I have not read the first three books in the series (although I intend to). Therefore, there is a lot of backstory I do not know. However, the author provides enough information about the main characters and past events that the book can be read and enjoyed without having read the earlier books. Detective Natalie Lockhart has already solved the biggest serial killer case in New York (the Crow Killer) and another sensational case (the Violinist) and discovered a devastating secret about her sister. She is enmeshed in another strange case involving the occult in her small town of Burning Lake, as well as a possibly corrupt police officer who has been tampering with evidence. However, the investigation into the death of Randolph Holmes, a Halloween store employee who seemed like a nice guy, although somewhat eccentric, will uncover a hidden dark side, solve a series of missing person cases (the Shadow Girls), and uncover events that are decades old but have had lasting ramifications and which explain the unusually high occurrence of sensational crimes in Burning Lake. The author does a good job of keeping the reader guessing, with some pretty good twists. After all the build-up and the revelation of the masterminds, their arrest comes too quickly and easily for my liking. However, the author has another significant surprise in store for Detective Lockhart (and readers) before the story ends.

I've been following this series about Natalie Lockhart, police officer in the small town of Burning Lake, NY, and was excited to continue the journey with Natalie. This was yet another solid mystery with a lot of the open storylines from the first three books answered by the end of this one. There were some satisfying resolutions, and I felt like this could be the book that wraps up the series. I will be curious to see if Blanchard stops here or if she continues with Natalie.

United States Publication: July 25, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advanced reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

Detective Natalie Lockhart is torn between a new case and her Lieutenant, and friend, laying in a coma and his life uncertain. Something strange is going on in their town, a string of murders has happened that aren't connected but occurred so close to one another that it feels like they should be. As Natalie investigates this most recent death, certain dark and disturbing facts about the deceased come to light and open the proverbial can of worms. Natalie becomes convinced that her best friend, who disappeared years ago, was a victim of the victim and her obsession with solving the cold case of her best friend and the current hot case converge. Meanwhile, Natalie's personal life is confusing and she isn't sure what the best course of action is. When her personal life and her professional life meet up in a surprising way, Natalie is faced with danger. I mean, when you live in a town that is named Burning Lake, what do you expect?

Full disclosure, I have not read books 1-3 in this series and I kind of wish I had but I also was able to catch on to the main theme of the larger plotline fairly quickly. This was okay but I found I got a little tired of the twist Blanchard was trying to incorporate, it was a stretch and one of those plotlines that feels like Blanchard had two different ideas, but couldn't figure out how to develop each of them into a full title, so combined them. Sometimes that can work, sometimes it's a stretch, and other times it just flat out doesn't work and you blame the author's editor for allowing the attempt. In this case, it didn't completely work and was a stretch but didn't totally fail. I am undecided if I'm going to one, go backward and read books 1-3, and two, go forward with the series. My indecision is based more on my personal time and TBR than it is on Blanchard's writing.

My thanks to St. Martin's press, Alice Blanchard and Netgalley.
I do wish that I had known that this was part of a series. Not only that it was the end of the series, but that there was so much baggage to unpack between them all.
So...coming into this as the forth and final book, I was mostly lost.
Usually even if I get in on the last book, and find I like it, then I'll order the first books and read them.
But, honestly? I was not a fan of the characters or even the writing style. Believe me, it's a rarity to find something from this publisher that I don't like. But..I really didn't like anything about this.
Also, the fact that it comes across as a mystery is decieving. It's mystery lite. Mostly though, it's just romance. "Excuse me while I gag!"
Not my groove.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: July 25, 2023
A dead body is discovered in a costume warehouse in Burning Lake, New York. Detective Natalie Lockhart is called in on the case, even though her partner and long-time love Luke is lying in the hospital in a coma and she is more than a little distracted. As Natalie and her team investigate, the case becomes increasingly more sinister as the dead man leads Natalie back to two more murders she solved years ago, and to the disappearance of her best friend from high school. The connections run deep, and Natalie is faced with the ultimate confrontation from her past in order to save her own future, and the future of her town.
“The Shadow Girls” is the fourth novel in the Natalie Lockhart detective series by Alice Blanchard. I was given the chance to read this story and I jumped at it, as I love police procedurals with female protagonists. I haven’t read anything else by Blanchard, or any other Lockhart novels for that matter, and in this case, “Girls” is one that should be read after the preceding three novels. Although the story was strong enough to be enjoyable, I felt that I missed a lot of the backstory and vital character development by not reading the other Lockhart novels.
The story starts with a dead body in a warehouse, then the trail leads to an abductor/predator, and I was instantly hooked. Somewhere in the middle of the story, I thought I had dropped the plot, as it shifts entirely to incidents that happened in Natalie’s past (and the other novels), but Blanchard manages to seamlessly connect the plot lines by the end.
Police stories with a female lead always seem to have a romance component (for some reason), and “Girls” had that in spades, as Natalie struggles with her feelings for her ex-partner, Luke, and her current boyfriend. This triangle ends as you’d expect, and just the way that the reader wants it to.
Overall, this novel had a twisted (in a good way) subject matter, and I am always a sucker for police procedurals. However, this novel isn’t great as a stand-alone and should be read in order. “Girls” has intrigued me enough, though, to add Blanchard’s other Lockhart novels to my TBR.

I have loved Alice Blanchard since I first read Trace of Evil (and was thrilled when she confirmed that it would become a series!!) Once again, she did not disappoint!! The Shadow Girls picks up where we last left off with Natalie Lockhart, a new(ish) mystery to solve and ongoing personal drama. As always, I'm obsessed with the setting, which sets the tone for each of her books. I also love the way that Natalie's history is weaved into each book. More importantly, I feel like all of the loose ends from the prior books came to a head in The Shadow Girls perfectly. A MUST READ!!

The Shadow Girls is another fast paced, hold your breath book in the Natalie Lockhart series.

Natalie is trying to put all the pieces together of the last few cases as the town is trying desperately to recover from the shock of the last few of the murders .

Natalie has been called to yet another violent murder and while investigating his home a horror story comes to light.

There is darkness, evil , witchery and twists and turns that keep the pages turning quickly.

Can all these cases be tied together with the help of her team?

Alice Blanchard keeps you in suspense and holding your breath until the very last page

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for a nail biting read.

I will say that I wanted to DNF this book after reading the second paragraph. The author wrote about how this character was old and described some negative connotation associated with her age, she was 37. For me, who is this age, I was just shocked. Yes, I am getting older, but in no way would I be considered “old”. I did keep reading, hoping that I would get engaged with the story, but the feelings of utter shock from the first page stuck with me and I struggled with this one. I did enjoy reading about the main character, Detective Natalie, and her adventures including solving this case. However, things wrapped up about the 80% mark, but the book continues. The remainder of the book didn’t really add to the story, or really make sense, it felt like it was just added on for the sake of meeting a page count.

Thank you so much to SMP and Minotaur Books along with Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this book not realizing it was the 4th book in a series. If you randomly pick this one up, I strongly suggest going back and reading the first few books. I felt lost and like I was missing valuable pieces to the puzzle that was this book.

That being said, I figured it out, and I enjoyed the book. There was slightly too much use of the f word for my liking, but that being said, it's still a good book!

A very good mystery thriller suspense that keeps you engaged and wondering
A modern day witch, old missing persons , with twists.Luke and Natalie try to find answers.
Voluntarily reviewed.

The Shadow Girls by Alice Blanchard

Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Pace: 4/5
Suspense/mystery: 5/5
Overall Enjoyment: 5/5

Let me say that I love anything with witch trials, murders, and investigations so this book was right up my alley. Burning Lake New York has had its share of bad luck and they tend to point the finger to a witch, Abigail Stuart, back in 1712 who cursed the town and the descendants. So on one Halloween day when a store employee went to open Murray’s Halloween costume warehouse, he thought he aw a mannequin on the floor. But it was worse, much worse. The body of 64 year old Randolph Holmes was found dressed in a clown costume dead. Detective Natalie Lockhart gets the call and everyone begins to wonder why someone would want Randy dead. Once Natalie starts poking around Randy’s home though, she starts finding things that are unsettling and could change the way the case is investigated. Then Throw in a love interest because Natalies LT is in a coma and she stays with him most of the time hoping for his recovery although she is living with someone else. This is the fourth in this series but I have only read the first installment so I believe it could be a stand alone read. It did take me a second to really get into this book but once I did,I had a hard time putting it down. Blanchard is one hell of a storyteller and definitely knows how to keep a readers interests. The characters were all well developed with flaws that were so real and uncanny.
The ending …..oh the ending….. EXPLOSIVE! You will not see this one coming. In no way was this a predictable read. If you love psychological thrillers, then you need to read this one. It won’t disappoint you!

5 out of 5 stars


Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author/publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

I loved the Shadow Girls by Alice Blanchard. This is the fourth book in the series, and while I had not read the first three, I did not miss a beat in The Shadow Girls. Back stories were well explained, and connected to the current book,

Because I enjoyed this book so much, however, I WILL be purchasing the first three, and additional books in the future. Alice's writing is fast paced, action packed, and original in content. Something is brewing in Burning Lake, and I am there for it!

The story picks up where the third book left off, with Luke, Natalie's boss and friend in the hospital and one of their partners missing. The story with her love interest Hunter, continues and I knew immediately what I was hoping for Natalie and future, not even having read the previous books.

This story moves fast, and has satisfying plots and sub plots. A great suspense thriller keeps you reading, and The Shadow Girls had me reading straight through with few breaks.

I would recommend this series to all who enjoy suspense/thrillers. Alice Blanchard writes incredibly well, and keeps you engaged throughout. Everything I wanted and more in a weekend get away read!!

Thank you to Alice Blanchard, NetGalley, and Minotaur books for an advanced readers copy for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Shadow Girls – Alice Blanchard

This was a new author for me, and the 4th novel of the Natalie Lockhart series, but the premise of the book sounded good, so I thought I would give it a try – and I am very glad I did!

It’s a chilly March day in Burning Lake, NY and Detective Natalie Lockhart is visiting fellow Detective Luke Pittman in the ICU of the local hospital – where he remains in a coma after being assaulted and thrown down a ravine by a fellow cop in the prior novel. (Side note: the book is certainly satisfying as a stand-alone and explanations of prior events brings the reader somewhat up to speed, but I think I’ll be reading the earlier releases as well for the full story.) The news from the ICU is good. Luke’s coma scores are improving - even if they are used incorrectly here (I laughed a little and a GCS of 15 while he is still unconscious – hopefully that’s fixed before publication -11 or 12 is more appropriate) - and doctors are optimistic that he’ll recover. As his girlfriend arrives, Natalie steps away to give them privacy, she shortly receives the call - a body has been found at a local Halloween warehouse - and she heads to the scene.

Upon Natalie’s arrival, the first responders give her a quick rundown – the victim is a 64 year old employee of the store, and was found dead by a co-worker. The scene clearly indicates murder, so Natalie quickly gets to work. After finishing up at the crime scene, she heads to the victim’s home, where she quickly discovers more questions than answers – insect pinning boards, a bin of journals – and apparently, the lair of a (former) serial killer. The forensic team is called in to assist.

As Natalie and her crew work the scene, she gets a call that Luke has awakened (now THIS is a GCS score of 15) and he is asking for her. A quick visit reveals him to be alert, mentally intact, and amazingly he is able to be discharged and be back at his desk at the PD in a couple of days. As Natalie brings him up to speed on all she’s discovered, her thoughts turn to her best friend Bella – she disappeared on their high school graduation night, never to be seen again. Could she have been a victim of this killer? Who are the Shadow Girls described in the kill journals Natalie found? Who killed Veronica, the Wiccan Priestess (a carryover from the prior book in the series)? Are these separate incidents – or are they all tied together somehow? Natalie is also second-guessing her ongoing relationship with Hunter, her over-zealous and perhaps obsessed boyfriend, who perhaps has secrets of his own.

Lots to unpack in this novel – it was a good, fast-paced read, with plenty of action and suspense, a satisfying ending - and it appears lots of answers to storylines left dangling in prior novels. So, I am hoping that this series continues, as I enjoyed the premise and the characters. If the author heads in a different direction going forward, I will for sure give her another try!

I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley & St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books in exchange for an objective review. Do you love to read?? Visit netgalley.com and start reviewing books today!!

Blog will publish on 7/20/23

I just really enjoyed this book. It was just really easy to get lost in this book. I will definitely be reading more by this author.

I like that this book picks up immediately after the previous book, as a lot was going on that needed to be resolved. I love the setting for this in upstate NY, and how witchy the town is. It is dark and gritty and Natalie continues to be a complex character, finding her way in a mystery going back years and manifesting in the present. This book felt like an ending, but I hope we see Natalie again.

Thank you Minotaur books and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this ebook.

I read this one without reading the 3 that come before it in the series. While I was able to follow along I think I would have had a better reading experience had I read the first 3 books prior to this one.

Lt Pittman is in a coma after being attacked by another officer. Now recovering, Luke and Natalie are tyrying to fit pieces of the strange happenings of Burning Lake together. Natalie uncovers information about the disappearance of her best friend.

There is so much tension woven into this book. Despite having read this one first I really want to go back and start from the beginning to get the full scope of this series since it seems previous books wrap up into this one.

Note to self: Don't visit towns with names like Burning Lake. But I will definitely keep reading this series. I wasn't a fan of the first Natalie Lockhart novel I read. I'm glad I decided to try this one. This town, its history, the people, their energy; I loved it all. I would love to try more of this series, but if this is the final entry, I can rest easy with the conclusion.


I received an e-arc from NetGalley and Minotaur Books in exchange for an unbiased review.

I picked this novel because I wanted to see what Natalie Lockhart would get up to this time and whether she and Luke would ever get on the same page. I enjoy the characters in Burning Lake, the romantic tension, and the little bit of witchcraft thrown in (although I would prefer more on that front). I would love to see more about Natalie's niece tied back into the storyline. Also, I would highly suggest reading this series in order to get the full effect.

An excellent thriller develops on the pages as deaths and purely evil forces collide and erupt. Detective Natalie Lockhart is assigned the grizzly death of a local man. The threads of his death twist together as more details emerge. Tightly woven with precise concentration on detail, this
I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have read one other previous book in the Natalie Lockhart series and believe that this fourth installment can be enjoyed as a standalone novel.

While preparing to open the Halloween store on a slow business day, an employee discovered what she thought was a store mannequin on the floor, which turned out to be a co-worker who had suffered a deadly attack. Natalie's investigation leads to uncovering additional unsettling details about the case.

While investigating the murder of a respected Wiccan, Luke is in a coma after being attacked by a fellow officer. Natalie has too many pots in the fire.

I thought Natalie was confident in her job, but shortsighted with her relationship with Hunter. The disclosure was shocking. Hunter was obsessive, although it made sense by the end of the story. This was an excellent thriller!

I received an ARC and voluntarily reviewed this book.