Thriller- Agent Tori Hunter Book 2

Savannah Devenish is kidnapped from her family’s cabin. Was the father involved or is sex trafficking the motive?

This book is full of action! I couldn’t put it down. There are high-speed chases, shootouts, bad business deals, affairs, and lawsuits. Tori is constantly chasing leads and seems to be one step behind the kidnappers. Steelhead really knows how to write a high-action screen that plays like a movie in your head. It deals a lot with murder, drugs, and sex trafficking if you are sensitive to those subjects. I would highly recommend this book to readers that enjoy a high-action thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

OUTSTANDING!

Wow! This series is fantastic. I was on vacay sight seeing so didn’t read. I finally got back to it and man what a ride.
I love Braddock and Tori. What a team!

DNF - 25%. I personally had a hard time getting into this novel. While i was curious about what happened, I didn't connect with the characters and got mired down in all the dialog and details. Perhaps if I had pushed through, I would have found the suspense I was hoping for but I closed the book a quarter of the way through - my curiosity didn't outweigh the slower pace for me. My thanks for the opportunity to read it.

The second book in the Agent Tori Hunter series. Was a great follow up to book 1 that had me gripped from the first page. The storyline had you hooked with lots of twists and turns

Teenage girls are being abducted with no trace of them left behind. Three girls have disappeared .. all about the same age, all pretty blondes.

Bringing back memories of her own abducted sister more than 2o years ago, Agent Tori Hunter and her team are facing a Minnesota snow storm of epic proportions. At odds with her team, Tori strikes off on her own. Following what clues there are left, she finds an abandoned cabin by a frozen lake. In the basement of this cabin, she finds bedrooms filled with clothing suitable for teenage girls.

But where are the girls? Have they disappeared forever? Is someone collecting them for some unknown nefarious reason?

The plot is compelling, the story line riveting. Suspense starts on the very first page of this action-packed page turner. The primary characters are solidly drawn and relate well with the secondary characters. i like the blend of professional with the personal in the relationship between Tori and her Detective boyfriend. Although second in the series, this is easily read as a stand alone, however, I highly recommend reading the books in order. (no waiting for book # 3).

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.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Very captivating with amazing character development. Girls are going missing and no one has a answer. This book is so full of twists and turns I was shocked at the end. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Another police procedural, I seem to be specializing in them, and Agent Tori was called in along with her partner Braddock.

My second book by the author, this was a fast action packed thriller which had every scene seeped in adrenaline. Both characters were well developed, I liked Braddock especially. The writing made the cases come alive, almost like the scenes of a thriller movie.

An exciting read, indeed.

The Winter Girls is the second book in the Agent Tori Hunter series. When 17 year old teenager Savannah goes missing Tori and her new partner Braddock are called in. I really love the characters and, just like in the first book, the story is fast paced and action packed. Can't wait for book three to come out!

Agent Tori Hunter is back, and I’m so very glad that Braddock is back with her.
This is one series where I almost like the secondary characters more than the main character herself. But more on that in a minute.
I love the way this author writes. The scenes are so descriptive that I feel like I am watching a movie in my head as I read. Even the sound effects of tires squealing or guns blazing have a place in the writing.
I appreciate that because it doesn’t seem forced or overdone. It simply becomes part of the action.
And oh, what action there is. Starting with the opening scene and carrying through to the very last pages, this one is a page-turner for sure. It’s even complete with one of the most thrilling car chases I’ve ever read.
(Yeah, that was an odd sentence to write – but it’s true).
I also thought that the balance between Tori’s personal and professional lives was good. In her case, they tend to meld together though, because her beau also ends up being a partner during investigations.
Which leads me back to Braddock.
I don’t want to get too personal, but he reminds me so much of my husband, that I drink in every word about him. Even down to his experiences with 9/11, it’s like the author interviewed my husband and built Braddock based on him.
It’s one thing to relate to a character, it’s another to feel like you personally know them. The latter is the case with Braddock for me.
In that regard, I guess I like Tori because she likes Braddock? I wish I related to her a little more – although I do have some of the same thoughts as her. As I read, I found myself thinking something and then she would say it a few lines later. That was kinda cool too.
Regardless of the personal feelings I have, this is just really a good story. I don’t want to give away any major plot points, but the author accurately portrays a very touchy, personal, and complicated subject.
It was obvious (to someone who has been through the process described in the book) that the author did copious amounts of homework to get the details right.
I guess that’s why I’ll keep coming back to Tori and Braddock. They’re the most personally relatable team of any of them out there. I can’t wait to see what they tackle next!

Overall this was an interesting case and I liked Tori and Will’s characters and their chemistry. However, the book was long winded and went off on tangents which distracted from the tension. I found a lot of the dialogue was unnecessary and long winded which made it a bit confusing. The team talked through every minor step of the case. The twists were pretty obvious and none of it was really a surprise. That being said it was an interesting enough story line to keep me reading and I was intrigued enough to see how it would end. It’s a good read I just think it could’ve been cut down a bit.

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

A tense and exciting thriller that kept me on the edge.
It's a gripping and entertaining story, the characters are well thought and the fast paced plot is full of twists and turns.
The plot kept me guessing and I like the solution
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was super suspenseful. The story was well constructed and fit together seamlessly. It may be a bit far-fetched, but for the sake of the story, you must go along with that. It is an original and fresh plot. The finale is absolutely breathtaking.

Review: The Winter Girls (Agent Tori Hunter #2) by Roger Stelljes
When seventeen-year-old Savannah Devenish vanishes from her family’s remote vacation cabin in Minnesota, FBI Agent Tori Hunter races along treacherous icy roads to be first on the scene. Savannah’s parents are frantic with worry for their beautiful, carefree girl. Haunted by memories of her own missing sister, Tori vows to do whatever it takes to reunite this family.

When the police uncover that Savannah’s father Jacob was having an affair, they suspect his involvement, but Tori is convinced his despair is genuine. Her close relationship with the chief detective means the team won’t listen, so Tori strikes off alone, persuading Savannah’s distraught best friends to share their secrets. It seems this ‘good girl’ was sneaking out to parties to meet up with a mysterious man…

Then another teenager is snatched from the street, snowy footprints and a discarded hot chocolate cup the last trace of her. The girls are the same age, strikingly pale and blonde. Is a twisted collector stealing them away? And what chance is there that they are being kept alive?

With a deadly snowstorm closing in, Tori battles the elements—and her own team—as she follows the trail to an abandoned cabin by a frozen lake. In the basement are bedrooms filled with clothes for teenage girls. Tori was too late to save her own missing sister twenty years ago, but can she find these girls before they disappear forever?

Review


The Winter Girls is the second book in the Agent Tori Hunter series by Roger Stelljes. Tori is a former FBI Agent currently residing in her hometown in Minnesota. Although not an active agent, Tori helps the local police department especially in cases dealing with missing children. In this story, Tori investigates the abduction of Savanna Devenish, a 17year old who was taken from her family’s remote vacation home.

This is quite a suspenseful read with action right from the first page. The action really never lets up as Tori and the other investigators are hot on the trail of the abductors. The story is narrated through multiple POVs including the investigators, abductors and the taken girls. I like the fact that although we get to know the baddies pretty early in the story, their motives are not revealed until the final chapters.

I enjoyed this installment and the action-packed investigation. I am not usually a fan of romance but I don’t mind what Tori has going on with the Lead Detective, Will. It adds to their character development without distracting readers from the well-written plot.

Bad snowy weather, isolated locations, international crime syndicate, this is a highly thrilling, captivating read. I recommend the Agent Tori Hunter series to all fans of this genre.

My thanks to the author, Bookoutre and Netgalley.
I like Roger Stelljies.
BUT? Yeah. It's not a subject want to read about.
I recommend the author. I hate the subject matter.

Another thrilling novel form the author contains the feisty, tenacious character of Tori Hunter. Easily read as a standalone but better if read in order to better understand the character and why she does what she does. Pacy and adrenaline filled pages seem to rush past you as you join Tori on the hunt for the missing girls. You also see more of her softer side as she is coming to terms with her growing relationship with Will and his son. Will she ever be in a place mentally to give herself totally to him after all she’s been through. Full of action and suspense the book takes the reader on nonstop journey through the investigation and the heart wrenching moments that litter the pages. With various offshoots of investigations going on the book layers up rather nicely to give the reader a well rounded experience of a carefully plotted story.

AWESOME police procedural, well written in a suspenseful plot with great main characters leading up to a terrific ending. First time reading this author but will backtrack to read the 1st & look forward to more. Enjoyed entirely & RECOMMEND fully. Thanks to NetGalley & Bookouture for this ARC in return for my honest review.

3.5 stars

The Winter Girls by Roger Stelljes is the second in the FBI Agent Tori Hunter series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


Series Background:    (Warning – May contain spoilers from previous books)
FBI Agent Tori Hunter finally solved the murder of her twin sister, and she has now returned to her home-town in northern Minnesota.  She is dating Chief Detective Will Braddock, who works for the Shepard County Sheriff's Department, and reports to Sheriff Cal Lund.  Cal is an old friend and mentor of Tori's from a time when her father was Sheriff.  


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Tori quit the FBI after her last case, and returned to her home-town, leaving behind her job, her condo, and New York City.  Will Braddock was the main reason, but she also realized that her job was not enough.  After her own kidnapping, she is seeing a therapist, and is currently teaching a criminology course at the local university.  She is in no hurry to make a long-term career decision.

When 17-year old Savannah Devenish is kidnapped from the family's vacation home,  Tori jumps in to help Will find this girl.  Although the police feel that Savannah's father is responsible, especially when they discover he had been having an affair, Tori is not convinced.  Friends admit that Savannah still smoked weed and attended parties without her parents knowledge.  She had actually been at the same party when another girl had gone missing.

Is it all about sex trafficking, or is there another reason for Savannah's disappearance?

Another girl will be abducted before everything comes to light.


My Opinions:   
I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had the first one.  This seemed long and drawn out, and went in a lot of different directions.  I found myself skimming.  As well, there were no real twists or surprises.  The actual motive for the kidnapping was obvious, as was the identity of the woman involved in the affair, and the fact that there was police involvement in the crime. There were just no surprises, as everything is laid out as you go along, and the connections start being obvious.

I liked the fact that it was told from multiple viewpoints, and I like the relationship between Tori and Will (although a lot of their interactions could have been cut out to make the book a little shorter).  I also like the fact that Tori is discovering herself.

There was a really good action scene at the end, and everything got tied up rather nicely.

Overall, it was good.

Awesome characters, great, action packed story! It takes awhile to keep track of the background characters, but it's not annoying.

This is book two with Agent Tori Hunter and her new partner Braddock as they race to find missing seventeen year old Savannah.
It was a great read and could be read as a stand-alone. Can’t wait for book three.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The second in the series and I found it to be just as much of a page turner as the first. Kept me hooked.