Little falls is written by a military veteran and can be considered as a raw exposure of the type of issues and realities the armed forces have to deal with, especially women who have to deal with these triggers. This gives a little more gravitas to the experience of the main character (PTSD), and makes you feel more part of the book.

A great premise and fantastic veteran representation! Quick pacing, smart plotting, and characters you really care about.

Great thriller that kept me turning the pages. Great story, great writing and characters. Really enjoyable and would read this author again.

In Little Falls, author Elizabeth Lewes weaves an intriguing dark noir mystery tale that follows military veteran Sergeant Camille Waresch as she takes it upon herself to investigate the horrific tortured death of nineteen year old Patrick Beale.

This dark noir mystery tale is set in Little Falls, Washington. Camille Waresch is a military verteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. She came home with the horrors of war, and has a hard time struggling with PTSD. She tries to get normalcy in her life with a job as a county property tax inspector, and owner of the local town mart. She is also trying to establish a relationship with her fifteen year old head strong daughter Sophie, but finds that she is lacking in mothering skills.

While conducting a property inspection at an isolated ranch, Camille finds the tortured body of local nineteen year old Patrick Beale hanging in the rafters of the barn. The grizzly scene sends Camille into a tailspin as her combat-PTSD comes back to haunt her. As Camille digs into the murder, she finds that her daughter Sophie is caught in the middle, and she is driven to the edge as her investigation leads her into dangerous territory, but she is determined to get her daughter back, and get to the truth behind the murder.

In her debut novel, author Elizabeth Lewes provides a multi-layered storyline that has enough mystery, suspense, drama, treachery, secrets, tension, and intriguing twists and turns that keeps the reader guessing, while weaving an intricate and complicated portrait of Camille's PTSD as her flashbacks to her military past intertwine with the present, providing a haunting quest to get justice while dealing with her inner demons.

Told in the first person perspective, Camille takes the reader along for the ride on her stealthy military-based investigative quest. This engaging noir mystery story has realistic characters; and an intriguing and tension filled multi-layered storyline that easily draws the reader into the interconnection between Camille's military past and the present, and how the pieces of the murder investigation puzzle comes together and is solved.

This was a sobering and very dark noir story to read. I couldn't help but feel for Camille as her PTSD kicks in after discovering the murder scene, and how she spirals into paranoia and is on edge as her quest to get to the truth of the murder takes over her life, especially when it becomes personal as her daughter is caught in the middle. The story alternates between Camille's flashbacks to her military deployment with the present, and you can't help but sit on the edge of your seat as you wonder what will come next. This was a very compelling debut story that definitely kept me turning the pages, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention that in my opinion, the conclusion was abrupt and left me scratching my head.

Little Falls is the kind of dark noir murder mystery that easily keeps the reader captivated, guessing, on their toes, and wanting more!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours.

https://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2020/10/little-falls-by-elizabeth-lewes-vbt.html

I’d never heard of the author before but this sounded like a good thriller. I really enjoyed this book. It’s the kind of thriller I enjoy the most; fast paced, full of twists and turns, compelling storyline and well-written characters. Camille is a great character; she reminds me a lot of Dex in the TV show Stumptown. She’s a complex person, suffering from PTSD, trying to hide from the horrors she saw in Iraq by getting a ‘normal job’ but struggling to keep it together, traumatised by her own experiences and choices. Her relationship or lack of it with her daughter Sophie is heart-breaking. Sophie is angry and brittle, understandably so. Camille abandoned her and thinks she can just turn up when she’s on the cusp of becoming an adult and act as if everything’s okay. She is angry and damaged and lashing out. Camille doesn’t help. She doesn’t ask her daughter what’s wrong or try and talk to her, she just gets angry and rages and threatens. They’re both broken and can’t help each other. Camille is warned off sticking her nose in but refuses to listen and endangers everyone around her. This is a compelling read.

This novel was a little dark for me. The heroine, Camille is a troubled woman and inadequate mother to her young teen. She certainly suffers from PTSD and that is portrayed well. She makes many wrong decisions and says things she shouldn't up to the very end. That just did not sit well with me. I like characters who, though deeply flawed, try to be the best they can be. I did not see much of a character transformation here.

I liked the location in my native Washington State. I do wish Lewes had described the area a bit more. The Okanogan has a beauty all its own and descriptions of the farm lands and hills would have added to the uniqueness of the setting.

Though the plot is quite character focused, there is a great deal of action in the novel. I appreciate Camille pursuing the safety of her daughter and getting into all kinds of dangerous situations doing so. I did find the flashbacks to her military experiences a bit confusing, just as they were to Camille.

This novel travels through the darker side of a drug cartel. It is for readers who like a deeply flawed heroine obsessed with finding out who murdered a young man in a manner eerily similar to a death she had seen on her military tour.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Little Falls was more than a murder mystery story. It used that story to delve into PTSD, dealing with past choices, and readjusting to normal life after military service. Parts were a little hard to read. Camille is trying to adjust to her new life and finding a hanging and tortured man triggers the experiences she had in her time in the service. Regardless of that, she cannot let it go.

This book is short but heavy on some subjects that many may find triggering. Be aware of that and you will find an engrossing story that deals with life, death, assault, torture, drug use, and family estrangement. Elizabeth Lewes really goes all out for her debut novel.

Really, really enjoyable. Love reading about the broken strong women putting their lives together Camille is a character I really enjoyed. Full of action and suspense you won't put it down until the last page. Happy reading!

Returning home from her deployment in Iraq, Sergeant Camille Waresch is working for the county and adapting to civilian life. Her daughter is now fifteen and has no intention of listening to Camille. Doing an inspection for the county, Camille finds a young man hanging in a barn…a young man who has been tortured. This flashes her back to a time in Iraq when she witnessed a young soldier that was killed in the same manner. Or is it her PTSD? Camille can’t leave the investigation alone and is warned by Sergeant Darren Moses to stay out of his investigation. When she is threatened and worried about her daughter’s safety, Carrie takes matters in to her own hands. The back and forth flashbacks to her military tour of duty made the story confusing at times. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

Camille is a flawed character and the author did an excellent job in portraying her. The plot is well crafted and interesting. It was an enjoyable read.
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Camille's trying to keep it together as best she can after returning from Iraq. She's conquering her addiction but the demons of her PTSD resurface more than she, or anyone would like. She's trying to rebuild her relationship with her teenage daughter Sophie who is also grieving the death of her grandfather and is, in general, what one might expect from a teen in her situation. Out one day to do an assessment as part of her job, Camille finds the hanging body of Patrick, who has also been tortured. When Sophie confesses that she dated Patrick and then disappears, Camille goes on a hunt for the villain. This has lots of drama as well as an excellent portrait of a determined woman. There are good atmospherics but know also that there is violence. No spoilers from me but this one has a good pace and excellent tension. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A great debut and excellent read. Looking forward to more from Lewes (and the end of this suggests there might be a follow up).

Little Falls is Elizabeth Lewes' debut novel, a thriller of epic proportions that merges together the past and the present into one intense read.

Sargeant Camille Waresch's life hasn't been the same since she came back from Iraq. She tried to put it all behind her, but life doesn't work that way. Now she's juggling two jobs, an estranged daughter, and PTSD, all while trying to live a normal life.

All of that was before she found the body, of course. Everything changed that day, as Camille found she couldn't let go of a case that shouldn't have been hers. Still, something made this body personal – beyond her being the finder, that is.

“Then something...snaps. Fragments. It just happened. Here. In the barn. Flakes of snow are melting on my jacket; they're damp on my numb fingers.”

Warnings: Little Falls touches upon several heavy subjects. Torture and murder the probably the most dominant, but there are also implications/references to drugs and statutory rape. Then there's Camille, who is very clearly experiencing strong PTSD.

In a world drowning with new thrillers, Little Falls somehow manages to stand out in the crowd. Camille's story is one that demands to be read, with raw intensity and emotions bursting from the pages.

Honestly, it was refreshing reading a book that had a solid grasp of PTSD and other concerns of that nature. It's really hard to portray, especially in a way that feels so organic. And yet, that is exactly how it felt in this novel. It's hard not to feel for Camille, even as she continues to dig herself deeper and deeper into this hole of a mystery.

Lately, it feels like I've been struggling to find a thriller that I can really dive into, so you can imagine how happy I was to get sucked into this tale. Regardless of how dark it became.

Little Falls is a story that hints at the conclusion, right from the start. From there it's really all a matter of explaining what happened – and why. It's a novel full of twists and turns, yet the reader can arguably suss out the conclusion before it occurs. It's all tightly woven together, with Camille's path almost feeling inevitable by the end.

At least, that was how it felt while I was reading it. It was like she was on a journey she couldn't turn away from. All while I was watching, unable to look away from what she was about to do next. Clearly, this book got into my head.

Truth be told, I'm still processing the end a little bit (despite the hint towards the beginning about how it would all unfold). I think that's a good thing, but there is still a lot to take in about what happened. A lot that was left unsaid. I wonder if this novel will become a series? Or if it will stay a standalone piece?

This was a tense but somewhat odd mystery. I was drawn in to the world where Camille Waresh lives. She is a Vet who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and came home with PTSD. She had left her infant daughter with her parents when she joined the service. But now with both of her parents gone, she is struggling with connecting with her now 15-year-old daughter.

Camille works as an assessor for her county. One day she discovers the hanging body of a young man when she goes to look at a property. The death brings back memories from her time in the service. One of her soldiers was also found hanging in a derelict building. The current investigation has some eerie similarities with the other one. Camille becomes sure that the two events are connected.

Camille begins her own investigation into the death of the young man who was a former boyfriend of her daughter. But she faces all sorts of problems not the least of which is that she is swept up by flashbacks to her time in Iraq and suffers memory losses. Also causing problems is that her daughter seems to be involved in the conspiracy Camille discovers. She also faces attacks on her property as she investigates. And evidence and documents disappear which could be a function of someone cleaning up the evidence or could be that she just imagined this evidence in the first place.

Many things indicate that Camille is looking back at the events of her investigation but the story doesn't indicate how she got from the time of the investigation to the time when she is looking back at it. The ending came as a complete surprise to me. In fact, I turned the page thinking that there had to be more to the story - that it couldn't end like that.

There were many things I enjoyed about the story. There was certainly a lot of tension that built and built. I thought Camille was an interesting character. I just wasn't sure I could trust what she saw or did.

Little Falls is a fantastic suspense. An edge of your seat page turner. This will keep you guessing. I received an arc from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

I was not a fan of the writing of this book. I didnt even make it past the first chapter. I'm not sure how to describe the writing, I think it was lacking in dialog and too heavy on weird descriptions.,

Camille Waresch is back from Iraq and is trying to reestablish a relationship with her teen aged daughter. But when Camille finds her daughter's friend hanging by a rope in a barn, the victim of torture, Camille worries that Her daughter might have gotten mixed up with the wrong people. But when Camille realizes that that things she saw in Iraq might have followed her home, things get really complicated. Good, well-written, fast-paced read.

The book starts fine, with Camille finding the tortured body of a young man. She suffers from PTSD, and has flashbacks of a similar finding of a body in Afghanistan. A lot of characters, most unpleasant thrown at the reader, and didn’t know who to trust. Most I didn’t like, especially the teenage daughter. Still, I liked it enough to read to the end. Ends with a cliffhanger though, which I did not expect or like. I like continuous series, but like each book to be more complete. Would recommend, but wasn’t my favorite.