The series gets better

After the shocking revelations in the previous book, detective Ellie Reeves is in therapy to deal with the lies and deceit of her parents. Not only does the whole county looks down and condemns the behaviour of their former sheriff, many people see Ellie as just as guilty as her parents. There are many protests in town and Jess receives some very unpleasant mail. She decides to let go of all the negativity and sets out for a good long hike along the Appalachian Trail. She doesn’t get very far though, as she almost stumbles on the body of a young woman that’s left amidst a bed of wild daffodils. The victim has her mouth sewn shut; her throat slashed, wears odd make-up, and is dressed as if ready to attend a funeral. Later Jenny receives messages from the killer. He’s killing young woman according to an old nursery rhyme ‘Monday’s child’, which covers all days of the week. The next day, another victim is found. As if to up the stakes, Ellie gets a very distressing phone call from her friend and colleague Shondra Eastwood, saying that she’s been held by the ‘Weekday-killer’ as he’s been dubbed. Captain Hale asks assistance from Derrick Fox from the FBI who also helped them in their last case.

This is the second book in the series and although you can read it on its own, it does lean rather heavily on the events of the first story. So, I advise reading the books in order to have a full grasp of the importance of the first investigation and its implications.
The story is mainly told from Ellie’s POV, but some short ones are told by Shondra from the cage in which she’s held or by the killer. We get snippets from Cord and an unnamed woman as well.
There was already a lot of tension and all sorts of vibes between Cord, Ellie, and Derrick. Both men have protective feelings towards Ellie but there are other issues that complicate their relationship with each other and with Ellie as well. Then there is also the bad relationship with Ellie’s boss, the new sheriff. One of the things she resents is his misogynistic attitude as well as the fact that her father endorsed him as his successor instead of her.
All this tension and stress complicates not only the investigation but creates distrust and suspicions. The author puts a lot of effort into her clues that make everyone into a possible murderer. Cord was already chiefly suspected in the first book, is now made suspicious enough for an arrest, but in other parts, it’s clear that he can’t be the killer because he’s chasing him. Or isn’t he?
The story keeps twisting and turning until the very end. The tension and suspense are kept high all along. The end was well found, but somehow a bit of a disappointment. But there is more to come as not all questions and mysteries are resolved. I can’t wait to find out what the writer has still to say.
I found one stupid mistake in the book. When Wednesday’s Child is found, they smell something murky, like a dead animal and that leads them to the body. But the body is still warm enough for the killer to be close enough by, to be chased.
I thank Netgalley and Bookouture for the free ARC they provided me with; this is my honest and unbiased review of it.