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Be Mine Forever
DK Hood
Thriller
368 Pages
Published February 24, 2021 by Bookouture
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Gray clouds gather overhead as she runs along the dark road. Not a soul is out in the storm, or so she thinks. As the vehicle pulls up alongside her, she sees a familiar face behind the wheel and thinks she’s safe. Little does she know, she has just put herself in unthinkable danger…
When local cheerleader, Laurie Turner, goes missing after practice and her bright red pick-up truck is found abandoned by the side of a quiet road, Detective Jenna Alton fears the worst.
Visiting Laurie’s family house, Jenna senses that the teenager’s home life isn’t as perfect as her father would have people believe. Quick to temper and full of hatred towards Laurie’s mother, Dr. Turner doesn’t seem to know the first thing about his own daughter, let alone how long she’s been missing for.
With the clock ticking, the whole town takes to the streets to find the missing girl and, after a frantic search, a terrible discovery is made at the bottom of an old mine shaft on the outskirts of town. Laurie’s pale body is totally still and Jenna is sure somebody in the local community is her killer.
When another cheerleader goes missing, Jenna thinks that someone close to the school is picking the teenagers off one by one. As she talks to the other students, it becomes clear that there are plenty of people who’d like to silence the girls forever.
Then her own deputy David Kane comes face to face with the murderer, and Jenna has to race to save him. Can she do so before it’s too late? Or will another young life be taken?
If you enjoy Lisa Regan, Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot, you will love this unputdownable crime thriller from The Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author D.K. Hood.
**Each Kane and Alton book can be read as part of the series or as a standalone**
My Review
This is the first book I have read by this author, and I was unaware it was a series. Hood’s 11th book in the series surrounds Sheriff Jenna Alton and Detective Dave Kane and reads very well as a standalone.
Do I want to go back and start from the beginning? You betcha! I LOVE a good series!
This book opens with the murder of Laurie Turner, a popular local high schooler in a small Montana town. As in most thrillers, there is a large cast of characters who all fall under suspicion at some point along the way. We meet Laurie’s unlikable father, as well as Jenna’s police colleagues, in addition to the other townsfolk who appear on our periphery. When the murders continue to occur, Jenna and Dave must work together to solve the crimes, while assuming everyone is a suspect. These killers are smart; they don’t fall into traditional “patterns” and elude Alton and Kane for pretty much most of the book.
As the story progresses, Hood introduces us “new readers” to her characters. Some have obviously re-appeared from past novels, as memories are shared between Jenna, Dave and others. New characters are introduced as well, such a brilliant, dark-haired Zac Rio. (Do I smell a future love triangle?)
Reminiscent of Karin Slaughter, Hood keeps us on track by dividing the book into days. While I thought the book was a bit unrealistic at times (all loose ends are neatly tied up and explained by the end of the story, as well as some incredibly savvy technological ideas), it was really quite good. It exuded the small town “Castle” feel, with a touch of “Criminal Minds” due to the ruthlessness of the killers. Hood does a really good job of giving us *just* enough gore without overdoing it.
What I loved was that the author begins the story with the murder and feeds us crumbs throughout. This allows for smaller “A ha!” moments, instead of trying to guess the ending the entire time. The ending, however, IS good, although I don’t know if I would call it “heart stopping” as described.
Overall, a book good enough to guide me to the first in the Alton-Kane series, “Don’t Tell a Soul”.
Thank you, Book Review Crew and Bookouture Book Tours for this opportunity to review this book!
Author Bio
I’ve always had a wicked sense of humour and was the kid who told the ghost stories around the campfire. I am lucky to have family all over the world and have spent many vacations in places from Paris France to Montana USA and Australia. I use the wonderful memories from these visits to enhance my stories.
My interest in the development of forensic science to solve crime goes back many years. I enjoy writing crime, mystery and thrillers. With many stories, waiting for me to write I’ll look forward to sharing many spine-tingling stories with you.
D.K. Hood is an active member of International Thriller Writers.
Get Social with D.K Hood: Website | Facebook | Twitter
Vicki S.
It’s great that an 11th book can stand by itself and still recommend the other books in the series. I do wonder if knowing which characters aren’t around in book 11 will have any effect on prior books. Still, sounds fun.