4.5*

Reading a Loreth Anne White book is never easy, but it’s a worthwhile experience every time: Ms. White has an uncanny ability to deliver a gritty, gripping mystery featuring a cadre of flawed but incredibly compelling characters. Ms. White is in top form with THE LULLABY GIRL, the long-awaited second novel in the Angie Pallorino series that delves into Angie’s past and why she’s so messed up (but raw and real). THE LULLABY GIRL picks up a couple weeks after THE DROWNED GIRLS, and while it’s technically not necessary to read the two books in order (each can technically stand alone), it is definitely strongly recommended in order to understand Angie and Maddocks and the cast of secondary characters. I really like Angie as a character: she’s the furthest thing from the typical romance heroine, and it’s her issues/flaws, coping mechanisms, and tendency toward self-sabotage that make her so compelling and real to me, even as I disagree with her whole approach to life. THE LULLABY GIRL is Angie’s origin story, and what origins they are… dark and depraved, and everything readers have come to expect from Ms. White, softened only by the evolution of her relationship with Maddocks. THE LULLABY GIRL closes the loop on several pivotal plot points raised in THE DROWNED GIRLS but the series is set to continue, so I’m intrigued to see what direction Ms. White will take.

Another gripping page-turner by Ms. White. If you haven’t read her work but like dark police procedurals with a hint of romance, give the Angie Pallorino series (and the rest of Ms. White’s backlist) a try.

**ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Even though I hadn't read book 1 in this series I was intrigued by the plot. The recipe: a detective abandoned by her biological mother at age four--now on desk duty for using excessive force--trying to discover the secrets surrounding her adoption. Throw in her lover and partner investigating a sex-trafficking ring whose victims have bar-codes stamped on the back of their necks. Mix...and discover that the cases are tied together in a bizarre and violent way. Flawed characters, lots of action; it's a thrill ride from the beginning!

WOW!!! What a ride!!!
This book picks up from where the previous one has ended.

Pallorino is under disciplinary action for having killed the Baptist in a raptus of rage. And things don't go well for her...

All during the book I wanted to yell: "Stop harassing her, you idiots!!! What did she do wrong? I would have done worse to that pervert!!! Give her a medal, for God's sake!!!"

And she still have nightmares from her forgotten childhood. But now that nightmares are worse - she's remebering more and more and the things she remembers are awful!

Meanwhile Maddocks continues to follow the investigation about the sex-slave girls they rescued in the previous book. That investigation links into an international one and he gets involved with a task force that forces him to maintain secrets from Pallorino, making their budding relatioship even more difficult.

While suffering her demotion, Pallorina gets involved with an investigation that touches her deeply in a very, very personal level and makes her doubt her identity more and more as she digs deeper and deeper into her past. And when that past collides with her present she almost falter.

Obviously their investigations are linked and the resolution is explosive!

Since this is an ARC, I cannot releav much more than this, but believe me, I was chewing my nails and turning pages to find out what will happen!

Another fantastic, wonderful, scary book! If you liked The Drowned Girls, you'll love this one!!!

I'm so looking forward to the next one!!!

I have been eagerly awaiting the next release in Loreth Anne White’s new Angie Pallorino series ever since I finished the first book, The Drowned Girls.  Not only did that book contain an extremely compelling and densely plotted mystery surrounding a serial killer nicknamed ‘The Baptist’ and an international sex-trafficking ring, but it also introduced us to the eponymous heroine, a dedicated, hard-working cop in the Metro Victoria PD sex-crimes unit whose ball-busting, lone-wolf ways have never made her popular with her male colleagues and upon whom the six years she has spent delving into the minds and activities of some seriously sick individuals has started to take its toll. She’s been in something of a downward spiral for the last couple of years and in the grip of what seems to be an ever strengthening self-destructive streak; the death of her partner and of the child they were trying to save some months earlier has thrown her even more off balance, and on top of all that, a complicated family situation had spawned doubts about her origins and caused Angie to start to question everything she has ever known about herself.

The Drowned Girls ended with a mystery solved and a group of bad guys taken down, but with Angie uncertain about her future, both personally and professionally.  The story of her search for the truth about her past really gains momentum in The Lullaby Girl, but if you haven’t read the previous book, a lot of what’s happening here is unlikely to make sense; these books need to be read in order, and because I’ll be referring to some plot points from the first book, there are spoilers for it in this review.

Angie is on suspension from duty following her take-down of The Baptist.  He had kidnapped and intended to murder the teenaged daughter of Angie’s lover, Detective James Maddocks, and although Angie had saved both their lives by killing Spencer Addams - the man behind the nickname – she has been accused of using excessive force in order to do so, having shot the man eight times over.  At the time, Angie had been gripped by a troubling vision of a little girl in a pink dress, a vision that had been haunting her for some time and which she now strongly suspects is related to long-suppressed memories.

While she waits to find out if she still has a career or not, Maddocks is heading up the investigation into the so-called “barcode girls”, six young women who were rescued from a luxury yacht that operated as a floating brothel.  The women are all teenagers, of a similar age to Maddocks’ daughter, Ginny; they’re terrified, traumatised and are being cared for in hospital while Maddocks and his team – which includes Angie’s rather odd and enigmatic former partner, Kjel Holgersen - start to piece together the evidence and try to work out exactly where they came from and the route taken by the traffickers.

Angie is, understandably, frustrated and angry at being pulled from the case she had a big hand in blowing wide open and she also can’t help being jealous of the fact that Maddocks is heading up the investigation.  She’s also scared at the fact that she just might be falling in love with him; she’s been emotionally closed off for so long that the thought of allowing herself to feel something for him terrifies her. And although she recognises all these things – fear, jealousy, frustration - for what they are, she is in danger of allowing them to get the upper hand and of pushing Maddocks away for good.

While she waits for a decision about her career, Angie starts in earnest on the search for information about her true identity.  She believes herself to be the ‘Angel’s Cradle child’ who was left at a local hospital in 1986, aged around four.  (An Angel’s Cradle is a way for desperate mothers to leave their unwanted children somewhere safe without fear of being tracked down and identified.)  While it was more usual for newborns to be put in such places, this one saved Angie’s life; she was bundled in there by a woman she believes was her mother amid a gun battle in the street which killed a cop and injured a bystander.  She meets with one of the nurses who was on duty that night – Christmas Eve 1986 – and then makes contact with the widow of the detective who worked the case of the shootings, who is, miraculously, able to supply Angie with some valuable information and evidence her husband had ‘appropriated’ from his office before, according to protocol back then, it was destroyed.

Unable to believe her luck, Angie engages the services of a high-end, top-quality forensics lab to see if they are able to obtain any DNA evidence using the more sophisticated methods now available, but unfortunately, her relief at having some potential leads is destined not to last long. Having been told she will be on probation for twelve months in a desk job, and that there is no guarantee she will be reinstated to her old position at the end of it, Angie is furious and seriously thinks of quitting.  But she realises that if she can stick it out, she will retain access to police databases, labs and contacts that she might be able to make use of in order to help her to find out who she really is and where she came from.  But when, on her first day, Angie receives a visit from two officers from the RCMP demanding she turn over everything to them, she faces having the rug pulled out from under her yet again.  The officers are investigating the likely murder of a child following the discovery of a dismembered foot encased in a purple trainer which was washed up at the beach near the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal.   Forensic testing reveals the DNA to be identical to Angie’s – which stuns her.  The only possible explanation is that she must have had a twin sister – could she be the little girl in pink of Angie’s memories and visions?  Could hers have been the voice urging Angie to “Comeum playum dum grove”?

All this happens within the first few chapters, and Ms. White has set the stage for an enthralling story in which the two different threads – Angie’s search for clues as to her identity and Maddocks’ investigation into the Barcode Girls – are gradually and inexorably woven together to produce a truly gripping and un-putdownable read.  Angie isn’t always the easiest character to like, but her need for answers is understandable and literally jumps off the page, so strongly articulated as it is by the author.  Angie relentlessly goes her own way, even when warned that she could well be putting her life in danger; it’s not her finest moment, perhaps, but she has reached the stage where she feels so unmoored, so needful of regaining a sense of identity that she is prepared to look death in the face if she must in order to find her true self.

Angie’s romantic relationship with Maddocks takes a bit of a back seat here; their time together is fairly brief, and it’s clear that they’re both struggling to work out exactly what is going on between them. The complications added by their work situation  - with Maddocks being on the inside and Angie pushed out - only make things more difficult, forcing Angie to admit that walking away would  be the easier option.  But is that what she really wants?

The Lullaby Girl is a terrific blend of complex, cleverly-plotted mystery and suspense with a nice dash of romance thrown in for good measure, and I’m sure that if you enjoyed the first book, then you’ll love this one.  I can’t wait to see what Loreth Anne White has in store for Angie next.

Buy Now: A/BN/iB/K

Two separate stories which gradually merge into one. A strong ,feisty heroine trying to find her story. Lots of twists, a good thriller.

I got this from NetGalley. Second in the Angie Pallorino series. This definitely needs to be read as part of the series, not as a standalone. After Angie discovered in the first book that she was adopted after being abandoned as a toddler, she decided to dig into her past. At the same time, a child's foot washes up on shore and is later found to have ties to Angie. Maddocks, her sort-of boyfriend, is heading up the investigation of human trafficking that was uncovered in the previous book. I really liked this a lot. This was definitely better than the first book, and I look forward to the third in the series. 4.5 stars, rounded down to 4.

Who are you? Where do you come from? Questions most of us have no problem answering. But what happens when you can’t answer, and everything you thought you knew about yourself is totally wrong?
I saw The Lullaby Girls offered on NetGalley and was immediately highly intrigued.
I decided to increase my Mojo for acquiring it for review by reading the first Angie Pallorino book, The Drowning Girls and the earlier romantic suspense books by Loreth Anne White. Two takeaways from this, my Mojo attempts worked, and as much as I enjoyed binge reading the earlier romantic suspense, White has really stepped up her game with the Angie Pallorino series.
The Lullaby Girls directly follows The Drowning Girls. You can read it without reading The Drowning Girls because White nicely catches you up, but why would you want to?
Angie Pallorino is a detective skating on a thin ice. She has taken down a serial killer with what her superiors termed overkill and her career is in the balance. Really, overkill? With a serial killer? Dead is dead.
While Angie is on suspension she decides to pursue the Angel Cradle child case from 1986. In the first chapter Angie interviews a nurse who was there the night a toddler was shoved cut and bleeding into the cradle, amidst a gunfight on the street. The cradle outside a hospital emergency room was designated as a safe haven for abandoned babies. White writes of the abandonment and the subsequent effect the toddler had on the hospital with such grace and sensitivity that I strongly advise having a box of Kleenex within reach.
Pallorino has lost who she is; no longer really Angie Pallorino, having been inserted into a dead baby’s life, no longer a police detective, no longer the tough woman visiting sex clubs for release. She fights to regain an identity, a career and to keep the man who loves her.
James Maddock, her lover and former partner is following an international sex trafficking case that came out of the investigation of a serial killer in The Drowned Girl, a case that by all rights should by Angie’s case. Angie fights against her resentment and her tendency toward self-destruction.
The story is intricate, each piece slotting together until Angie’s case and Maddock’s case intersect.
The pace is measured; the tension slowing building to mid-book to when White lets loose and you can forget the words ‘measured’ and ‘slowly’ as all hell breaks out.
Maddock continues to comfort us with his Herculean efforts to maintain his relationship with Angie while staying true to the requirements of his career.
Angie continues to worry, to impress, and to make us want to shake her and most of all to care about her.
This is an outstanding series. White’s details, descriptions, and dialogue come together to paint a dark twisted world that resides just under the surface of our world.
Today, I will say Tom Petty wrote a song about Angie Pallorino, “I Won’t Back Down.”
This is who she is, and I imagine who she will stay in subsequent books.
Thank you to NetGally for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

"<i>Lone-horse, hot-headed Pallorini who doesn't play nice with others is now the sweet smiling face of the MVPD, bridging gaps with the public, helping da boys in blue be <b>social</b></i>?"

When I closed the book on THE DROWNED GIRLS I resisted picking up the sequel right away. Not only because book one was dark, disturbing and intense and I thought to give myself a break from immersing myself in more of the same. But also because this sequel isn't even out yet and I worried that if it ended on a cliffhanger I'd have even longer to wait for the next. But good news! This one was not the same flavour of dark, just more suspense, <b>and</b> we are cliffhanger free going into book three. Also, it picks up only days after book one. So if you're looking to binge but are on the fence about it, I'm here to tell you : do it.

<i>Not in her wildest dreams had she ever thought that her drive -- her fierce passion for justice in special victim crimes -- might have been shaped and fueled by childhood traumas, a life of abuse that she might have endured before she was found.</i>

We learn a lot about Angie Pallorino in White's series opener. But more than that.. we learn how Angie herself doesn't know who she is. Or where she's come from. The mysteries of her own past, the memories that are now haunting her, how it ties into an investigation that might have cost her job -- and might be wrecking the beginnings of a relationship that threatens to unmoor Angie's carefully crafted life -- are at the center of THE LULLABY GIRL.

"<i>Sometimes we think we're keeping secrets. But really, those secrets are keeping you.</i>"

I absolutely loved how Angie's story, her past, was woven into the fabric of a tale that was so much bigger than what it seemed after book one. I also loved how so much of what we assumed in book one was basically debunked. There were so many layers woven through White's first book and it's amazing to see how they've played out as more and more came to light. This story dealt with some of the same themes as the series opener -- human trafficking, women forced into the sex trade -- but twisted up with that were connections to the mob and local biker gangs and their role in what was determined to be a much bigger operation that spanned globally; one that had been in place for years.

<i>Angie's method of coping as the only female among the group was simple -- someone bullied or baited her, she punched hard and straight on the nose before her opponent could sink his teeth into her fragile spots. It worked.</i>

With Angie on probation, working her own case in her own time, she's taking her frustrations out on Maddocks. She risked her job by disobeying an order to save his life and in trade he's now fronting the investigation she spearheaded. And then gets pulled into a huge inter-agency taskforce. Naturally this forces Angie to sabotage her relationship with him, to shut him out, to take her frustrations and rage on him and what is building between them. Angie is not always likeable, often frustrating, but endlessly compelling. She's also very self-aware. She recognizes the devastation left by her actions. She knows he isn't at fault. She has moments where she is very focused and rational. But the closer she gets to uncovering her past, the less she's willing to stop, to pull back, to stay safe and listen.

<i>There was only one way forward now. Ironically, it meant going backward first.</i>

I definitely suspected a cliffhanger with the way this story was unfolding. I thought for sure we'd be left waiting for this particular piece of the Pallorino puzzle to slide into place. But it was so nice to be wrong. While I definitely think I liked book one more, despite the subject matter, this second installment is so critical to tie up certain loose ends and start a new chapter for our leading lady. I really love where this book has left the characters, I love my theory of where Angie will go next (though I'm hoping we don't see too many changes, at least not right away..) and, well.. I can't wait to see what White offers up next.

4 "Crab Mafia? that's a thing? / sure it's a thing. everyone knows / I didn't know that was a thing" stars

*4.5 stars*

The Angie Pallorino series is really ramping up with this second book! I could not put it down, and finished it within a few hours. I absolutely think you need the first book before reading this one, however. They are very, very closely tied.

Angie's been placed on disciplinary action, demoted to a social media and school-visits desk, stripped of her weapon. She's supposed to keep her head down for the next twelve months, but when a child's high top sneaker washes ashore with the remains of a foot, she starts investigating anyway. She knows that this is a key to a past she isn't able to remember.

Maddocks is here too, investigating the sex-trafficking ring they discovered in the first book. But this book is really about Angie and the intricate puzzle of who she had once been.

I'm thrilled there's going to be a third book, and hope it has more of Holgerson in it. He's a weird character with quirks galore and a hinted at dark past. I want to know what that past is.

*Thanks to Montlake Romance and Netgalley for an ARC*

I absolutely love this series! It's so nice to read a sequel and the book still holds the same suspense and writing as the first in the series. Angie is a favorite character of mine and I will read any book with her in it such a feisty head strong women! Loreth's writing is so detailed and just flows off the page it brings you into the book.and you keep wanting more. I loved that the two story lines from the last book finished in this book. I was glad to see she wrapped up the conclusion of what happened to Angie with so much intrigue. By far one of the best series I have read in awhile. I would definitely recommend to suspense fans. If you have not read this author you are missing out her books are well written and frankly perfect. Highly recommend this series it is exactly what a thriller should be very suspenseful and a page turning read !!!!

Lullaby lyrics sung in a strange tongue haunt Angie. Hypnosis is shining a sliver of memory but her past abandonment in a hospital cradle at age four is a terror that keeps on giving. A police detective position is being ripped from Pallorino due to her over giving of bullets to suspect in prior The Drowned Girls. Rescue of six trafficked young girls who do not speak has Detective James Maddox and Kjel Holgersen scrambling for answers. White has an expert way of telling a story that even if it is two in the morning blurry eyes keep reading. Would have liked a bit more romance between Maddox and Pallorino and uncovering more about Kjel. "A copy of this book was presented by
Montlake Romance and author via NetGalley with no requirement for a review. Comments here are my honest opinion."

Lullaby Girl is book number two in the Angie Pallorino police procedural series . Author Loreth Anne White has done it again ! She is such a talented author! This has a great storyline and great characters , Angie's boyfriend and former partner Detective James Maddox and the mysterious Kjel Holgersen . This book takes up where book one ( The Drowned Girls ) left off , so I highly recommend you read the first in the series before this one . I loved this book !
Detective Angie Pallorino is on desk duty for 12 months after taking down a serial killer using excessive force . Angie is starting to remember bits and pieces of her childhood, especially a lullaby sung by an unknown woman. She uncovers shocking secrets about her past .
I would like to thank Montlake Romance , Netgalley and Loreth Anne White for the wonderful opportunity to read and review this ebook in exchange for my honest opinion. I'm so thankful. I will post my review on Netgalley , Goodreads, Twitter, Instagram and Amazon.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found Angie's continued story fascinating and engaging. I loved how all the different elements came together without it feeling stretched or far-fetched. The characters are well written and i hope there will be a third book i can read.

"Sometimes we think we're keeping secrets, but really, those secrets are keeping us."

When I learned that The Lullaby Girl was available through NetGalley I wasted no time and rushed right there and put in my request. I had to wait all weekend for my approval and the anticipation was killing me. I had waited for months to learn what happened in Angie's past and what was going to become of Angie and Maddocks' blossoming relationship, I couldn't stand to wait any longer. When my approval came through I dropped everything and began reading The Lullaby Girl and it certainly did not disappoint.

The Lullaby Girl is definitely not a stand alone, you MUST read the first, The Drowned Girls, in the series as The Lullaby Girl picks up right where The Drowned Girls finishes. When reading this I was reminded of dandelion seeds blowing in the wind, slowing landing in place one at a time, planting its roots, taking shape. That's what this story was like. There is definitely a slow build up this time around. I don't want to go too deep into the storyline for those of you that have not read the first in the series, so what I will focus on is Angie's personal struggle in this novel. We see Angie's world spiraling out of control. I really felt for Angie. I connected with her much more in this novel I think than I did with her in the first because of her career struggles. I too have gone through a similar struggle. You feel a sense of compassion for Angie because what she's really guilty of is being overly passionate and driven. Given some events that have taken place, Sergeant Vedder is given no choice but to terminate Angie leaving her with the last words of "Sometimes I think you want to self-destruct, Detective."

Self-destruct... is that what's become of Angie?

Fractured face
in the mirror,
you are my disgrace...
a sinner...

Angie is tormented, she doesn't know who she is anymore, she's not Angie Pallorino, not really, she's not a cop, she doesn't know who her real family is? Worst of all, she doesn't know if she's worthy of Maddocks' love... or even if she wants it?

Angie is left with no choice, she must move forward, and the only way to do that is to go back to the past, to go back to 1986, to the day she was left in that cradle on Christmas morning.

I know I've mentioned it many times before, but Loreth's descriptive writing is what really sets her apart as an author and writer. Her ability to set a scene is so completely astonishing to me. I am completely taken away when I read her novels. I'm lost... I'm taken there. Something else I've noticed after reading a lot of other novels this year from other authors is how well Loreth narrates a novel. I've never truly appreciated this until now. Loreth is truly a very talented author which is no doubt why she is my favorite author. I would not hesitate to recommend this series and any of Loreth's work to anyone!

5/5: The sequel to The Drowned Girls, The Lullaby Girl starts right where DG ended. Finally we find out who Angie Pallorino is and where she came from. Angie is such a complex character, tough as nails but also yearns for a normal life. Gritty and dark, oh so depraved, so many secrets are revealed. Another awesome novel by Ms. White! Thank you Loreth and NetGalley for the ARC!

The dark theme of the first book continues as Angie's relentless pursuit into finding out about her past comes full circle with shocking revelations and conclusion.

This books picks up where the last one left off – so if you haven't read the first book you will be lost on a few things. After taking down the serial killer in the last book Angie is now on probation – demoted to being the social media person for the police department. She wasn't having it. She finally got some big clue's to her past and she like a dog with a bone wasn't letting go until she had her answers. Even when it was becoming clear that ever thread she pulled was leading her further and further into the dark world of sex trafficking, mobs, and gangsters and more bodies piling up she couldn't stop.

In addition to Angie quest for the truth about her past – her lover and previous partner James Maddox is heading the team looking into the sex trafficking ring which the further they delve into its coinciding with Angie's investigation. James knows Angie is more danger now that ever before and with her stubborn pursuit of the truth its putting not only her job on the line but her life.

This was another dark thrilling ride to the end, with quite of few of the threads wrapped up I am curious to where the author will be taking Angie in future books. I am also dying to learn more about the mysterious and quirky Detective Kjel Holgersen.

Full review to be published online in early November.

I liked this one quite a bit; it was dark and gritty...and satisfying. A little slow in the beginning, but once I got into the book I couldn't put it down. By the end I was drained emotionally. This is not a standalone story, it picks up the threads from the first book of the series. The sex slave girls have been rescued; but now there are the masterminds of the sex trade in the ruthless Russian mob to find and bring down.

There was also the issue of Angie's unknown/unremembered and painful childhood memories, which are swirling in the corners of her mind. When she chances upon 30 year old police files, she jumps at the opportunity to deepen her investigation. She uncovers some shocking secrets from her past that could be perilous to her life.

Angie's professional life is also in shambles. After shooting ‘The Baptist’ from the first book, she is demoted to desk duty. Her relationship with Maddock is still occasionally tentative, but moving forward. He has been key to alleviating some of the darkness in her.

Kjel still has his secrets and demons, which White is still just beginning to unveil. Maddock has his own international crime investigation going, one which has a horrific tie-in to Angie.

This is some good stuff…I'm liking this series quite a bit. This is <I>not</I> RS; this is a police procedural crime drama, and the content is sordid at times. It hit the right buttons for me, though.

Instead of being hailed a hero for taking down a vicious killer, Detective Angie Pallorino has been assigned to desk duty. Her superiors believe Angie was a little too heavy-handed in her take down of the killer – she killed him. Now, Angie isn’t sure being a cop is right for her – if she can’t get rid of the bad guys, what good is she doing? It’s only when she gets interested in a cold case, that Angie feels a sense of purpose again. Her lover, James is busy investigating a sex ring, but when Angie’s cold case becomes linked to his current investigation, the two find themselves at cross purposes. James is worried Angie is becoming obsess with the case and fears for her safety, But Angie isn’t one to back down, no matter what the consequences.