Three Drowned Girls by Emily Shiner and narrated by Amelia Sciandra, is the first book in a new Detective Freya Sinclair series and what a cracking read this was. It was full of great twists and turns that will have you gripped from the very first few pages.

When Freya Sinclair was a little girl, she had no idea what her parents were hiding in the basement of her childhood home….....She could never of dreamt it and it was a shocking find when she found out about it!

Five years have passed, Freya had moved away from her hometown of Fawn Lake.......Now, she is now a Detective and she became a detective was to bring serial killers like her parents to justice, but the tight-knit North Carolinian community can’t see past her twisted roots. So, she wasn't expecting a warm welcome from the people she’s sworn to protect.

Within minutes after stepping foot back home, a body of a dark-haired young girl is pulled from the river and Freya races to the scene. She’s determined to identify the child and finally prove herself, but before Freya even has a chance to search through missing persons, another girl is reported missing. WoW this is sooooo good......

I highly recommend this book. I loved it.

Big Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Emily Shiner (https://authoremilyshiner.com) is the author of more than 15 novels. Three Drowned Girls was published in April of this year. It is the 37th book I have completed reading in 2024.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R.

Freya Sinclair has just returned to her hometown of Fawn Lake, North Carolina. She has a history with the town. She had been a police officer there years earlier. Sinclair had been instrumental in tracking down a pair of serial killers. All the town remembers is that the killers were Sinclair’s parents.

Sinclair has been hired as Captain of Detectives in the police department. On her first day on the job, the body of a young girl is found in the river. A short time later, Sinclair takes a call from the local elementary school. A different young girl has been absent from class. Inquiries with the girl’s father claim the girl is with her mother. But the mother can’t be reached.

When the body of a third young girl is also found drowned, Sinclair sees a pattern emerging. The question is, what ties the girls together? What makes them a target? Sinclair and her small team work frantically to find the missing girl, fearing that she will soon be discovered as a third fatality. Their progress is slow, with little evidence and a town mostly hostile to Sinclair. Will they find the girl in time?

I enjoyed the 7.5 hours I spent reading this 352-page mystery. The cover art is simple, but I think it is appropriate for the novel. I give this novel a rating of 3.8 (rounded to 4) out of 5.

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This is the first book I've read by Emily Shiner, and I really enjoyed it. The thriller and fast-paced aspects of this book really kept me hooked. I was trying to stay one step ahead of Freya, even though I ultimately didn't figure it out by the time it was revealed who did this. I am also always fascinated by the WHY of criminals - why they did what they did, why they considered it "necessary" or "justified," and I really appreciate that Emily included that in Three Drowned Girls. It was a riveting read, and I look forward to reading the next installment in the Freya Sinclair series.

This was a great introduction to Freya and her new team. I was expecting to find out more about her family/past and why she had to leave but I assume we will learn more in future books. The team worked well together and I look forward to seeing more of them. There are some great characters. The case of the drowned and missing girls was packed full of susense and kept me guessing. I worked out the sad motive but I wasn't sure who the ring leader was. I will definitely be keeing an eye out for any future additions to this series.

A young girl turns up drowned. It is already tragic but the fact she is dressed strangely in a formal white dress and with a full face of make up, tells detective Freya Sinclair that something strange is going on. Why was this girl found this way. Who did this to her? And is she the only one? As young girls start to go missing and some fail to turn up at school, Freya has her work cut out for her in trying to find out what happened. Add into the mix that Freya is extremely unwelcome in her home town because of some heinous crimes her parents committed and you get a very tense situation. Gripping, twisty and original. I expect and look forward to more books with Freya Sinclair chasing down bad buys and solving almost impossible to solve crimes

I enjoyed this book. I am a big psychological thriller junkie. I finish one book, and immediately start another. I was able to finish this book in about 12 hours time (not continuous reading but reading on 3 separate occasions in 12 hours) I will recommend this title

This book had me on the edge of my seat, flipping through the pages like a madman. I love a good suspenseful thriller and this did not disappoint. It kept me guessing and wanting more. I want to read more of Freya's adventures now! It was dark, suspenseful, enticing and unpredictable in the best ways! I loved it! Give me more!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I could not put this book down!
Freya Sinclair comes back to Fawn Lake, NC after five years of being away. She left after something tragic happened involving her parents - but we don’t know what - yet. It’s a great sub-plot.
Freya returns as a Captain in the police department. On her first day back a little girl was found dead, drowned in a lake. And so the story begins. She is on the hunt for the person/people killing girls in their small community. Girls are missing.
The twists and turns kept me reading all day.
The intensity stays with you throughout the book. This is only an introduction to Freya. I look forward to reading more about what happened with her parents, as Emily Shriner doesn’t give us the whole story. I liked this book so much, I can’t wait to read the next installment to learn more about Freya, her detective, Candy, Esther - the woman who took her in as a teenager and Brad - one of the cops. For those who like crime thrillers, I highly recommend this book!

Read if you like: police procedurals, small town secrets, mysterious pasts

TW: violence against children, child death, suggestions of sexual abuse against children

Freya Sinclair returns home after years away. She has picked right back up at her old job as chief detective with the local police department. Haunted by her past, Freya is thrown into a new case when a drowned girl is found in the lake. Soon more young girls are reported missing. What is happening to the girls of this town?

I really enjoyed this! I liked how Freya’s past was hinted at throughout the book making me want to know more. I loved the relationship between Freya and Esther too. It gives the book a safe space amongst all the chaos.

I found the central mystery intriguing and it unfolded at a good pace. I did feel the ending went on a bit too long unnecessarily but enjoyed the set up for the next book which I will definitely be picking up when it comes out.

Freya has a dark past and has decided to return to her hometown. She does her best to bring criminals to justice despite what has happened in her past but returning to her hometown has her questioning everything.
Definitely a 5 star read right from the first page! I loved how the author developed the characters and brought me through the story. This book had lovable characters all the way through from Freya (the MC) to even her co workers at the station. The book was enjoyable to read and kept me hooked the entire time!

This book was just ok for me. It centers on a detective named Freya who returns to her hometown after being alienated due to her family situation (of which we only get scant details). Almost immediately upon her return, the body of a young girl is found in a nearby river and Freya must race to solve the crime before anything else happens.

This storyline is really dark but it also felt fantastical to me- while taking on such a tough subject, some of the dialogue read as almost silly and I didn't feel that it was realistic. That being said, I did enjoy the mystery and the potential of many different people being the villain. Though I did peg the majority of potential suspects as red herrings, there were a few that added to the tension. The ending of the book was as satisfying as it could be with this type of content. It teased more of Freya’s background being exposed in the next book but I’m not entirely sure I want to read it- we will see!

Overall, decent mystery but I wasn’t entirely sold on the story and am not sure I got enough characterization on Freya to be fully invested. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Three Drowned Girls is the first book in the Detective Freda Sinclair series.
Freya comes back to her hometown after escaping several years earlier over her own past.
Girls start to come up missing/unaccounted for and some even drowned.

While the book room several turns and seem to have so many “hmm maybe he did it” scenarios, it always kept me on my toes. I really enjoyed it. I was completely clueless as to who dun it. I will 100% read the next in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a chance to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

It's a book by Emily Shiner, I'm going to love it!! But I made the mistake this time of listening to the audiobook and I had to give up half way through. I really wasn't enjoying the narrator and because of that, I missed some of the story. So I read the last 40 % and yes, I missed some of the story but what I read I really liked.

It didn't feel like a first book in a sparkly series, but an already well established on. Freya has a dark backstory and I hope we see more about it in the future books, it sound so messed up and shocking! It got me intrigued. Brad, too, he has a story that needs to be told. The way he clammed up at the end, well colour me intrigued!! This is definitely a great start to a series, and I am excited by it, just a bit gutted I listened to it first and I'm NEVER like that! It might have been my concentration too.

This story was a hard one to digest, I couldn't believe, but at the same time I could, the way these mum's were behaving. My heart broke again and again. Having Freya on the case was the saving grace with her makeshift team of Candy and Brad. Whilst this was going on, we had a side story of a dodgy school principal. But the main focus was on Freya and how the town blamed her for her past, because of mis-judgement she made on an arrest but that said case wrapping up. I felt for her but she was so strong and she was focused and determined!

I am excited about this series and Freya and I can't wait to read more!

First in a new series of the troubled Detective Freya Sinclair series I think she's a character like marmite. All I know if she was my boss and spoke to me the way she spoke to her team I'd not have much respect for her as she's rude and entitled!

I think that if we had a better understanding of the history of Freya we may understand and connect with her better as to me she has a constant chip in her shoulder.

It's clear she's suffered past trauma and this is weighing heavily on her current choices and reactions, some of which are skewed to say the least and she using avoidance and work as a tactic to run from her demons.

Three Drowned Girls is book 1 in the Detective Freya Sinclair series. I enjoyed this first installment but found it to be a little slow paced for my taste. It also didn't have the major plot twists I would expect from this type of book. Having said that it did keep my attention and I would read further books in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC,

In "Three Drowned Girls," Emily Shiner crafts a narrative that, while not outright terrible, struggles to maintain engagement. Despite a promising premise and adequate character development, the story lacks the substance needed to captivate readers. While the characters aren't objectionable, they fail to elevate the narrative beyond its shallow depths. Overall, despite receiving an early copy through NetGalley, this novel earns a modest 2-star rating for its missed potential and lackluster execution.

Emily Shiner is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! The twists and turns are perfection! I love when I can be kept guessing until the very end.

Another amazing book by Emily Shiner, although I did struggle to get into this book at the beginning it did pick up pace and really started to enjoy it.

I didn’t love this book but it was okay. The main character was impulsive and reckless which made me annoyed when reading. I also found the plot to be unbelievable and I had a hard time pushing through. I did enjoy the writing style and the cover is gorgeous. I would maybe give the next book in the series a read but it won’t be at the top of my tbr list.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC copy I realized.

Three Drowned Girls by Emily Shiner is the first book in her new Detective Freya Sinclair series, and both books 1 and 2 are out now!

Freya Sinclair has returned to Fawn Lake as Captain of Detectives, and she doesn't even get to sit down in her office before a call comes in that a young girl's body has been found in the river. Knowing that most of the town isn't happy that she's back, she's determined to prove herself. Then the school calls saying there's a little girl whose been out for a few days with no notice from her parents. Then a dad calls because his wife took their daughter on a short trip and he hasn't heard from them in days. A dead little girl with no identification, a missing girls, and zero leads. How is Freya going to solve this before more girls go missing or are found dead?

With mothers and daughters missing with no way to find out where they are, and the principal and janitor of the school on the lamb, Freya thinks she's onto what happened. But the two men had nothing to do with the disappearing daughters, although they aren't in the clear for other things. And to top it off, someone vandalizes the bakery of Esther, the woman who took Freya in when her parents were taken away. The story immediately jumps into the case, and it quickly looks like there may be a serial killer on the loose, so the townspeople immediately look at Freya as the culprit because there were no major crimes until she came back to town. Being the daughter of a married serial killer couple, everyone thinks that Freya is just following in her parents footsteps. Can she solve it before the town turns on her?

All in all, it's a relatively fast-paced mystery with a lot of missing puzzle pieces. I did wonder at times why Freya and her team weren't trying to find the missing mothers who were supposed to be with their daughters, or checking emails or phone records, but I guess if they had it would have been a lot shorter book.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @Bookouture for a digital copy of books 1 and 2 for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.