I absolutely love to discover new authors and Kathryn Casey is definitely a new author for me. Having enjoyed reading 'The Fallen Girls' as much as I did, I can guarantee that I will be reading more of Kathryn's work in the future. I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'The Fallen Girls' but more about that in a bit.
I liked the character of Detective Clara Jeffries and I took to her from the start. She's a bit different to the sorts of female lead detectives that you usually find in crime novels. For the early part of her life, she lived in what is described as a religious cult. Clara broke free and left the cult but since that time, she has had no contact with her family. Clara has made a new life for herself and she has been a detective for some years now. She is a feisty lady, who has a habit of extracting information from reticent people. Clara gets the sorts of results that other detectives can only dream of. Clara is driven, compassionate, sensitive, caring and stubborn.
I have to honest and say that 'The Fallen Girls' has to be one of the most memorable books I have read in a long time, which is in part due to the fact that the author tackles the subject of religious cults. I immersed myself in the story from the moment I first picked the book up. I had only intended to read a couple of chapters but I ended up enjoying the book that much that I read significantly more than a couple of chapters. I became addicted to 'The Fallen Girls' from the start. If I wasn't reading the book, I was thinking about the book: if I had to put the book to one side for any reason, then I would immediately look forward to being able to pick the book up again. I needed to know how the case concluded and so I had to keep reading and turning those pages over at a fast pace.
'The Fallen Girls' is extremely well written. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fast pace throughout. The author certainly knows how to instantly grab your attention and then she takes you on one hell of a journey. Come chapters are written from Clara's point of view and the other chapters focus on the other characters. The different chapters interlink really well and the story flows seamlessly as a result. I felt as though I was part of the story myself and that is thanks to Kathryn's very realistic and vivid storytelling. I was gripped by the story and on the edge of my seat throughout.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'The Fallen Girls' and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers. I will definitely be reading more of Kathryn's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

Many years ago, Detective Clara Jefferies left her hometown of Alber, Utah for a new life in Dallas, Texas. She left her family and their way of life behind and never looked back. Then, she gets a call from an Alber detective, who happens to be an old friend, telling her that her younger sister Delilah is missing. For the first time in a long time, Clara is going back home to help in the search for Delilah.

Clara’s mother won’t have anything to do with her and refuses to even talk to her. To add to the mystery, her family won’t help the police or even admit that Delilah is missing. They claim she is away and there is nothing to investigate. When Clara learns two more girls are, also, missing and then a dead body is discovered, Clara is not dropping this investigation. Show vows to find her sister and the other girls.

There are so many facets to this story - a polygamous community, kidnapping, mystery, family drama and second chances. It moves along at a fast pace. I was hooked from page one of this book.

It is an intense storyline filled with realistic characters, which kept me at the edge of my seat until the very end. I thought I figured it out early on, but I was wrong. There was so much more to this storyline than I realized. A truly captivating book that would make an exciting movie.

Detective Clara Jeffries was raised in a polygamist community with 3 mothers and multiple siblings of one sort or another. Being physically abused by her father led her to leaving the community and her family secretly. She never looked back.

Receiving a phone call from the deputy sheriff in her hometown asking for her to return, she at first says no .. until she's told her younger sister has disappeared. Clara does return to the scorn of her family and other members of the community.

Worse.. her family denies that her sister is missing. Supposedly she's on a mission with another family, although she's only 12 years old. Other than the deputy who called her, law enforcement resent her presence and does little to help. They, too, believe the young girl is not actually missing.

But what Clara discovers is that other young girls have gone missing over the years. No one has been looking for them. Clara is absolutely positive that something evil is happening and she's determined to find the answers.

And then a young woman's body is found .......

This was like a peek through the curtains of a polygamy community .... the way they looked after each other .. the way they have nothing to do with outsiders .... the way men and women view each other and how they are a law unto themselves. Its also a look at how our roots and how we were raised affect every decision we make .. right or wrong.

It's well written with skillfully drawn characters. Clara makes a terrific series character and I really look forward to seeing more of her. Lots of action leads to a terrifying, surprising ending.

Many thanks to the author / Bookouture / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The characters evolved gradually with their back stories throughout. This crime novel was a page turner. I look forward to reading the next in the series.

This had me in all kinds of emotions. Set in Utah with Mormon families is a disturbing book. But in a way that makes you keep reading. Men having 3 wives and children with all of them. How a family of Mormons runs the town and even some bad cops.
3 girls have disappeared and the families don't want to find them thinking they are a disgrace and left the community. Reading this makes you see this like a cult and I wanted to take the children and run.
Detective Clara Jeffries left when she was a teenager and never looked back. Now her sister is one of those missing girls and her family has shunned Clara and will not talk about her missing sister, even to the point on saying she ran away and not part of the family. Clara has a lot of memories from her childhood and she has to deal with them while investigating things going on.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

Brilliant start to a series. I loved Clara as a character and her back story makes this an intriguing and interesting case. The plot was really good and well thought out. I liked the writing style and hope that there are more books to come.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Well!! Let me tell you, The Fallen Girls by Kathryn Casey was a ride, and I think it was a great way to start a series!

A lot of the book had to do with Detective Jefferies facing her past, and there is a lot of clashing with her family and the other Mormon families that live in their fictional small town in Utah. I thought there was still enough detective work going on though that it had the feel of detective fiction mixed with some police procedural. It's definitely heavy on Clara's past though and it was nice to start out the series with a decent amount of backstory on her.

There are a few different viewpoints which I enjoyed, although I think one gave a little too much away and made it easier to figure out who the culprit was before the end of the book. Even though I managed to figure it out, there were definitely still some surprises I didn't see coming and it didn't take away from how much I liked the book. The pace was steady, and the different viewpoints kept things both interesting and suspenseful, and I ended up staying awake late into the night to see how it would end!

I really enjoyed Casey's writing style and lucky for me she has a nice backlist which I plan on digging into as soon as I can. I liked the Mormon aspect of the book as well and found it very interesting to read about. The Fallen Girls is the perfect choice if you are looking for a suspenseful crime/detective fiction novel that does a great job introducing the main detective to the reader. I know I will be anxiously looking forward to more books about Clara and I can't wait to get to know her even better!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

😊 This twisty, exhilarating crime thriller had me guessing as it jogged along. I thoroughly enjoyed The Fallen Girls, a deeply engrossing tale of mystery, concealment and suspense. The book is narrated mostly from two viewpoints, those of Detective Clara Jefferies and her half-sister Delilah.

Detective Clara Jefferies has been at Dallas PD for three years and is very much respected as one of the toughest members of the team, working on some of their most difficult cases. Growing up in Alber, Utah, Clara used to belong to the Mormon community and has spent years avoiding her hometown. Now though, she has heard that her sister, Delilah has vanished and she knows that she must face up to her past and go home. Upon her return, Clara finds that her mother, Ardeth has isolated her family by moving to the edge of town. Ardeth won't talk to the police or to Clara believing that their community can protect their own. When Clara finds out that two more girls have disappeared, last seen near her family’s home, she realises it’s not just Delilah who’s in danger. But can she break through her mother's and the rest of the community's wall of silence before it is too late?

Kathryn Casey has a very appealing style of writing, the characters she created were very credible and I certainly became invested in them as the story progressed. For me, Clara came across as someone with great tenacity and passion for her job, as well as possessing a strong sense of justice. The abuse Clara endured while she lived in Alber was touched upon but not fully explained in detail.

The Fallen Girls was a well plotted and comfortably paced mystery that certainly kept me turning the pages as it touched upon the life within a polygamist community. The story zips back and forth between the two protagonists, providing an interesting contrast between the sisters, building a complex, layered story of twists and turns, and also giving a tone of apprehensiveness and foreboding. The various unfolding of events and revelations make the book even more absorbing. This is a mesmerising story of concealment, hatred, lies and harboured secrets, with other undesirable themes thrown into the mix such as prejudice. The ending leaves the reader considering what Clara might decide to do and provides the perfect pathway into the next instalment.

Would I read more from Kathryn Casey? Yes... the author is obviously a very good writer. 😊

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel at my request from Bookouture via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

The Fallen Girls by Kathryn Casey is definitely a gripping police crime thriller. Clara Jeffries who escaped from Albar many years previously and vowed never to return is a successful police officer living her life how she wants. The day comes that she receives a telephone call from an old friend from Albar informing her that her younger sister is missing. Clara immediately rushes back to Albar to aid in the search. Upon arrival she discovers while much has changed, her fanily has not.Her mother refuses to talk to her and she is stonewalled by law enforcement.These things do not stop her when she hears about 2 other disappearances and a body is found.Clara keeps pushing to find out more.
The Fallen Girls is an interesting read about a section of society I do not know a lot about. It made the book seem as if it was set in an rural, old fashioned era even though it is current times.It is told from dual viewpoints, Clara and delilahs, so we see the contrasts betweem the young rural girl and the worldy, experienced Clara.
I enjoyed the story and the learning of the way of life of the communities in the story and could understand to a degree why thwy acted in the book as they did. I am glad Clara was stubborn enough to follow it all through, even though she is seen as an outsider upon her return.
A great book with an engrossing plotline and characters that struck a chord with me. Thanks to Bookouture Books-On-Tour for my blog stop on the Blog Tour and Netgalley for the copy of the book.

Wow, so from the blurb I never expected this story to be based around Mormons! This made this story so so interesting, so interesting in fact, I’ve ended up doing my own research on it and me and hubby have had a number of chats about what I’ve found out!

I have to admit I had hardly any knowledge on Mormons before this book, only really that they had a very distinct way of dressing and are very private, but I learnt so many shocking facts about their way of life from this book and from my research! And from the research I’ve done and by the authors notes in the back of the books she has done an amazing job of accurately portraying their way of life!

Now I don’t feel I need to explain the story line in this review as the Author has it written perfectly in the blurb!

BUT I do want to talk about some of the characters!

Clara the main character is the Detective who goes back to her home town to track down her sister! I really love Clara, I cannot wait to read more from this series and learn more about her! This book gives a really good base to get know Clara and where she’s come from, the struggles she’s faced (which are so very tough, much tougher than many of us have ever had to face) and why she is how she is! She’s such a strong minded and powerful woman, who doesn’t back down, even if it gets her in trouble, she know what she wants to do and needs to do, and she’s not afraid about answering to bosses to get what she wants! She’s incredibly clever and I just find her character so likeable and I even felt for her!

Max I felt for so much, even though he really frustrated me at times and I wanted to shout at him for Clara, I could understand his reasoning completely! But his choices could have put other people in danger! He’s a doting father who made a life changing mistake and is clearly still struggling to come to terms with that!

Now Claras mother I just couldn’t even find myself to like at all, I understand their way of life and how strongly they believe and how when children leave they are just abandoned and disowned but after all that Clara does in the story and still her mother is just awful to her! Being a mother myself I just couldn’t imagine treating my children how she treats her!

Now the story isn’t that fasted paced but it’s constant and steady, which I found a change from what I usually read, but Clara is persistent throughout the book pushing to find her sister, and finds little clues all the way along, it’s mainly the very last bit of the book where the sudden dangerous build up and climax takes place! I loved the setting of this and it made it quite spooky and I could picture it perfectly which I thought was fascinating!

In the end I found the ending sad, yet hopeful, it left me wanting to know what Clara chooses, where she is going to end up, what’s going to happen next, and it’s left me wanting more!

I did find some of the twists in this book a little predictable, It didn’t stop me from enjoying this book and I really did love how the story was based around a completely different way of life, other than your standard mass murderer in America or the UK that for me is just so blooming clever!

So although the pace of the book held me back a little bit on my rating, I did over all enjoy this book so ….

I give this book 3.5/4 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ for a completely amazing setting, an original idea, amazing characters, and a steady and constant action filled chase which is a good base to start off a new series!

I really enjoyed this book once it picked up. The beginning was a slow burn in my opinion but looking back now it helped build the background for this new series! Definitely looking forward to the next book to see where Clara will be!

This is very different from the other crime/thriller books I normally read. While it was based on a polygamy town in Utah, it somehow is very interesting to learn about what possible could go on in these types of places.

A clever police procedural. Kathryn Casey has written a smart and compelling story. Often I struggle with police procedurals, but not this one. I was completely invested from the creepy cornfields to the satisfying end. Clara is a police officer in Dallas, she is summoned home by her old crush Max to investigate the disappearance of her sister. But the folks and her family living in her small hometown are not excited to see Clara. Clara was raised in an isolated polygamist society in Utah and once she denounced her faith she was shunned. Now one of Clara’s many sisters, Delia is missing, and nobody is willing to talk. Where is Delia? And why did Clara leave this town years ago?

I have to say this book drew me in from the start. These creepy cornfields I could just feel and hear the wind running through the corn stocks. *shiver* The author did a really good job with creating a sense of place in this book. I found the structure of this polygamist society quite fascinating. Clara was a likable and interesting character and I’m looking forward to getting to know her better in future books. Max her old crush was a sweet guy and I’d love to see more of the two of them together. All in all this was a well done engaging start to a series.

This book in emojis 🌽 🔦 📿 👩‍👧

*** Big thank you to Bookouture for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

Hands down, one of the most unique settings for a crime thriller that I have ever read, this book had me enthralled from beginning to end. Clara Jefferies is a detective to root for, not only because she is an intelligent investigator, but because she escaped a life that would have sent her in a completely different direction. I found the perspective to be thought-provoking. the dialogue was crisp, and the interactions kept everything the investigation moving forward. I especially appreciated that the author kept me guessing until the very end. Definitely recommend this new series. For a full review, please visit Fireflies and Free Kicks. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital ARC of the book.

This is my first time reading this author and I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to see what happens in this series and need to check out other books from this author.

Detective Clara Jefferies gets a call from an old friend that makes her decide to do the one thing she said she would never do, go home. Clara comes from a polygamy community and has several brothers and sisters and things happened that made her decide she needed to leave and someone helped her. Doing so makes her an apostate and shunned by her family so she hasn’t seen any of them in a while.

She gets a call from Max who was once a ‘lost boy’ those in the community who are turned out because they can’t have more guys than girls there or they would run out of wifes to add. He is now the Chief Deputy and Alber his hometown is part of his jurisdiction. They get a note about Delilah is missing, this is one of Clara younger sisters.

Clara finds out her father has died and now it’s just the wives and her mother is the leader and refuses to talk to Clara about Delilah’s disappearance. She keeps saying that she isn’t gone. The police in Alber believe her mother when she says that Delilah went on a mission trip with another family but she won’t give out the information.

Clara knows it’s a lie and can’t understand why nobody wants to help her find her sister. She finds out from Hannah, the lady who helped her, that there are a couple of other missing girls. Clara uses tactics that are not welcome in the community and is always being told to go home. Max is having a hard time because he wants to help her but needs his job at the same time.

I really found this book to be interesting mostly because I don’t know anything about polygamist and can’t say I understand any of it. I have never watched nor cared to watch Sister Wives so I thought this was kind of a refreshing mystery because I got to learn a bit about some interesting people. There way of life though really aggravated me because they could have saved some girls lives if they wouldn’t have been so close minded about their beliefs, though there was some things in that that I got but still it was frustrating.

I liked Clara as a character because she was pretty flawed. She came from a hard background and because of some things that happened back when she was younger it has effected her relationships with people in general but especially men. Max was also a decent character and flawed. He is a widower raising a young girl who was in the same accident that killed his wife and he feels very responsible for what happened and wants to be a good father but also wants to do right by his job.

I thought the mystery was well done even though I figured out who the killer was and kept arguing with the MC that she was wrong…lol. I do think it had a few slow spots but once the first body is found it really picks up and was pretty quick to finish.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery. I am curious to see where this series goes.

The opening scene of this book gave me chills….. actual chills!!

Another new author to me, Kathryn Casey certainly knows how to weave and plot a truly gripping book with characters you start to care about.

My heart really went out for Clara, imagine finding out that your sister has been taken, your family refuse to talk to the police and now you…… utterly heartbreaking!

The family is very secretive, but then so is Clara – but that’s what drew me to wanting to know more. I was baffled at how a community was willing to brush so many things under the rug, things that definitely shouldn’t have been.

The story is written perfectly, drawing you in line by line. Eager to know more but also had you worried about what was about to unfold. I did want to know what had Clara turning her back on her family and community, hopefully this will unfold in the coming books.

The perfect way to kick start a new series, I’m already wanting more and can’t wait for book 2.

Detective Clars Jeffries #1

No one knows Clara Jeffries background. She left her past behind to join the police. She had been brought up in a mormon community where polygamy was rife. She has many siblings, some were born after Clara left home. Clara is now a Detective. When one of her siblings is abducted, Clara returns home to try and find her missing sister. Bit there is more than one girl missing. And Clara finds out the town's dirty secret. There's a serial killer and Clara will not stop until she finds him.

This is a dark story but it still managed to suck me in from the beginning. I was somehow strangely fascinated by it. It's interesting and covers a subject I haven't really read before. The pace is steady. There's quite a lot of characters, some of them we ight meet again in future stories. This is my first book y Kathryn Casey but it won't be my last. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and the author Kathryn Casey for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The adage “You can’t go home again” is certainly proven here. The Fallen Girls centers around Clara Jeffries. Clara escaped from a horrible situation in her polygamist Utah community. She tried to build a life in Dallas as a homicide detective, but had trouble putting the past behind her.

When childhood crush Max Anderson calls with the news her sister is missing, Clara returns home to help with the case. Once there, she faces ostracism from her family and friends for daring to live outside the faith.

In the race to catch a serial killer, Clara must come to terms with her past and attempt to move on. The author offers a unique look into polygamy and how our roots affect every decision we make in life.

I highly recommend reading The Fallen Girls, book one of the new Clara Jeffries series.

Thank you to Kathryn Casey, Bookouture, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Absolutely amazing. I read a lot of crime thrillers but this one stands out! While it has all the elements of an outstanding crime thriller: heartracing pace, superb plot, believable characters, tense and absorbing build-up to an absolutely brilliant climax, it also has one thing that is so very special: heart. Beautifully written. A stand out, stunning book. Read it!

She didn’t notice the corn stalks shiver a few feet to her right. By the time she looked up, the man towered above her. In a single movement he wrapped one thick hand around her waist, the other he clamped over her mouth, muffling her screams. Detective Clara Jefferies has spent years running from her childhood in Alber, Utah. But when she hears that her baby sister Delilah has disappeared, she knows that the peaceful community will be shattered, her family vulnerable, and that that she must face up to her past and go home. When Clara finds out that two more girls have disappeared, all last seen around the cornfields near her family’s home, she realizes it’s not just Delilah who’s in danger. And then she gets a call that a body has been found…
This is the first book I’ve read by the author & found it a well written page turning read with plenty of twists & turns. This is also the first book I’ve read about the Mormons so found the insights into the community very interesting. I liked Clara who had to face her past & had to deal with a wall of silence. I look forward to more books in the series
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

The Fallen Girls by Kathryn Casey: This an ARC from Netgalley, pub date is June 3, 2020.

Wow, this book had me from the prologue!

Clara Jefferies a well known and respected detective in Dallas with a reputation of being able to solve cases by getting suspects to spill thier guts better than anyone else. Her life is her work, and leaves little time for anything else. That is, until she gets a disturbing phone call from an old friend (Max) from her home town in Utah about a missing girl from a polygamist community. A 12 year old little girl, who happens to be her half sister, Deliliah. Clara is desperate to help find her sister before it's too late, but her family and the whole polygamist community is angry with her for abandoning and running away from her family, and they refuse to help her, or even speak to her. Something sinister is definitely going on within the whole community and no one is talking! Clara has her work cut out for her, with the life of her little sister hanging in the balance.

First off, I love the cover of this book. It definitely depicts the descriptions of the setting given by the author. This book was intense and very suspenseful, and difficult to put down, it had me on the edge of my seat. If you're looking for a mind bender of a crime novel, this is the book for you! Definitely a 5 star read for me! Thank you @Netgalley for allowing me to read this advanced e-copy!