REMEMBER HER NAME

5 stars out of 5

Honestly, I had some trouble keeping all the characters straight, but the nonstop action had me hooked from the first page to the last (which I stayed up late to finish, I hasten to add). After reading many of the books in this series - this is the 21st - I'm at least very familiar with rural Denton, Pennsylvania Detective Josie Quinn (and more recently, her husband and co-worker, Lt. Noah Fraley, her twin sister Trinity Payne and co-worker pal Detective Gretchen Palmer).

Just off a disturbing case, Josie is reluctant to throw herself back into the investigative fray. But there's no choice; she's called to a puzzling scene with an infant girl wailing in a stroller and no parent or caretaker in sight. There is, notably, a Polaroid shot of an unknown body of water - a photo with blood on the corner. Shortly, the baby's father comes to collect her - with no clear alibi, he becomes a suspect. 

The case remains puzzling, but that provides time for readers to get to know the newest team member - a rather reprehensible dude named Kyle Turner, who's replacing an officer killed in that disturbing case mentioned earlier. No one seems to like him much (count me among those astute characters). But then, something about the photo triggers Josie's memory, and she heads to a place familiar to her from another investigation with fingers crossed every mile of the way. Alas, she's too late; she finds the baby's mother dead, another Polaroid of an unidentified scene and confirmation that a serial killer is running rampant.

But why? And who? And most important, can Josie and her team find all that out before the killer strikes again? Sorry, but I won't tell; you'll just have to read the book for yourself. It's a good one - and I'm ready for the next. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for once again allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

Remember Her Name by Lisa Regan (Bookouture, September 2024); 423 pp.