A killer is released from prison. A teenager goes missing. Did she run away or has she been abducted? Detective Ellie Reeves fears that this could be linked to an old murder case…
The Sleeping Girls is the 9th book in the Detective Ellie Reeves series. The case works as a stand alone book but there are personal relationship details that continue from earlier books.
Kelsey vanishes after arguing with her secret boyfriend. Her friends worry about her safety, especially after the release of intimate photos of the teenagers. She and her best friends were devastated by the social media trolling as well as dealing with tough problems with their families. Ellie Reeves needs to explore the risks that make the girls vulnerable while also trying desperately to find Kelsey.
The book is written from multiple third person perspectives. We witness Digger as he adjusts to life outside the prison and wonders about the past. Ellie is anxious to find Kelsey before it is too late. A killer plans his next victim, feeding off the thrill of his last attack. Ruby and June miss their friend whilst also dealing with their own home life issues.
The chapters are very short so the plot speeds along at pace. The girls’ unhappy backgrounds are very emotive and I also enjoyed the way the different viewpoints construct the narrative. The tension mounts as the plot develops. There are also personal elements to Ellie’s life as she considers her friendships and relationships. Other characters are also soul-searching about their choices and how these may impact their personal and professional lives.
The Sleeping Girls is a fast paced and engaging detective thriller.
The young girl looked so innocent, like a sleeping angel. Kelsey lay on a bed of white sheets, golden hair fanned across the pillow, eyes closed, pale lips pressed together. A white teddy bear was tucked under her slender arm… “My baby, she’s dead” her distraught mother choked out.
When the call comes in that fifteen-year-old Kelsey Tiller has gone missing from her bedroom in the middle of the night, Detective Ellie Reeves rushes to talk to her distraught parents. They tell her that Kelsey, a slender blond with green eyes and a timid smile, had plans to go shopping for her homecoming dress the next day, insisting she would have no reason to run away. But when neighbors report seeing Kelsey with a secret boyfriend, Ellie wonders how much Kelsey really told her parents.
Ellie is determined to find Kelsey’s boyfriend and interviews her friends and teachers at school. But just as she is making headway with the case, she receives some devastating news. Kelsey’s parents have received a photo of their daughter lying on a bed with white sheets over her body, skin ghostly pale under the freckles dotting her nose, her precious life snuffed out.
Desperate to find answers for those who loved Kelsey, Ellie studies the picture and realizes that her body has been posed in the same way as a teenage girl murdered ten years earlier. And when she learns Darnell, the killer in that case, has just been released from prison, fear crawls through her. Could Darnell have stolen another innocent life?
But just as Ellie thinks she has cracked the case, Kelsey’s best friend Ruby is snatched from her home, and Darnell has an unbreakable alibi. Haunted by Kelsey’s ashen face, Ellie knows she must race against time to find Ruby alive. And when she discovers one of her team is hiding critical information, she realizes she needs to act alone. But is she dealing with a twisted copycat killer or is the danger far closer to home?
A totally gripping and pulse-pounding crime thriller that will have you holding your breath as you race through the pages! Perfect for fans of Lisa Regan, Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh.
Author Bio
USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author Rita Herron fell in love with books at the ripe age of eight when she read her first Trixie Belden mystery. But she didn’t think real people grew up to be writers, so she became a teacher instead. Now she writes so she doesn’t have to get a real job.
With over ninety books to her credit, she’s penned romantic suspense, romantic comedy, and YA novels, but she especially likes writing dark romantic suspense and crime fiction set in small southern towns.
For more on Rita and her titles, visit her at www.ritaherron.com. You can also find her on Facebook/ritaherron.com and Twitter @ritaherron.
