The Ice Sisters by Rita Herron Also by this author: The Silent Dolls, Wildflower Graves, The Burning Girls, Frozen Souls
Series: Detective Ellie Reeves #10
Also in this series: The Silent Dolls, Wildflower Graves, The Burning Girls, Frozen Souls
Published by Bookouture on 25th October 2024
Genres: Crime, Suspense, Thriller
Pages: 404
Format: eARC
Source: from Netgalley
Goodreads
Shock slammed into her as she spotted the two little girls lying on the cold hard ground, snow swirling round their fragile bodies. Twins with button noses and heart-shaped faces, their pretty green eyes closed forever…
As the snow falls and a bitter wind blows, Detective Ellie Reeves is devastated to discover the bodies of two little girls, alone and frozen on an icy lake, in the isolated town of Cold Mountain. The girls are holding hands, with matching bows in their blond curls, and when Ellie realizes they are twin sisters, her heart breaks for their mother, who must be desperately wondering where her little darlings are.
But, back at the police station, she is horrified to discover that nobody has reported the sisters missing. Are their parents in danger too? When an abandoned car is found near the girls’ bodies, and Ellie learns that the female driver is in hospital, she prays that the injured woman will know something about the twins.
A DNA test shows that the woman in hospital is the twins’ mother Barbara, and Ellie rushes to interview her. But when Ellie arrives at the hospital she is faced with an empty bed. Barbara has fled and her house is abandoned too. As Ellie searches the family home, she is chilled to see there is no sign of any children. If Barbara is the twins’ mother, where are the toys and photos of her precious girls?
When another little girl disappears, Ellie knows that finding Barbara might well be the key to saving an innocent child. But who is Barbara running from? Or does she have something to hide? And with the clock ticking and a fearsome winter storm brewing, can Ellie find the truth before another innocent life is lost?
Thank you to Bookouture for letting me take part in this tour and for my copy of this book via Netgalley. This is the 10th book in the Detective Ellie Reeves series but could be read as a standalone.
This case begins with the 8-year-old twin girls who are found dead by Ellie during a hike. Ellie is gobsmacked to find they have not been reported missing. This then leads to a new investigation with a possible link to a car accident. The case is very complex and deals with many difficult topics but Rita does this with tact and compassion throughout. The story is heartbreaking from beginning to end.
Rita writes short chapters which make it easy to keep reading just one more. The story is very fast paced from the first chapter and never lets up. I love the multiple POVs and the headings for each chapter.
If you love a crime thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole way through then this is for you. Another great addition to the series by Rita.
About Rita Herron
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.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2024 Goodreads Challenge
- 2024 Netgalley Challenge
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