SPOILERS.

Typical of the genre, the story arc hits all the right notes with plenty of grisly detail. After awhile, I suppose it's difficult to come up with new, heinous killers and different methods. I guess I'm surprised at how many psychopaths a small town like Black Rock Falls can possibly hold or host. Effort is made to create an atmosphere with the snow and low temps. I must say that I'm getting tired of the sexual tension (low level as it is) and the lack of consummation of the romance. Always surprised by the fact that Jenna's the boss though she can't do anything but put herself in danger and need rescuing from Kane in every book. Onward. The thrill is starting to fade a bit so the series needs a bit of a recharge if it is meant to continue.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.

Here we you again in Black Rock Falls where the bodies start building up.
Alton and Kane are on a skiing trip .As they are coming down the hill Kane sees something hanging from a tree as they get closer it becomes apparent they are body parts.
But the hands come from two different girls then the head turns in in a park.
No girls have been reported missing so Alton goes to the homeless shelter to see if someone recognises them.
While they are dealing with these murders Kane attracts a stalker which is one less thing they need.
They also call Jo and Ty for their expertise and they find out this killer has been going quite a while.
This is the 9th in the series and has not disappointed another great read.

Whoop whoop back to Black Rock “Serial Killer” Falls, sounds like the most idyllic place to live only for the fact that it seems to attract the most prolific serial killers!!! I have to say I absolutely love this series, can’t believe we’re now onto No. 9, I feel invested both in the place and the personal lives of Kane & Alton.

Finally Kane & Alton get a long overdue deserved break to the ski slopes but only in fairy tales would they get to rest…. Whilst out on the slopes, Kane happens upon body parts hung from a tree in the popular ski resort, guess their trip is now cancelled and its only the beginning as more body parts turn up on display in the most dramatic way, why have these girls not been reported missing, is the serial killer picking his kills from the homeless community so as to avoid detection, nobody to miss them? This one is not for the faint hearted and it appears they may have their most imaginative sadistic serial killer in the Falls yet!

As and aside, Kane aides a young woman who was abducted against her will only for it to backfire… she has become obsessed with him, stalking him, trying to woo him…. Kane is trying to handle it delicately and with a softly softly approach, however, Jenna is seriously worried, it could turn nasty.

Another intense, gripping instalment that will keep you on the edge of your seat and your nails bit to the last, can’t praise this series highly enough.

“Black Rock Falls, perfect one day, deadly snowscape the next.”

It’s not just the snowscape that’s deadly in Black Rock Falls. This may be my ninth trip to this Montana town but I know fully well that people in the vicinity can not be trusted!! It doesn’t feel two books since Dave Kane crashed into Jenna Alton’s life when yes it was the middle of winter but each book in this series is a rollercoaster of excitement, murder and intrigue!

I love the familiarity of Black Rock Falls.. well this is book 9 😱😱 I am desperate to go to Aunt Betty’s for pancakes and pie!! But I’d only be going as a third wheel with Jenna and Kane. Visitors to Black Rock Falls don’t have a high mortality rate in Her Shallow Grave so I want the best bodyguards this town has to offer. I’ve loved this pairing from the off and Her Shallow Grave intensifies this relationship.

“Black Rock Falls—where no one is who he seems?”

Preacher is a nutter, totally delusional and a perv to boot. But the big question is who is he?! As I read, all I could picture was Dominic Cooper playing Jesse Custer in the Sam Catlin/Evan Goldberg/Seth Rogen adaptation of the Vertigo comic books… but that was totally the wrong image to have. Hood’s Preacher is super sinister and one that made me feel seriously unnerved for the females on Black Rock Falls.

As the story developed and the team get their teeth into finding this misnamed man of God, I felt my chest tighten. Had the team met their match this time? Would their 100% crime solving rate be over? I had faith that the twisted man would get his comeuppance but at what cost?! This slippery soul is determinedly stay under the radar but still get his time in the spotlight … kind of like a seriously warped version of Banksy…. actually maybe not…

Hood has written yet another brilliant addition to this series. Black Rock Falls must be the most unfortunate town in America but it’s got the best sheriff’s department looking after it. This series just keeps getting better and better! Can’t wait for book 10!!!

This is becoming one of my favorite series. The writing is crisp, the characters are realistic and likable, and the villains are always super-creepy. The action starts right away so there’s no guessing about where it’s headed and this one really takes the cake. The camaraderie between Kane and Alton has grown over the series. The author also pays attention to secondary characters. he characters all have their strengths and together they make a team. I’m trying to avoid the plot, because I really think books like this need to be experienced, and I don’t want to be the one to spoil someone’s experience. This is one of the few series that I think you really can read as stand-alones, but I do think you miss the background of the team. For a detailed review, please visit Fireflies and Free Kicks. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital ARC of the book.

Great book!!! This is the first book of the series I have read but I was still able to follow along very easy. Very interesting and very hard to put down. Although it told the killer's perspective it was so hard to guess who the killer actually was. I thought I knew but in the end I was shocked. Also, enjoyed the second story line as well. Both story lines had me on the edge of my seat. I highly recommend this book/series to anyone who like mystery or thrillers.

Her Shallow Grave. D.K. Hood

If I say “There’s another serial killer in Black Rock Falls” it sounds like I’m about to start a bad review, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Yes this is the 9th in the Kane and Alton series but it’s not a series that gets old. This book, just like all the others is a page turning crime thriller which crosses into the psychological thriller genre really nicely.

For those that haven’t read these books before Sheriff Jenna Alton is a former DEA Special Agent who is living under a new name to keep her safe. Her deputy, Dave Kane, is ex special forces, who is grieving for his wife years after she was killed by a car bomb.

In fact all of the small team that carries out investigations in Black Rock Falls have fascinating ongoing stories.

So when body parts are found arranged in a tree close to a popular ski resort the team are immediately in the thick of it.

Those body parts belong to more than one person, and as the story unwinds more weird body dumps are found, none stranger than the chimney scene, but no spoilers.

But why are no people getting reported missing, who are the victims and where are they coming from.

The team gets close a couple of times but the discoveries continue.

Meanwhile a young woman has been kidnapped and nobody has noticed she’s missing. We can all guess how she’s going to end up, but what is going to happen to her before she dies.

I’ve mentioned this before, but it describes this series perfectly for the British readers. Black Rock Falls is like Midsummer on crack.

A great series that just seems to get better with each book.

Thank You NetGalley/Publisher and D.K. Hood for this great gifted book.

This was a great book from the very beginning.
Now I am getting on Amazon to find D.K. Hoods other books,
She knows how hold the attention of the reader.
I loved the characters
The suspense of this book was dynamic.
Amazing Book Overall.

So it has been a nice sunny day and I cracked open this beauty of a book and I am lapping up the rays but nope I do not feel the sun, no soiree, I am cold, I am chilled the bone. It’s snowing in Black Rock Falls and this time we have the coldest, chilling, gruesome killer to date and it made my blood run cold.

“The Sculptor” is pathing the way for brutal and well grim murders! He shapes the women in a way to cause shock and what he thinks is a delight. He has a type and the problem I have is I fit his profile, and when a character shares my name and looks like me, well then I frankly have an issue and (repeating myself) I was chilled to the bone.

Adding the snow as its own entity in this book adds to the chill, literally. The isolation of Stanton Forest, the snapping of the branches, the silence, the snow hiding all evidence of the perp. Dare I say it again…chilling!

This is way darker than any of its predecessors, Ms Hood tries to create empathy for the killer but I am sorry I was way too far gone. There was no hope from my corner. No, nothing, nada. Jenna and Kane have most definitely got their work cut out for them. I had my heart in my throat, in the last part of the story and with what I thought was an epic showdown did leave me with a lot of nervous energy as I feared what the outcome would be!

However, with one case on the go that is not enough for the team, this time Kane has a little stalker, except she is not so little and she is out for blood. My emotions have been played with way too much in this book, with a potentially ballsy move but thank god we did not go down that route. The outrage, I was ready to scream at the book but it was fine! All is fine, no outrage here.

Despite all this darkness, we do have some light, some little bit of interplay which did have me squealing like a teenager at delight!! Although a bit like the characters my head was spinning with confusion, what does this now mean!!!!!!

It was fab having the team back together, and having Jo and Ty back with the intro of their new team player Kalo. But do you know what was even better than this, I mean what could be better, but there is something……Walters!! We heard from Walters again, I mean it was a small part, a conversation but he was back and I did a little happy dance to see him help the team out again!

Well played Ms Hood, you have unsettled me on a nice hot sunny day. You have created one sadistic MOFO, whose kicks are grim. I am just glad that at the start of the book before hell broke loose, Jenna and Kane got the skiing trip they have been wanting for a LONG time!!! Already counting the days down until Book 10!

Her Shallow Grave is the ninth in the police procedural series featuring Detectives David Kane and Jenna Alton. I believe the author, D.K. Hood provided enough background for any new reader starting here to feel comfortable with the characters and setting. Set in Black Rock Falls, Montana, Sheriff Jenna Alton makes a very likeable detective although she is sometimes a little short on inspiration. However, Jenna has a good team to handle crime in the small town, which seems to have more than its fair share of murders. Her deputy, David Kane is a former Special Forces marksman with exceptional profiling skills.

This novel was an electrifying and solid police procedural and it was a well-balanced thriller that had me glued to the pages. I didn't want to put it down as I was desperate to know the outcome of the story. Even though Black Rock Falls was such a small place, Jenna and her team were still left with a lot of work to do in a very tangled web of mystery. This really was a spectacular crime-thriller that grabbed me hook, line and sinker. The team embarked on an exciting and exhilarating mission to find the perpetrator and all the time the tension snowballed as D.K. Hood launched at me some captivating misdirection and planted a few red herrings. The writing flowed effortlessly and swiftly as Her Shallow Grave delved into the topic of murder, both actual and attempted, with doses of stalking and harassment.

I will be seeking out the first five instalments of this masterful series. A brilliant, grisly, atmospheric and very highly recommended crime-thriller.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Bookouture via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Her Shallow Grave by D.K. Hood is the 9th in the Detectives Kane and Alton series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


Series Background:   (Warning – May contain spoilers from previous books)

Former DEA, Jenna Alton is now the Sheriff in Black Rock Falls, Montana.  Her past is a secret.  Deputy David Kane's background is also a secret.  He was a Special Forces sharpshooter.  Then there is Forensic Scientist Shane Wolfe, who is not only a Medical Examiner with amazing computer skills, he used to be Kane’s handler. So, with a few other deputies, Jenna has a good team to handle crime in the small Black Rock Falls town, which seems to have more murders than a small town should.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)

While on a skiing vacation just outside of town, Kane and Alton find frozen body parts from two different women hanging in a tree.  It is evident that they were placed there.  As more parts are found in a children's playground, fear of another serial killer in the area has them on high alert.  The heavy snowfall is helping to hide the tracks of the murderer, who seems to want to display his "art".

Although snowed in, FBI Profiler Jo Wells and her team are called, and provide information from afar.

Meanwhile, a stalker has Kane in her sights, but it may be Jenna who pays the price.

Kane is beginning to wonder if the town is cursed.


My Opinions:  

I'm happy to see that the FBI team has been called back.  They seem to be a good fit for the series.  I also like the fact that Rowley seems to be getting more involved.  I particularly liked how the author respected his momentary lack of hardiness at one of the crime scenes.  I think it happens probably happens more often than not.

As always, the plot was good, and the action was non-stop.  Narrowing down the suspect pool still did not allow me to pick the right one, and that is always good.  I wish we knew what had happened to the other suspect.

Jenna is standing up as a leader more in each book, and did not seem to be diminished by Kane as much.  It's about time.

Anyway, it was good, and although it could be read as a stand-alone,  I think that knowing the characters backgrounds and relationships to one another is important.  So read them in order!  

I'm looking forward to Number 10!

Her Shallow Grave is the ninth police procedural in the Sheriff Jenna Alton and Deputy David Kane series based in Black Rock Falls, Montana Sheriff’s Department. Kane and Alton are on a well-deserved skiing break but of course, wherever they go there seems to be trouble. Kane discovers a frozen and dismembered body hanging from a tree surrounding the slopes as though the killer was proud to display his work. When more bodies show up they believe they have a serial killer on their hands and suspect the serial killer to be choosing his victims from the homeless population making it difficult to identify them. The murder of the young girls are horrific as the killer slaughters them before freezing their bodies and creating sculptures out of them but also hindering their investigation is the local weather; the falling snow covers any tracks that may have helped the team progress. To make matters worse David Kane interviews a woman in relation to the case and she rapidly becomes obsessed with him. Bringing in gifts to the department despite him showing no interest that the feeling is reciprocated.

If you're a fan of gritty serial killers then this is a book and series not to be missed. We are reunited with Kane, Alton and their teamvas well as FBI Special Agent and criminal profiler Jo Wells and Detective Ty Carter who are an interesting addition to the narrative. It's a chilling and thrilling race against the clock to identify and apprehend the killer before more lives are lost. There are twists, turns and misdirection aplenty and Hood masterfully leads you down the wrong path a number of times. It's exciting, action-packed and pacy from the very beginning and Hood shows her skill for penning tension-filled stories that keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. The perpetrator is expertly hidden from readers view for the majority of the book and I loved how well executed the plot twists actually were. This is not a tale for the faint-hearted as the murders are grisly and we get all the gory details. This is an intense, creepy and atmospheric read that ends in a dramatic and high stakes standoff. Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC.

Alton and Kane are out skiing at the Glacial Heights Ski resort near Black Rock Falls when Kane comes across dismembered body parts hanging from the trees. Seems there is another killer in town. Soon there is another body. But how many has the 'Preacher' killed over the years. To complicate matters it would seem that Kane has a stalker.
Another enjoyable and well-written murder mystery with its cast of varied and interesting characters. Another fine edition to the series.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

⏳A serial killer with ice sculpture! and one woman on his mind: thrills, action and lots of snow!❄

This latest in D.K. Hood's series about the perils of keeping the peace in rural Montana is gruesome and tense. A serial killer has chosen Sheriff Alton's jurisdiction to display his diabolical mutilation of some unidentified young women. Alton fears the killer's victims are attracted to the area by news stories touting the ready access to homeless shelters in a time of body-numbing cold. With low population density and lots of forest and remote country to hide in, it's perfect territory for the killer's lair.

Hood keeps the suspense up right through the high action climax. And it's not only young homeless women who are put in danger. There's a sideplot involving Detective Kane and a local redhead that adds some good extra flair to the plot and even Medical Examiner Wolfe's daughter draws the killer's notice.😲

This was the third book I've read in the series and the author always keeps me guessing right to the end. I will definitely be looking to read more works by D.K. Hood!

Thanks to publishers Bookouture and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

You are back in Black Rock and there is another serial killer, you are taken first through the mind of the woman trying to get away, then to the man that is killing. While that is happening Jenna, and Kane who were taking time skiing come across a woman in need and you get to see Kane in full action. Afterward what is left adds another part to the story and to their ongoing relationship.
You of course have Wolfe and his daughter and also the deputy and other people that were in the other books. Here though you are taken through the eyes of the victims and when they are taken and through their ordeal being held captive which adds to the story. Add in the weather with it being winter and the snow not letting which adds to their frustration in finding any clues, but helping the person doing the crimes. This is just another good book in the series.

A gripping crime thriller with my favourite Detectives, Kane and Alton.
It was good to be back in Blackwater Falls again but the killer is cold hearted and has a thing for freezing the bodies.
The first discovery of his work is whilst Jenna and Kane are ski-ing and Kane spots some body parts arranged in a tree.
It’s soon clear the two hands belong to two girls and then a head is discovered by passers by.
Jenna calls on Jo for her profiling skills and it turns out this killer is not a newbie and has been around a while.
There are some grim crime scenes in this book but it adds to the drama of needing to find the killer before they can strike again.
I love this series so much and highly recommend it.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Kane and Alton #9

Once again we are back in Black Rock Falls. Kane and Alton are on a skiing trip when Kane notices body parts hanging from the trees. This is only the start of the investigation into finding the serial killer behind the horrific murders of young girls. But it's winter in Black Rock Falls and the. .heavy snow is covering the tracks and any evidence that could have been left behind. David Kane has a stalker. She keeps bringing gifts to the sheriffs office. She just can't take the hint that he's just not interested.

This series just keeps getting better with each new book. All the main characters are back plus FBI Special Agent Jo Wells and Detective Ty Carter. assist in solving the murders. They are racing against time to solve this case before anymore young girls are killed. There's plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing. correctly. But will you guess correct. The suspense and tension build in this gripping page turning read. The pace is fast from the beginning. This is a terrific police procedural series.

I would like to thank .NetGalley, Bookouture and the author D.K. Hood for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. .

I love the characterS that Inhabit this series of books . The will they are wont they thread that seems to underly the main story keeps it real. This time Jenna and Kane are on the trail of a serial killer nicknamed the Sculpter who displays his victims in what he sees as art forms. As another body is found the real number of victims surpasses any figure they might have thought him guilty of. Taut, and pacy this book delivers another great read from the author. It feels like you’ve connected with old friends when you read the latest encounter with our main characters.

The sight of body parts hanging from trees is sure to put a damper on one's enjoyment of skiing and in this case, it's Sheriff Jenna Alton and Deputy David Kane who find them. The town of Black Rock Falls seems to attract a, shall we say, unhinged sort of killer. One of the first challenges is identifying the victims; this leads to a stalker situation for Kane when one of the women he interviews becomes obsessed with him. AND then with Jenna. They call in the FBI to assist because well, it's clear there's a serial killer out there. I'd not read this series before and it was fine as a standalone. The characters- not just Jenna and David but also Shane the ME and the FBI SAs - are well drawn. Hood has a good way with tension. Know that this is kind of grisly. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of the serial killer genre.

I am loving this series,it gets better with each new book. I was hooked from the first page. It is full of unexpected twists and turns, I'm looking forward to reading the next book