I really like the Agent Nikki Hunt series. It has so far proven to be quite well written, captivating with solid characters. In this case, Nikki is investigating what at first appears to be a cold case. Skeletal remains were found at a construction site. What’s worse, they were found by Nikki’s boyfriend, Rory and he knew the victim. I was immediately drawn to the case and wondered how it would affect Nikki especially as her previous case was quite personal too.

This was a multi-layered case with a number of connections. We have buried skeletal remains from different years in the past and missing girls at the present time. I was curious to find out the connection between the different cases and this had me invested in the story until the final page.

This was yet another stellar addition to the series. Although the investigation was still at the forefront, this was more of an emotional read due to the nature of the crimes and the victims. Nonetheless, it was beautifully written and captivating. I can’t wait for the next book.

I have read the previous books in the series and this latest addition didn't disappoint. Filled with great characters and a well plotted story.

I love this series! They remind me a lot of the Women’s Murder club Series. They are fun fast reads and I love the main characters. I’m already excited about the next book! I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Quick read with lots of twists and turns. Nikki is solving a few different cases that she realizes may all be related. A predator is taking kids and young teens, impregnating them and killing them. When a body from the 90s turns up, Nikki has to find out who the killer is. The twist, her current boyfriend Rory was the victims high school sweethearts and the last person to see her alive.

This was my first Nikki Hunt book and I definitely want to check out others now. Fast-paced read and overall I'm really happy with it. Thanks NetGalley for the early copy of the book!

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the chance to read The girl in the ground by Stacy Green. This is the 4th book in the NIkki Hunt series and continues shortly after book 3 as Nikki is just going back to work.
When a girl’s skeleton is found at a construction site, Special Agent Nikki Hunt is called to the scene Nikki knows instantly that the girl was murdered, but she is shocked when her boyfriend Rory immediately recognizes her. The victim was his childhood sweetheart, Becky, and he was the last person to see her before she went missing twenty-four years ago. Nikki soon finds a connection to two other missing cases when another girl goes missing. Can Nikki solves this case, prove Rory is innocent, and save the girl? I totally enjoyed the twists and turns in the latest installment!!!

FBI agent Nikki Hunt is due to return to her job when her boyfriend Rory discovers a body at his construction site. It soon becomes clear that Rory could have a motive for killing the woman but could there be a link to Nikki's first case back which involves human trafficking?
The Girl in the Ground is the fourth book in the Nikki Hunt series. I have previously read and reviewed book 2, One Perfect Grave. There are some spoilers about events that must have occurred in book 3 but it was easy to catch up with Nikki and her family.
Nikki has been on a career break to cope with recent events. Now she is back into the thick of it with a case that makes her question the behaviour of her lover Rory. The discovery of his ex girlfriend and his potential involvement in her death gives a great emotional pull as Nikki tries to negotiate the personal and professional.
The human trafficking plot is also very emotive as a pregnant woman goes missing. She is acting as a surrogate to a wealthy couple and the birth is imminent. The connection with past abuse and trafficking could be upsetting to some readers. A face from Nikki's past is acting suspiciously as he asks for her help with the case. She is bombarded from all sides by secrets and maybe lies...
The Girl in the Ground is an entertaining thriller with a strong female lead who has a complicated home life.

The Girl in the Ground by Stacy Green is the forth book in the Nikki Hunt series and what a brilliant series of books this has been. I have been gripped from the very first book called The Girls in the Snow. I have always found with Stacy's books, once you start to read them, you become apart of the story, you just want to find out what happens next. So be warned not to start her books before you go to bed or you have something planned!

All the characters within these books are excellent and all fit in well within the story.

Looking forward to the next instalment of this Nikki Hunt series!

I highly recommend these books! 5 Stars from me.
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Series in order;
1. The Girls in the Snow
2. One Perfect Grave
3. Lost Angels
4. The Girl in the Ground

Big thank you to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Nikki Hunt series is an absolute delight! I have read all three of the previous ones in the series and the fourth installment does not disappoint. It was absolutely gripping, and a superb page turner!

The skeleton of missing girl Becky is found on the grounds of a construction place Rory is working. This brings back memories Rory has tried to forget. It doesn’t take long and he is climbing on top of the suspect list in the eyes of the sheriffs office. Nikki knows he isn’t capable of hurting anyone and stands firmly beside him. But Rory’s actions make him more suspicious and then he isn’t answering his phone.
What a ride! I love this series and the characters. After finishing a book I can’t wait for the next one to come out.

Title: The Girl in the Ground
Author: Stacy Green
Genre: Mystery/thriller
Rating: 3.8 out of 5

She was beautiful: shiny blond hair, crystal blue eyes and the widest smile Nikki had ever seen. She thought back to what she had seen in the ground, the dirt that caked the white bones. All that remained of her now was the silver locket that was still around her neck…

When construction workers unearth a girl’s skeleton in Stillwater, Minnesota, Special Agent Nikki Hunt is called to the scene by her boyfriend Rory. Nikki knows instantly that the girl was murdered, but she is shocked when Rory immediately recognizes her. The victim was his childhood sweetheart, Becky, and he was the last person to see her before she went missing twenty-four years ago.

With the love of her life now a potential suspect, Nikki is forced to take a step back from the case. But then her colleague Liam finds lies in Rory’s statement – it appears that Becky may have been carrying Rory’s child when she was killed. Despite this, Nikki still thinks he could be innocent, and knows she must find the real killer herself if Rory stands any chance of walking free.

When Nikki finds a potential link to two pregnant girls who were found murdered years before it’s clear that this is the most twisted killer that she has ever faced. And then another girl goes missing from Stillwater. Can Nikki unearth the truth and protect the man she loves? And will she find the missing girl in time to save her life?

I read this entire book before I realized I was ambivalent about Nikki. I didn’t dislike her, but I didn’t actually care about her, either. This was a solid read, but I don’t know that I’d pick up any more books in the series. That is clearly just my own personal issue, not a testament to the writing quality. There’s a lot going on here, and sometimes I felt like the connections didn’t quite make sense, but it did keep my attention.

Stacy Green lives in Iowa. The Girl in the Ground is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Bookouture in exchange for an honest review.)

I love when your reading a series and every single book is perfect! Nikki and Rory are back!!! I could not be more excited to see another book in this series. Did Rory kill his ex and baby? Nikki uncovers a serial killer living among them for years and Rory is on the hunt to find out the truth about what happened to his ex. So many twists and turns. Loved this book!

Thanks to Netgalley, publisher and author for a copy of this book.

Highly recommended. Finished this book within the day, it was engrossing!

5/5

I appreciate being able to read this book, it being the 4th in the series thus far, as Nikki is a very interesting character instead. Tough but vulnerable, hardworking and a loving mother at the same time.

Nikki has had some time off after the death of her ex-husband but what a case to get stuck into on her first day back!!! A skeleton is found and it belongs to a young woman who was last seen by her current boyfriend, Rory.

The case is complex and there are some characters in this novel whom I didn't really like, but it speaks to the talent of the author that I felt this way. I really love that Rory's mother is stepping up as a grandmother to Lacey, even though they are not related by blood - should be more of that in the world.

4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

Special Agent Nikki Hunt is called to her boyfriend’s construction site when he unearths a chest containing the decomposed body of a woman. As the investigation continues, it turns out that Rory, Nikki’s boyfriend, has a connection to the victim and becomes a person of interest in the investigation. Given that Rory’s brother Mark was once wrongfully imprisoned, Rory doesn’t trust law enforcement and he starts to become more and more withdrawn. With Nikki forced to step back from the investigation, and Rory becoming less and less cooperative with the authorities as time goes on, Nikki has to wonder whether her boyfriend is capable of something she had never imagined. As time goes on, links from the dead woman to another of Nikki’s cases emerge and suddenly, Nikki has to face the fact that Rory could be at the centre of something much more sinister than she had imagined.

“The Girl in the Ground” by Stacy Green is the 4th book in the Nikki Hunt series of novels, and I can definitely tell that I was coming into a series cold and I would have done better to read the earlier books in the series before jumping in here. I definitely don’t think it is an easy ride to read this book first because there is a lot of build-up and many existing character relationships that pull into this installment with very little introduction. I felt very much the outsider in a lot of these cases, not always knowing how characters fitted in or not knowing what major events the characters were recovering from, which seemed to be part of previous novels.

That all being said, I tried to read this book without worrying about the previous relationships and the prior plot points, and just enjoy this one for what it was. Unfortunately, I struggled to do even that. For one, the main plot of the book seemed to be divided into three disparate parts: the first was the case of the body found on the construction site, which took over the beginning of the book. The second part of the book introduced a kidnapping case that completely relegated the first case to the sidelines and was written with absolutely no links to the initial case apart from the fact that the same agents seemed to be involved in both of them. Finally, in the third part of the book, all the totally different plot points seemed to be rammed together to try and draw a holistic conclusion. I felt that the book ended up being a bit forced and I felt that there wasn’t enough effort put into linking the story together. Some people may feel that the conclusion is clever, but I just felt that this was a story of two halves that were then clumsily smashed together when it became clear that the book was reaching its word count goal.

I also felt that the characters weren’t believable in their reactions and behaviour throughout the book. Characters such as Justin Nash baffled me in that his reactions to situations seemed to range from competent FBI agent to hormonal 13-year-old boy at the drop of a hat. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the way that characters just bounced backwards and forwards, which made it very difficult to relate to the characters on a human level. I started to get frustrated and irritable more than drawn into the story, and this coloured my experience of the book as a whole. The most frustrating part of this all is that these characters are forensic profilers and are meant to be experts in psychology, but somehow they don’t spot the glaringly bizarre issues with their coworkers and just work with them as if this is normal behaviour.

That being said, the book had an interesting premise, and the back story of Nikki Hunt as an FBI profiler was definitely one that I was drawn to. I have read books about profilers by other authors and loved them, so I was excited to see another more psychologically-driven investigation, rather than a forensic step-by-step CSI-type story. On this side of things, the book delivered, even with the faults mentioned above: the plot was driven by interviews and discussions with characters, and piecing together behavioural clues rather than always relying on forensic evidence. Of course, there is a fair amount of that, too, but I found that the angle of “The Girl in the Ground” was more character-centred, which was a welcome change from the standard police procedural novel that it could have been.

Overall, this book didn’t impress me, and I don’t know that I would try another of Stacy Green’s books, just based on the fact that I felt that there was more that took me out of the story than drew me in. Perhaps future books will be better, but I will wait until I get a recommendation to try the next one, rather than seek it out myself.

Thanks to Bookoutre and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for a review.

Wow ! A deliciously intense and addictive thriller that you won't soon forget ! I loved this book ! Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this book ! Opinions are solely my own ! #Netgalley #Bookouture #TheGirlInTheGround

Wow, I loved The Girl in the Ground! Stacey Green really draws you into her stories seamlessly. Her characters are all relatable and Nikki Hunt is wonderful as an FBI agent. You really should read this novel and I'm hoping there will be more Nikki Hunt stories!

crime-fiction, psychological, thriller, PTSD,Minnesota, murder, FBI, suspense, triggers, true-horror, survivor's guilt, children-in-peril, death-investigation, series, law-enforcement, procedural, cold-case****

Nikki had to recuse herself from the case brought to her from a construction site because there was a connection to her current boyfriend (even more of a nightmare because his parents were minding her daughter while she worked). Lots of personal trauma, lots of horror in the backstory, and way too many triggers for me to enjoy reading. I have friends who will love it, but it's not for me (sorry).
I requested and received a digital ARC of this book from Bookouture via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you

This is the fourth Nikki Hunt, FBI Special Agent, book
And to get into it only just a moment took.
Her construction worker partner, Rory, is shocked to discover
The skeletal remains of a soon to be mother.
When that turns out to be his childhood sweetheart
Into the investigation Nikki can take no part.

However, when an agent she knew many years ago
Requests her help, she'll have a go.
He's looking into trafficking of young girls
And soon links start to unfurl
When a surrogate Mum goes missing, too,
You hope she'll be able to come to the rescue!

With her lover a suspect can Nikki show
He isn't the killer and the true one know?
What an enthralling read this proved to be
I hope you'll try it to see if you agree!
For my complementary copy of this book, I say thank you,
I throughly enjoyed reading it and this is my honest review.

Book 4 in the Nikki Hunt series. I've you've not read books 1 to 3 do so before reading this review or book.
New release

Nikki gets a call from her boyfriend Rory bones have been discovered his latest construction site. Nikki is only just returning after the death of her ex husband but understands the importance of this building site for Rory and rushes to the scene. To everyone’s surprise the remains belong to Rory’s high school sweetheart who has been missing for over 10 years. Rory is the prime suspect and isn't making himself look innocent as he tangles himself in a web of lies.

I absolutely love this series and I have always been a massive fan of the way these books are written. This was one of these plots where I honestly had no idea who the killer was or the motive behind the murders. By the time I had worked out the motive, I still didn’t really know who the killer was. I enjoyed the fact that Rory is the prime suspect regarding his ex girlfriends disappearsnce and i couldn’t for the life of me work out why Rory was so obviously lying. It would seem neither did Nikki. I liked as well how Stacey Green managers to have two parallel investigations running at the same time and the reader will only get bits and pieces from the second investigation.

The main investigation for Nikki is regarding a missing surrogate. A young woman who is 9 months pregnant disappears, the biological parents of the baby fear something is wrong and don’t believe she would run off with the baby. As they are friends with the chief Nikki is called in as a favour, but she’s convinced there’s more to the story and she doesn’t know why but she’s convinced it’s linked to the bones in the construction site.
I will say the biological parents are some of the funniest characters I’ve read in a while complete deadpan funny not intentional (think I have a warped sense of humour ).

I also enjoyed how the book included a new face this time with a FBI agent who believes he knows the connection between the motive and murder. I thought as I was reading about him that maybe I should have known more about him previously but the more I read the more his character came into play and it was quite funny reading how he really rubbed Nikki up the wrong way throughout the entire book. Again a bit like Rory he has ulterior motives and is clearly lying about something the question is what is he lying about and why?

It was really interesting reading this book in the aftermath of Nikki’s husband’s death. Not only is Nikki dealing with the loss so is her daughter, I believe Stacey Green does a great job at depicting grief. Plus I really like the fact that Roy’s parents are more actively involved in helping her daughter as they previously hated Nikki. The blossoming relationship between rory’s mum and Nikki is new as they always had an awkward and often stanf offish relationship. When they are slowing starting to see they were all victims of the corrupt sheriff at the time. With Rory’s youth back to haunt him and he starts to go down a dangerous path. Both his mother and Nikki fear he will do something he can’t return from.

All in all I really enjoyed this latest instalment in the Nikki Hunt series and I’m looking forward to book #5. To start I did find everything got a bit complicated and I found myself struggling to keep up with what was going on at points but once everything was smoothed out in the second half of the investigation I found myself more engaged and excited to find out who our mystery killer/ killers could be. I also wish we were able to hear a little bit more from Rory in this book as he plays such a pinnacle role in the story but I understand the authors choice not to let that take the focal point away from Nikki. I rate this book 4 stars it’s enjoyable it flows nicely from the previous book and it is interesting case. If you enjoy books by Lisa Regan, DK Hood, B.R Sprangler etc you will enjoy this series

Thank you to netgalley, Stacey Green and bookouture for the digital advance copy of the go underground in exchange for my fair and honest opinions. This review can be found in part on my blog @jazzreadsreviewsrepeats (instagram)

Special Agent Nikki Hunt was due to return to work the next day after time off following horrific incidents in her recent past, when she was called by her boyfriend Rory, to his work site in Stillwater, Minnesota. He’d injured himself and was at the hospital, but his foreman had called when their excavations had turned up bones. Rory wanted Nikki on the scene. But what followed when the skeletal remains were completely unearthed, was a dreadful shock. Rory recognized the necklace – it belonged to his old high school girlfriend, and he’d given it to her – she’d been missing for twenty four years.

When Nikki’s boss called her to an upmarket home where the owners had reported a pregnant woman missing, the race to find her was on. She was only ten days from delivering the baby, and her safety, and that of her baby, was paramount. Gradually links to other skeletal remains as well as the current find, plus the missing woman came to light. But could Nikki find the missing woman before it was too late? Could she prove Rory’s innocence, as he was the last person to see Becky alive? What would be the outcome in this dark and twisty tale?

The Girl in the Ground is the 4th in the Nikki Hunt series by Stacy Green and I loved it. Fast paced, gritty and intense, Nikki is a well-grounded and resilient character, and her small daughter Lacey is a delight. In her first days back at work, she certainly had it thrust at her! I’ve always enjoyed Ms Green’s work, and this series is up there with the best. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.