A solid read with a bit f paranormal and mystery intertwined. Some of the characters are hard to make a connection to, but the plot is solid and moves along nicely.

Piper, a sketch artist for the Dixon Police Department, is gifted in more ways than one. During an interview one evening she falls into a trance and when she comes to she discovers a sketch she has no memory of drawing. She also knows exactly where to find the man she has just drawn; however, she cannot convince the police to act on her premonition. Piper embarks on her own crusade to catch the Dixon Demon and barely escapes with her life.

After five years running from her abilities, the Dixon Demon has returned and Piper is sucked back into Dixon and all of its horrors. Can she help catch the Demon or will her inner demons prove too much to bear?

Townsend had me hooked right from the start in this supernatural crime thriller. Every time I thought I had it figured out I would get hit with another unexpected twist. I stayed up all night to finish reading. Sketched was my first novel by Townsend, but definitely will not be my last!

sketched by E M Townsend.
Fledgling police sketch artist Piper Cooke has always been different.
Gifted with second sight, but cursed with a life of tragedy, she has survived the feral streets of Dixon and has triumphed over her troubled upbringing. Piper faces her biggest challenge yet, however, when her visions compel her to disobey police orders and send her right into the wicked grasp of a madman.
a absolutely fantastic read. loved Piper. she was my favourite character. how she was it was eerie. gave me goosebumps. couldn't put it down. I love a book when you can't put it down. 5*. would give more if I could. A must read and I would highly recommend this book.

A fantastic crime thriller that is unique and will have you on the edge of your seat! This is definitely a must read! Highly recommended!

Real edge of the seat thriller could not put it down characters are well developed and the plot moves along nicely

This was a fast read that really kept me on the edge of my seat. I read it in one day. It was fast paced and sometimes intense. I enjoyed every minute!

I loved the concept of Sketched. You’ve got a police sketch artist who has an ooky spooky second sight connection that allows her to go into trancelike states where she’s able to draw photograph quality portraits of people who (with the exception of her mother) she’s never seen before - while she’s blacked out.

After a face and location are revealed to her via her supernatural connection, Piper winds up face to face with Dixon’s very own serial killer, the Dixon Demon, and survives (barely). She then goes into hiding eight hours away from her hometown.

Fast forward five years and Piper’s ability is stronger than ever. The Dixon Demon is back in the business of making townsfolk disappear and Piper is drawn back to her hometown to face her own demons as well as the elusive Demon.

Several eating disorder varieties and alcoholism are integral to the storyline and if you’re squeamish, beware, there will be vomit. I found the eating disorder origin story of one character in particular very interesting and enjoyed seeing it weave its way throughout the story.

I found the story intriguing and entertaining. I really enjoyed the atmosphere the author created. There’s a dark, creepy foreboding that follows you through the book. I wanted to continue reading to learn more about the killer’s motivation and how the various threads were going to be tied together. However, I had some problems with the characters in this book, mostly due to my lack of connection to any of them.

When someone dies during the book, my response was, ‘oh, okay’ and that wasn’t okay with me. Usually I’d be outraged or ecstatic or would at least have some sort of feeling about it, especially when they were an important person in another character’s life, but I didn’t.

The serial killer was unusual in that their victimology changed during the course of the book. While their motivation remains fairly consistent their crime scenes reflected a mix of organised and disorganised elements. I enjoyed learning their backstory and connecting the dots to discover how this person became so freaking messed up.

They are a huge fan of the baddie monologue and take mother issues to a whole new level. Take my word for it: this mother could probably teach Norma Bates a thing or two. I really liked that there were three characters with various mother issues in this book, all responding with their own versions of lashing out and engaging in self-destructive behaviour.

I never really understood the role of Piper’s psychiatrist. While he’s still advising Piper (mostly to actually eat a meal and not drown herself), his role appears to be more Boy Friday than anything else. He’s the chef, the executive assistant, the friend, the babysitter.

I wondered why one alcoholic got the DT’s at a certain point when the alcoholic that was with them at the time didn’t. It’s also noted that a body is too decomposed to be identified using dental records. My forensic knowledge is amateur at best but I thought teeth were one of the best identifiers when a body is decomposed.

I found some of the sentence structure awkward. One portion of a sentence, as an example, read, “their flashlights the only light source of light.” (76%) Although to be fair I read an advanced copy so it’s likely that sentences like this were remedied prior to the book’s release.

Favourite sentence: “What if she finally surfaced only to find herself still submerged?”

Had I connected to the characters this book would have been a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. As it stands I’d rate Sketched 3.5 out of 5, but am rounding up. I’m interested in reading more books by this author.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley (thank you so much to NetGalley, S. Prescott Thrillers and BookBuzz.net for the opportunity) in exchange for honest feedback.