Book Review For THE DEAD GIRL by Debra Webb

4/10/2018

Former L.A. homicide detective Laney Holt walked away from big city crime after a shooting she couldn't put behind her. With L.A. in her rear view mirror, she accepted the position of deputy chief of police in a small picturesque paradise called Shutter Lake. Nestled in a peaceful valley surrounded by the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Shutter Lake is the perfect small town filled with pleasant, charming folks. The crime rate in Shutter Lake is zero...at least until the dead girl is found. The shocking murder shakes the town to it's very foundation.

Laney's past comes back to haunt her as she delves into the investigation of who murdered beautiful, young Sylvia Cole. But Laney's secrets aren't the only ones revealed as one by one the cracks in this perfect town start to show and the facade of perfection slowly begins to breakdown.

Four Strong leading female characters, four different points of view to the murder in a small town and to the secrets revealed while solving the case, the Breakdown series is written by four suspense authors and introduces a new kind of serial novel type of series, each book with a new leading lady, published only a week apart from each other.
The Dead Girl delivers a riveting start to the intense suspense. The small town, where everyone knows each other, has a friendly vibe to it until Laney Holt starts the investigation to the murder of one of their own, Sylvia Cole. The more Laney digs into the past and life of Sylvia, the more secrets seem to be hidden, since no one can be as perfect as they say Sylvia was. Something is not right, the clues are right there but Laney has to figure out the direction they are pointing at. And while Laney is digging into the secrets the townfolks are hiding, her own secrets from her past are coming to the light as well.
The story starts with the dead body and from the investigation flows fluently off the pages, escalating the tension and keeping the interest high until the explosive ending that made me want to jump directly into the next book of the series.
Well written sharp suspense tale with vivid images, strong female lead, and mesmerizing plot wrapped around a murder in the small town of Shutter Lake. A potent start to the series.
~ Four Spoons

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DEBRA WEBB is the USA Today bestselling author of more than 140 novels, including reader favorites the Shades of Death, the Faces of Evil and the Colby Agency series. She is the recipient of the prestigious Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Romantic Suspense as well as numerous Reviewers Choice Awards. In 2012 Debra was honored as the first recipient of the esteemed L. A. Banks Warrior Woman Award for her courage, strength, and grace in the face of adversity. Recently Debra was awarded the distinguished Centennial Award for having achieved publication of her 100th novel.

With more than four million books in print in numerous languages and countries, Debra’s love of storytelling goes back to her childhood when her mother bought her an old typewriter in a tag sale. Born in Alabama, Debra grew up on a farm. She spent every available hour exploring the world around her and creating her stories. She wrote her first story at age nine and her first romance at thirteen. It wasn’t until she spent three years working for the Commanding General of the US Army in Berlin behind the Iron Curtain and a five-year stint in NASA’s Shuttle Program that she realized her true calling. A collision course between suspense and romance was set. Since then she has expanded her work into some of the darkest places the human psyche dares to go.