The Next Grave by Kendra Elliot Book Review

About the Book:

Detective Evan Bolton is gutted by his latest investigation. His friend and mentor, retired detective Rod McLeod, has been murdered, his body left in the trunk of a junkyard car. When McLeod’s daughter and grandson abruptly vanish, Evan knows it’s not a coincidence. Search and rescue canine specialist Rowan Wolff agrees as she and her dog, Thor, track the missing family.

The two cases converge in a puzzling twist. Evan discovers that McLeod has been reinvestigating old crimes—solved but not forgotten. Evan takes them on, one by one, and a disturbing suspicion forms that someone in law enforcement has something to hide and would do anything to keep those secrets buried.

But Evan and Rowan’s time is slipping away. They have to find the killer now. Before someone else disappears. Before someone else dies.

My Review:

This is another entertaining mystery and suspense novel set in the high desert of central Oregon. There is plenty of action in this novel as a vicious villain is bent on revenge. Evan is a capable detective who is being framed and falsely accused. My favorite character, however, was Rowan, along with her dog Thor. She is tenacious at solving the case when Evan is out of commission.

The plot moves along well as a murder and then abductions occur. There is a good deal of suspense and some torture along the way. Evan is heavily invested in solving the murder, too much so perhaps as he fails to try to figure out how he is being framed with false fingerprint evidence. That was a harmful oversight.

While this book is the most recent in a series, it reads well on its own, featuring different lead people than in the earlier books. I like Elliot's writing and the setting of the novels is a plus. I will be watching for the next in the series.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

You can read my review of the previous book in the series, At The River.

About the Author:

Kendra Elliot has sold thirteen million books, hit the Wall Street Journal top ten bestseller list more than a dozen times, and is a three time winner of the Daphne du Maurier award. . She is an International Thriller Writers' finalist and a Romantic Times finalist. She grew up in the lush and rainy Pacific Northwest but now spends most of her time wearing flip flops. Visit her at www.kendraelliot.com. 

Montlake, 348 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)