Thank you to Netgalley and Compathy Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Kate Medina has returned to her hometown after surviving trauma.  She then lost her mom, and spent the next 5 years coasting through her life as a high school guidance counselor.  When a student at her school goes missing, and another one suffers a significant trauma, she realizes she must wake up and get involved.  Kate, who was once a forensic psychologist, must use all her rusty investigative skills to help save the girls.  However, she can't do it alone and must repair her relationship with her sister Tilly and estranged childhood friend Roman in order to do so. 

I really enjoyed this book, and like how it doesn't shy away from the hard parts that happen when you're writing a story about trauma and recovery.  Kate, Tilly and Roman are all dealing (or not dealing) with their problems at the beginning of the story.  As they continue on and get closer to understanding and solving the horrible mystery that is plaguing their town they must dig in and work on themselves too in order to help the girls.

Thanks you Negalley and Compathy Press for the eARC.
The book started as a good read, but the more I got into it, the less I enjoyed it. Kate Medina left the job she loved as a prison forensic psychologist after a horrific personal attack. She went back to her hometown in New Mexico to work as a high school psychologist feeling she'd be safe. This proves to be a fantasy; there is a dangerous group of predators preying on young girls and they are among the higher echelons of the town. She eventually ends up helping an old friend, who is now a police detective, and romance simmers.
Kate's character grated on me, she seemed very unstable and loses her temper constantly with those close to her, including her sister. It irritated me more and more, to the point I didn't even finish the book. Sorry!

4-star Review:

Wow, that was the good kind of roller-coaster read.

Kate Medina is a middle-class ambitious woman, who leaves home very young to pursue her dreams in forensic psychology for prison inmates. However, a terrible experience persuades her to ditch her growing career for something "safer" back home. Through her new job as a student counsellor in the local high school (that she grew up attending), she hopes to help teenagers navigate their personal issues. However, in these sessions, Kate learns that home is not as idyllic as she remembers it to be and that the residents are anything but virtuous. Young girls are disappearing while no one bats an eye. Law enforcement, especially Kate's childhood friend and now a senior detective, Roman Aguilar, is actively looking for answers with Kate's help, but the enemy is either covering their path well or has the higher ups in their pocket. Can Kate help to bring these girls justice, expose the enemy, and uncover the dark secrets this town holds?

This novel was well-written (barring the few proofing issues here and there) and the pacing was perfect. Told through the third person, the characters were well laid out and were worth rooting for. The author did a good job of portraying Kate as a scarred yet resolute young woman manoeuvring her way in life, which, she realised, still had a lot to offer. Reading about Alamogordo and New Mexico was also a surreal experience. However, the end left me wanting more closure than I was provided and I'm hoping that my review can convince Ms. Rivers to pen a sequel so that the loose ends are all tied up well.

Edit: Yay, GoodReads says that this is the first installment in the "Legacy of Silence" series, so I'm excited to read the rest of the books as and when they're published! :)