Excellent police procedural and whodunit

A new Luxury housing development starts by excavating the site of a former girl’s home and when a body is found, they assume at first that it is the body of runaway teenager Candace Harlan. On her back are carved the words ‘raccoglitorre di cacciatori’, Italian for ‘hunter-gatherer’. But the body is just a few months old. Why would she return to a place that she ran away from? Because this is clearly a cold case, detective Katie Scott and deputy Sean Mc Gaven get to investigate this strange discovery, even when it turns out that the victim is not Candace but her sister. Detective Hamilton who was the lead detective in the murder of her aunt makes up with her and they have to work together when another girl that lived in the home is found murdered with the same markings. There are several leads and just as many red herrings that complicate the investigation. On top of all this, there’s a new undersheriff who has her eye firmly on Katie.

Katie still struggles with her anxiety and PTSD but sees a psychologist who helps her cope with this. The problem has the unpleasant habit to pop up at the worst possible times. She’s also in trouble for her lack of procedure and endangerment during the previous case. If you haven’t read the previous book, it may be a little difficult to place those events but for the rest, you can read this as a standalone. What’s nice is to see how Katie and Mc Gaven bond and have each other’s back when sometimes they have to rely heavily on the other.
Something I think strange is how Katie is always referred to by her first name, but Sean and the other male persons are called by their surname. I don’t know why this is done, is that a language rule or a social concept? Enlighten me please, if you can.
The story is filled with suspense and repeated danger and I thought it better than the last previous book. It’s an excellent police procedural and whodunit. The story is entertaining and engaging. I couldn’t guess the perpetrator this time. Most characters are easy to like and Cisco plays a major role in this volume. That’s something I like. The author has clearly thought about issues as the mental condition of working dogs that are retired. In my own experience, dogs do enjoy to work, regardless if they’re sniffer-, guard-, busking, or sheepdogs. I can imagine very easily that they miss their job when they’re pensioned off.
I thank Netgalley and Bookouture for the free ARC they provided me with and this is my unbiased, honest review of it.