Detective Leanne Everhart swore she’d never go back to her hometown near Marfa, Texas—but she returns when her brother needs her, only to find a town in need too, still torn apart by a decades-old crime.
Leanne Everhart knows women have something to fear in her artsy hometown, especially so if they’re not rich, white locals. Returning to town after her father’s death, she sees the ugliest sides of an area that draws people for its severe, untamed natural landscape.
While her department faces mounting backlash over a recent wrongful conviction in the long-ago murder case of a popular local teenager—which is now unsolved—Leanne is called to a fresh crime scene at the edge of the desert. A nameless woman was found murdered, with no clues as to her identity. As Leanne digs into the crime scene evidence, she grows convinced this latest murder case is linked with the local teenager’s murder. And to multiple cold cases, all unnamed female victims, that have all been shelved by her department without leads.
Now, with conflicted loyalties and without allies, Leanne must hunt down a serial killer, one who’s been preying on local women for two decades, growing bolder and more ruthless with every strike.
Review:
Another heart pounding suspense from Ms Griffin!
Innocence Road kept me on the edge of my seat. With its more topical than ever (unfortunately) theme of “forgotten victims” and a so-called justice system who refuses to listen as MC Detective Leanne Everhart uncovers evidence of what she believes to be a serial killer operating in her home town, I didn’t want to put this one down.
Ms Griffin is fantastic at writing complex characters with real issues and struggles who are also trying to make their corner of the world a better place. All in the same week, Leanne’s trying to solve a current murder (for which her boss has given her a completely unnecessary deadline), dodging reporters who want to talk to her about the wrongful conviction case her (now deceased) father was involved in decades ago, looking into that now-unsolved case (increasingly suspecting it’s related to the more current murders), and dealing with conflict and drama with her remaining family. Her boss is a misogynistic jerk, all of the area crime labs are understaffed and behind schedule, and she’s starting to worry that maybe her father wasn’t the law enforcement role model she’s always thought he was.
Yeah, it’s a lot. And Ms Griffin handles it all like the pro she is. I honestly didn’t want to stop reading this one until I was done.
The romantic side plot here is very much on the side–though I would have loved to see it get more page time, it’s understandable that Leanne had enough on her plate to deal with here. I’ll just have to happily imagine my own HEA for the characters involved, I guess 🙂
Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
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