Jack Ryder is a cop in Cocoa Beach, FL. He has young twins (boy and girl) and a teenaged daughter that he adopted when her single mother who was Jack's partner died in a police action. They live in a condo on the beach near the small tourist motel his parents are running in their retirement. Jack gets involved in some interesting cases.

I'll just stop right here and say that I chose 4 of Willow Rose's books to review, never having heard of this author before, but always a fan of a good law enforcement story. Wow! I was hooked immediately. I then discovered that Ms. Rose is a prolific writer and proceeded to order all her books from 3 of her series so I could read the WHOLE story. I had a reading marathon. I am hooked and can't wait to read more. Highly recommend anything by this author!

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

I liked this story. It wasn't my usual style so it's not my favourite. I may read more of these author's novels. I don't know.

I enjoyed this thriller. I thought it had a steady pace with plenty of plot twists. I have always enjoyed this authors books and this didn’t disappoint!

Thank you to publisher for chance to read this book!

Author Willow Rose has started another series and this time Jack Ryder is the detective in town. Based in Cocoa Beach, FL, the plot in this novel kind of ambles along . I can’t say that the writing was 5star but I think it just needed a little editing to make it better.

Of course the mystery in the book centers around a killer who stalks and kills women in order to keep them close. The plot is predictable at times but there are some surprises thrown in now and again so that helped.

I would read more in the series as I did like the Jack Ryder character and look forward to seeing how that character develops. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a free copy for review.

“Ben is supposed to be in school. It's Monday morning but his parents are still asleep after a night of heavy drinking. Ben Waits patiently, even though he knows he is missing out on today's field trip to the zoo. But, when his black Labrador suddenly runs upstairs and comes down with a finger in his mouth, Ben knows he's not making it to school today at all.”

My advice, in addition to keeping your eye on the dates in the chapter headings, is to take a big breath before you start as you are going to need it! The first three chapters are intense; a murder in each! Then the plot continues with a date rape, a suicide and some gruesome murders they’re attributing to Snakecharmer, a serial killer causing havoc with women who cheat on their husbands.

The protagonist is Detective Jack Ryder, a single dad with three children; twins and the daughter of his former partner. He’s been with the Cocoa Beach, Florida Sheriff’s Department for 7 years. He’s a likable surfer and a great dad with a good heart.

The thread I think the author intends to follow through with is that childhood trauma, if not addressed, leads to a myriad of problems later in life.

Areas to be addressed:
- For characters to be believable, they need to have actions that correspond to their age group.
- A seasoned detective should have been more alert to clues.
- The police drama aspect needed more research to be believable, i.e. amber alerts needed issued

Told from many different points of view, this book has lots of characters, lots of action, lots of drama and lots of potential. Unfortunately, I won’t be reading any more in this series.

I think Ray Charles said it best, “Hit the road, Jack and don’t you come back no more…”

I was gifted this copy by Willow Rose, Buoy Media and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

I went through this rather quickly since the book had a steady pace. It did go between times in history to help build the story and link it all together, but that is well noted if you pay attention. There are many smaller moving parts and characters that help drive the story along. As well as some sub plots and love interests. We always need someone to save for the hero.