Don't Lie to Me by Willow Rose

Eva Rae Thomas has moved back to her hometown with her three children. She has left the FBI to focus on the kids, seeing as her husband decided to leave her. But even her good intentions of staying away from cases don’t help when she is caught up in a murder straight away.

 

Sophie Williams, a rising surfing star, has gone missing from a scout camp. When her body is discovered, it leads to a string of abducted and murdered children that leaves the police confounded. Eva is asked for assistance and when videos surface of the killer blaming divorce and the consequences on children for the reason behind the abductions, Eva knows time is of the essence. But with memories of her abducted sister coming to mind, Eva knows this one will feel close to home. She just doesn’t realise how much...

 

I’ve read a number of books by this author but each series I start I feel disappointed. There are always too many ideas and things thrown into the plot and some lead nowhere while others are meant to hint at the ending but majority never do. There are just too many “huh?” moments in this to allow you to read the book and escape into it.

 

So firstly you have a killer who is doing this to show their deep hatred of divorce and the consequences it has on the children. The killer is killing innocent children to prove this? Um, why? Then you have an ex-FBI agent who has no jurisdiction but constantly goes into crime scenes, gets involved, and the police are so befuddled that she has to join them? But does not actually use her profiling skills. She has promised to be more of a mother now that she has all this time with her children but cannot keep up with groceries, laundry, or school events because she is too busy helping her old flame in the police and even leaves her hyperactive child in the car while she checks out a crime scene?

 

I found the writing stilted to read and the chapters that were in the child’s POV were written in an adult voice. Then there were so many kids either left alone overnight or not contacted in months and the number of times people said Sophie would be the next Kelly Slater was crazy. There are other surfers from Cocoa Beach! And the mother turning a blind eye to their child being molested so that they could be coached by the best? I don’t think so! And the abuse of one of Eva’s friends? What did that have to do with the whole story? A subplot that didn’t add anything.

 

Then when the killer is outed (which was a very unrealistic time grudge to hold) the families carry on as though “Oh well, these things happen” when for it not to be noticed was highly suspect.

 

It started out with a hook but landed up going in tangents and not a series I would continue as I didn’t connect with any of the characters.

 

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the book.