This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Severn River Publishing and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Intriguing mystery that’s full of suspense. Action packed, secrets revealed. Kept me engaged throughout.

Detective Rachel Ryder and her partner Detective Rob Bishop have caught a murder. The body seems to have been killed some where else and brought to a place where a fire has been set to make sure the body is found. Clues are found that lead to other dead bodies so it seems there is a serial killer on the loose. The killer starts taunting Rachel and leaving her notes before another fire and another body is found and then another.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles. I really not the opportunity!

I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
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Rachel Ryder is not a very engaging lead character but the characters who form her network more than make up for it. Bubba and Bishop are fantastically well drawn and found myself engaging with them easily. The story itself is a very interesting serial killer case which is not as satisfyingly resolved as I had expected. The author does a good job of relating the process by which the detectives go about trying to solve the case and there are some really good “what if” moments with some potential suspects.

Detective Ryder is called to the scene where a barn is up in flames and there's a dead body of a 23 year old male who has the number "7" placed in his hand. Ryder and Bishop do some digging into the case and find that their victim may have been accused of sexual assault. There is also a tie to a case 3 years earlier where 3 young men also showed up dead with the numbers in their hands. Ryder and Bishop are pressed for time while they try to find the serial killer at large before the bodies continue to stack up.

This was my first Ryder book and overall I really enjoyed the read. It felt like I was reading a criminal minds episode. I did think that it might have been drawn out a little too long. I was however, not impressed with the ending. I like to read thrillers that are just one book and have a twist at the end that is resolved and this book was not resolved by the end, it was left at a cliff hanger for the next book.

Thank you NetGalley for my ARC.

Detective Rachel Ryder is faced with another baffling case. A series of young men are murdered and left for discovery outside of a fire. Rachel and her partner, Rob, are struggling to find the culprit. The only clear link among the victims is a history of being accused of sexual crimes. Someone is getting vengeance for their victims. The murders share similarities with cases in another county. Can Rachel and her team stop the perpetrator before another life is lost. It's a great story with a cliffhanger ending.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Here Rachel investigates the murders of young men whose mutilated bodies are drawn to the attention of the police by nearby fires. They are soon connected to historical cases in another state and Rachel must decide if a serial killer has resumed work or whether this is a copycat. There are six dead young men, six young women who are soon linked to them, parents of these young women etc. Probably reading this on a flight when I had been up for 20 hours didn't help, but it was a lot to keep on top of.

I didn't warm to this story mainly because of the character of Rachel: I think we are meant to think she is great, and I expect she thinks of herself as 'feisty', but she reads as abrasive, arrogant, unable to obey a direct order and very much not a team player. She is very down on other (male) officers' attitudes to rape victims, and lectures these officers at length, but I found her own attitudes quite troubling. She describes herself as 'not a feminist' for a start... I was also a little confused about what the author wanted us to believe about the effects of traumatic brain injuries.

The ending was left open to an extent, but I won't be back to find out what comes next.

Body Count by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson was a phenomenal read.
I truly enjoy books about serial killer's and Ridder did such an amazing job here.
An entertaining read with characters that are intriguing and engaging to draw you in and a plot woven with twists and turns to keep you guessing till the very end.
Detective Rachel Ryder and her partner Rob Bishop were engaging characters in truly enjoyed being in their company. From the beginning, I was hooked and completely invested in the characters and the storyline.
The writing is awesome, which had me turning the pages till about 2am.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Severn River Publishing,
Thank you for your generosity and gifting a copy of this approved eARC!

Mystery and intrigue...family and friends...love and romance...murder...serial killers...secrets...red herrings...guessing...what next? Why? When? This book was sent to me by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the publisher for the electronic copy. This is a talented and gifted author at writing a cannot put down mystery novel. I hope it is a series...I want to read more with this protagonist and her work-related life...and her love life...it is written in linear timeline which is so much easier to use...it is written. in a way that the reader does not jump from one voice to another...easier to enjoy. It is just a good mystery that is well written in my favorite way. Almost like reading the mysteries of old but is modern also...I can't put my finger on it...but there was nothing about this book that took away from the story...it reads like a true crime novel or a television show...would make an excellent movie. Enjoy...

Good book! This book had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, serial killers, and great police work! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my kindle! The bad part that I didn't like was that this book is a cliffhanger! Some things were cleared up but it definitely left in a cliffy! I guess ill be waiting for the next book lol thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!