COLD HEART CREEK

5 stars out of 5

If I ever made a list of my 10 favorite book "heroines," Josie Quinn would be in there somewhere. Yes, she's got emotional baggage as a result of an extremely abusive childhood, but unlike way too many other lead characters with similar backgrounds, she doesn't whimper and whine about it and gets on with her life in fine fettle (excepting perhaps those awful nightmares). That life, for the record, includes her duties as a detective in largely rural parts of Pennsylvania and Noah, a partner both professionally and personally (for the record, I like him a lot as well).

As this episode begins, Josie and Noah are called out when two bodies are found at a remote campground about half a mile from Cold Heart Creek. At first blush, it appears that they were poisoned - even, perhaps, in a suicide pact. But further investigation changes the outlook in two ways: They are murder victims, and there was a third camper at the site who is inexplicably missing.

The search for clues makes a significant stop at a fenced-in section of private property called The Sanctuary, a haven for societal misfits who, according to commune leader and property owner Charlotte, need to find themselves. Although all the residents are willing to answer questions, Josie and Noah are pretty sure they're not being totally honest. Then, on the drive home, Josie nearly collides with a very pregnant woman staggering out of the woods - who proceeds to give birth in Josie's car. When she's finally identified and hospitalized, the woman claims to have been kidnapped two years ago and held captive in some of the remote caves that dot the region. The plot thickens even more when a young girl Josie met at the commune turns up dead.

Admittedly, there are bits and pieces that stretch credulity a bit, but overall this is a book I really didn't want to put down and could have finished in a day had the facts of my personal life not intervened. And while I have read and enjoyed other books in the series, this one stands quite well on its own. I do thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

Cold Heart Creek by Lisa Regan (Bookouture, December 2019); 1969 KB).