When female remains are discovered in the hills of Georgia, FBI agent Kimberly Quincy recruits Sergeant D.D. Warren and survivor-turned-avenger Flora Dane to join her federal taskforce. Have they at last unearthed the truth about Flora’s kidnapper? Or have they opened a door to something indescribably worse? It soon becomes clear that nothing in the small town is what it seems. Who can the taskforce trust? Who should they fear most? All the while, hidden from sight, one young woman fights to stay alive. Robbed of her voice years ago, she has one chance to reach out to Kimberly and D.D. – to be seen by someone who can help her – and to exact revenge for all the evil she’s witnessed. With the girl’s life hanging in the balance, Kimberly and D.D. must summon their skills to crack the most disturbing case of their careers – while Flora must confront her own nightmarish past once and for all. Powerful people thought they could get away with anything. They are about to be proved wrong.

In the midst of quarantine I had this novel gifted to me. I allowed it to sit on my shelf for a couple of months while I knocked off some other reads that I had lined up. My first time reading a Gardner novel and I am hooked! I knew going into this one that it was the eleventh novel in the series, yet, it read wonderfully as a stand alone. I was left wanting to read the whole series after I finished. This novel grabbed my attention from the get go and never let up until the end. In most novels I’ve read, I am confronted with slow burners or lack of character development, sometimes making for a difficult read. That is not the case with this thriller! I loved that from page one I was thrown into a wild world with more than one main character, while beautifully detailing each individuals experience in their own clearly laid out chapter. There was never a dull moment nor did I ever expect what would happen next. The character depth and growth throughout could not have been better, I loved watching each character blossom as the story unfolded until the most satisfying ending. In Gardner’s newest release you are introduced to FBI Agent Kimberly Quincy and Sergeant D.D. Warren. Each of these characters are from two separate series that Gardner has elegantly brought together in this merger of a novel. In the mist of it Gardner introduces Flora and Bonita as two other main characters whom end up developing the most throughout. Flora is the survivor of a horrid kidnapping, forcing her into over a year of being held as a sex slave. Flora is recruited by Agent Quincy and Sergeant Warren to help solve a case of unexplained findings. As the team arrives and their investigation begins, they are soon thrown into a darker world than they could have ever expected. A young girl they call Bonita knows the secrets of this small town yet lacks the ability to talk, trying to survive a secret evil with dangers of human trafficking all around. Who can the team trust and who is part of trade?

There really isn’t a single complaint I have about this novel. I absolutely loved everything about it, beginning all the way to the end. I greatly enjoyed Gardner’s writing style, it flowed effortlessly and was easy to follow. I enjoyed how each chapter was headed by a character, detailing mainly on their individual experiences or highlighting their place in the plot. This was without a doubt one of the best novels I have read all year, a true page – turning – thriller. This novel proved that Gardner is extremely talented in her genre of writing and will certainly continue to produce more masterpieces.

Up next: Christine by Stephen King