This is a well written thriller with a few caveats. The main stories are pretty ridiculous in the whole "that could happen" sense. I appreciate that Hayes has given us a main character (a female sheriff with a history of bad choices with a dangerous ex) who is generally strong, likeable and competent. There's good insight into the forensic aspect of her work and there's also a nice sense of place in the rural Montana resort area where it takes place.

The crime is one of those stories you'd see on a show like Alias, not something that you'd really see happening in a small Montana town, even one that brings in the very rich for its tourist trade. The bad guy is also straight out of a bad cable show, although I appreciate having a psychopathic career criminal who is short, thin and physically weak even if he is capable in other ways. Yay for diversity? 😉 Two different women (his current wife and the sheriff) are stronger, taller and more capable at fighting and shooting than he is, which is refreshing in a genre where bad guys are typically supernaturally strong, big and expert at all violence.

The whodunnit was a bit weird and unsatisfying. The ending was also rather abrupt. This is listed as #1 in a new series but a bit of wrap-up would still benefit the book. I would happily continue reading the series though, and enjoyed the secondary characters who are likely to start playing larger roles in upcoming books.

I received a digital ARC of the book for review.

Nicole Cobain, a former police officer and now sheriff of Toole County, Montana, is investigating the death of a young girl at a lake in the middle of winter. Nicole and her young son live here in hopes that Nicole’s ex and the father of her child, stays away from them. The young girl that died was involved in a medical test that her father was conducting and big pharma execs are competing for the rights to the research. Somehow Ben, Nicole’s ex-husband, is involved in the bidding and shows up on the scene. What follows is a harrowing rush to solve the crime and protect Nicole and her son from Ben. This was a page turner.

If you like a good Whodunit you will enjoy this book.

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

I love a good police procedural and this one started off great. Girl found dead in the middle of a frozen lake. Lots of forensic considerations with the snow. She's from a rich family, there are drugs...who did it? And then the side story of the ex-husband was strange and a little "too much". Main story: great. Side story: odd. Solid three stars.

This story is a clean police procedural with a strong female lead. I have to say that I became very fond of the victim and was not happy when the fate was determined. There were several suspects and several confessions, to the point that I didn’t really believe the murderer when it came to light. Thankfully, the author reiterated it later so that I was not confused. The author also wove a sub plot in to the main one to add layers of interest. I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more from this author.

This mystery by Emery Hayes is not one to forget, The cases needing to be solved by Sheriff Nicole Cobain and her investigators, little do they know the twist and turns! Although the character development was strong, definitely need a sequel to this book.

Thanks to Netgalley, Pub, and Hayes for this oppurtunity.

Wasn't sure what I was expecting, but was an average mystery. I felt the characters were a little wooden though, and would have liked to see more depth and details. Not a bad start to a series, but expected a bit more. Would recommend, but not my favorite read this year.

I am not sure what I want to say about this book. I enjoyed parts of it. It wasn’t good nor bad. Kind of just middle of the road. Didn’t hate it.

If I was just rating this on the police procedural parts it would get a solid rating. Very detailed and Sheriff Nicole Cobain and her team were good investigators.

But it was lacking in character emotional depth. The main bad guy inner thoughts, reasoning for revenge and how he spoke were not those of a grown man. The teenage son spoke more mature than he did. And again he reasons for wanting revenge on Nicole were both weird and lame. And the icing on top was the abruptness of the ending of the book. Very unsatisfying. Needs a epilogue.

I can see the potential in this author/series but this genre is already saturated with with some great authors so to complete you need to bring (write) your a game.

The book started off well and it was fairly interesting. It read well and flowed swiftly. The downside is that all the characters feel stiff and pretend there’s no life and just feel flat. The whole villain/murderer wanting revenge is a bit too cliched and just comes across as a bit juvenile and not believable. I am sure it will find a respectful market but for me it leaves me cold.