3.5 rounded down (because I was bummed about the supernatural element).

Premise - a teenage boy is found dead in a small Maine town, a toad in a hole cut into his stomach. The murder matches a murder from 16 years ago so now Alex, an unlikely police detective originally from England, has to figure out what reactivated the killer. When a second teenage boy is killed in a similar fashion, Alex knows he has stumbled on a serial killer. Now he has to try to find the killer before any other teens, including his own teenage daughter, die.

This was well-written and immersive. It required some suspension of disbelief (Alex's path to policing doesn't seem super realistic), but was still enjoyable. I rounded down to 3, instead of up to 4, because (a) there weren't really any twists and I like to be a little surprised by a mystery/thriller, and (b) I was disappointed about the inclusion of a supernatural element. I don't believe in the supernatural, so when solving a crime depends on clairvoyant abilities it feels deus ex machina to me and that's a bummer. The vision(s) didn't totally solve the mystery on their own, but they drove the plot more than I'd like (which is zero) so that's why it wasn't a slam-dunk for me. I would definitely read books from this author again, though, because he's a skilled storyteller/writer!

📚 Series or Standalone: Standalone
📚 Genre: Mystery/thriller
📚 Target Age Group: Adult
📚 Cliffhanger: No

✨ Will I Reread: No
✨ Recommended For: fans of the Detective Kay Hunter series, the Havens Rock series, and JD Robb's In Death series

💕 Characters: 4/5
💕 Writing: 4/5
💕 Plot: 3/5 (because of supernatural element)
💕 Pacing: 4/5
💕 Unputdownability: 3/5
💕 Enjoyment: 3/5
💕 Book Cover: 4/5

Thanks, NetGalley and Celadon, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.