The Girl in the River (Detective Ellie Reeves #7) by Rita Herron 

Published December 6th 2022 by Bookouture

About the Book: The body lay in the river, arms outstretched. Long brown hair swirled in all directions, flowing with the current of the water. Her eyes were wide open in death, pale pink lips parted in a scream.

Detective Ellie Reeves should be enjoying the wedding of her dear friend Mia Norman. But instead of celebrating, she is frantically searching for the missing bride. Something is terribly wrong—just hours ago, Mia was blissfully happy. Why would she suddenly vanish?

Bursting through the dressing room, Ellie finds it in disarray—chairs overturned, a perfume bottle shattered. Hiding in the bathroom is Mia’s six-year-old daughter Pixie, curled in a ball and sobbing her heart out. The little girl says she was locked inside when she heard a man’s voice, and her mother crying. “I just want my mommy back,” she pleads. Ellie vows to make that happen.

Turning the venue upside down, Ellie’s blood turns to ice when she reaches the riverbank. Someone is dead in the rippling water, floating beside a white veil. Ellie holds her breath as she turns the body over. It belongs to Tori, Mia’s bridesmaid, a gunshot wound in her back. Near the murder scene, Ellie discovers a button from a man’s shirt, and her friend’s engagement ring. The race is on to find Mia—before it’s too late.

When forensics come back, the investigation takes a dark turn. DNA proves that Mia was actually Jesse Habersham, a woman who went missing five years ago. Ellie is certain that Mia was running from someone. Did her past finally catch up with her?

Facing the most complex case of her career, Ellie is in a race against time. Can she uncover the truth before her friend is brutally killed? And when the murderer comes after innocent little Pixie, will Ellie save her from the clutches of death?

This pulse-pounding and utterly addictive crime thriller will have you staying up way past your bedtime, and scared to turn the lights off! Perfect for fans of Melinda Leigh, Lisa Regan and Kendra Elliot.

4.5 Stars:

The Girl in the River is the 7th gripping installment in the Detective Ellie Reeves series. I have not read the previous books in the series, but besides missing out on some personal character growth and relationships, I had no problem enjoying this crime thriller/police procedural. Ellie is very excited to be attending her friend Mia’s wedding. Although her date was unable to attend, she was still very happy for her new friend. Everyone is waiting patiently for the bride to appear, but as time goes on and no Mia, Tori or Pixie, Ellie starts to worry. Has Mia got cold feet? Heading back to the bride’s room, Mia finds the room in disarray and Mia’s 4 year old daughter Pixie, in tears, locked in the bathroom. Both Mia and her Maid of Honor, Tori are missing. A quick search of the grounds finds Mia’s veil and a body in the river. As information comes forward and secrets are revealed, it turns out Mia is not who everyone thought she was. In fact, she disappeared 5 years earlier shortly after her wedding.

I really love thrillers that are made up of short, action packed chapters. It made the book move quickly and kept me on the edge of my seat. The more the investigation reveals, the more complicated the case becomes as well as more danger and injuries to others. There is a race against the clock to figure out who is responsible and why before anyone else ends up dead. As the reader learns about Mia’s background, it becomes apparent what might be going in, but Ellie needs to solve the puzzle in order to find Mia and keep her safe. I really liked Ellie’s character. She is smart, perseverant, and able to put the clues together like a puzzle. She is no pushover and takes over this case without hesitation. It is easy to see why the other officers respond to her and to see that she has their respect. There were several twists in this story and I was left puzzling out the case right along with Ellie. There is also information about personal lives that makes the characters real to the reader. Not having read the previous books, there is apparently a love triangle that is coming to an end, which is fine with me as I dislike them. With more than one storyline, Rita Herron does a great job of tying things together and bringing this story to a very satisfying conclusion. If you enjoy a fast paced, twisty, gripping crime thriller, then I recommend The Girl in the River. If you prefer to read your series in order (which I normally do) then pick up The Silent Dolls, the first book in The Detective Ellie Reeves series.

Buy Links: Amazon

About the Author: 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.

For more on Rita and her titles, visit her at www.ritaherron.com. You can also find her on Facebook/ritaherron.com and Twitter @ritaherron.

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