Gwen Hunter - Rapid Descent

The kayak trip was supposed to be a honeymoon. But when Nell and Joe Stevens are caught in a flash flood, Nell is swept under, trapped and looses consciousness. When she awakes, safe on shore, she finds a note from Joe, explaining that has gone for help. He never returns.

The search that follows raises more questions than it answers. About the family he never mentioned, who arrive in Nell's sleepy hometown. The enormous inheritance. And worse, the question whispered by locals: is Nell responsible ?

Always hoping for Joe's return, Nell tries to put the rumors behind her. But as years slip past, Nell craves answers. She takes to the river again in search of the truth and finds that jealousy, desperation and deception can pull you under faster than churning water - and you may never resurface.

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Six years ago Nell Stevens husband Joe promised to get help for his injured wife after a kayak accident. he never returned nor was his body discovered by a search and rescue team.
Today Nell runs a river company specialized in kayaking and guided tours, her precious son turning out just like his father Joe.

Orson Lennox was just a young police man when he took part in the search and rescue team looking for Joe. Today, after an injury, he's one the verge to decide to either quit police work or go into the cold case squad. He asks for a job at Nell's and begins snooping around with Nell still being the prime suspect.
But there are other interesting leads he discovers. People with a motive. Not as strong as Nell but still.

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Rapid Descent is a cozy mystery / slightly romance novel where the reader doesn't need to think too much and can enjoy the story unfolding.
The first part about Joe's disappearance and the search for him took a huge part in the book and could have been a but shorter, leaving more space for what happens in the present.
Otherwise enjoyable and relaxing.

Rating:
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Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Mira (February 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778326217
ISBN-13: 978-0778326212

Gwen Hunter - Sleep Softly

Four little girls - each blond, each on the verge of adolescence - stolen from their families.
Their bodies discovered months later in shallow ground surrounded by trinkets they never owned, clutching a scrap of paper they bearing a cryptic verse.

As a forensic nurse in rural South Carolina, Ashlee Davenport Chadwick acts as both caregiver and cop, gathering evidence from anyone who arrived in the local E. R. as the result of a crime.
It's a tough job, both physically and emotionally draining, but deeply satisfying.

Then a child's red shoe is discovered on Davenport's property. The evidence leads Ashlee to the body of a missing girl and her work suddenly invades every aspect of her life.
An an expert and a witness she must call upon all her resources. And when the killer's eye turns to her, she becomes intimately involved with a crime that tests her mind and her spirit... and the price of failure will be another child's life.

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Out in the county of Columbia, South Carolina, where family values are still very high lives middle aged Ashley Davenport Chadwick, longtime nurse, lately working as forensic nurse.
When one of her dogs brings her an unusually toy for a game of fetch she first thought this is nasty until she takes a second glance at the red sneaker her dog brought her. It isn't only the smell that's suspicious, inside she find a little toe with a colored nail. A little girls toe.

From there on Ashley's huge family is suspect in a murder investigation and Ashley is invited to join the task force together with Jim, her pretty fresh FBI boyfriend.

Girls are kidnapped and dead girls are found on different Chadwick graves or monuments.
How's putting down little girls, leaving them together with a blonde ballerina doll and a poem on self made paper ?

TV and newspaper cover the serial killer's story and Ashlee comes into the killer's focus. She might just be the perfect person to play the role of the mother in his gruesome, insane game.

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An enjoyful suspense thriller with a small lovestory that doesn't intrude or hurt the main plot.
The strong sense of large family and settings make this book an unforgettable dive into the Southern living mixed with some funny slang and strong family values.
The plot is gripping and the whole book a great work of suspense, uncommon for the romantic genre.

Rating
Visit Gwen Hunter.

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Mira (February 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778324648
ISBN-13: 978-0778324645