26.10.21

BLOGTOUR, BOOK REVIEW - The Hidden Girl (Agent Tori Hunter #3) by Roger Stelljes

 

                                                                     BOOK SYNOPSIS

The lights of her parents’ cabin just visible through the woods, the girl carefully curls up amongst the reeds, her knees pulled tight to her chest. Terrified, the only sound she makes is the pounding of her heart, but she hears the stranger searching… if she keeps silent, will she be safe?

When Agent Tori Hunter is urgently called to the murder scene of Dan and Heidi Newman, she finds their throats slit, and Dan tied up: forced to watch his wife lose her life. Tori’s first thought is for their seventeen-year-old daughter Cara who is nowhere to be found. Will this popular young girl be the next victim?

A broken bracelet is the one clue left at the scene, but the team are running in circles until Tori finally tracks down Cara hiding in the woods. Sobbing, the devastated girl says all she remembers is a flash of a man’s face as she was chased through the forest…

Desperate to find the monster behind this crime, Tori pieces together the broken chain: and it leads her to an elderly lady living alone nearby. When the woman won’t speak to police, Tori senses that although it means breaking all the rules, introducing Cara will show this lonely soul what’s at stake. And once inside her house, Cara gasps when she sees a framed photo on display. It’s the man who chased her…

But then another local couple is murdered in their isolated home, another husband forced to watch his worst nightmare unfold. As more couples lose their lives, can Tori keep Cara, her one witness, safe from this vicious killer? And can she track him down before more innocent families are torn apart?


This gripping thriller opens with seventeen year old Cara Newman returning home to her dad's isolated cabin after a night out with her friends and stumbling into a sickening crime scene. Unfortunately for Cara, the killer's of her dad and step mother are still in the house and she finds herself involved in a terrifying chase through the woods that surround the property. Utilising her ingenuity and athletic prowess, Cora manages to avoid capture and contact the police causing Tori Hunter and her partner and lover Will Braddock to be summoned to the scene. The couple find themselves investigating a complex and frustrating case which has fingers that reach back into Tori's past and will have repercussions on both their personal and working lives.

The addictive story is set in the present day and twenty four years in the past and voiced from the perspectives of a number of characters including Tori, Braddock and the ruthless killers. A lot had changed in Tori's life in the year that had passed since she was lured back to Manchester Bay in Wisconsin by the search for her sister's killer. She had solved that case as well as the murders of many other women and with the help of the occasional session with a therapist was learning to cope with her past. In this book,we learn more of her background story from when she was a teenager and about the career of her father legendary County Sheriff big Jim Hunter. Tory is a very likeable individual,a strong willed woman who is dedicated to her job and I loved her caring interactions with poor traumatised Cora. I was a bit disappointed with Braddock's behaviour and attitude as the story unfolded and totally agreed with Steak's assessment of him during one of their interactions. Braddock is usually a really likeable individual but there was a point in the story when he came across as a bit of a jerk.

The antagonists were cruel, twisted individuals and their crimes were described in graphic detail and would definitely upset anyone who is triggered by descriptions of violence.Who were the killer's and how did events from the past fit into what was happening in the present day?

This is a thrilling police procedural that hooks the reader in from the first page, keeps you guessing and glued to your kindle. The story is intricately plotted, intelligently written and has a breath taking, edge of your seat conclusion. This is the third book in the series and although it can be read and enjoyed as a stand alone, if you want to enjoy the series to its full potential,I would personally advise that you read the books in the correct order. The author has created a cast of fantastic, realistic recurring characters and I look forward to finding out what the author has in store for them in book four especially in the case of the relationship between Tori and Braddock after the cliff hanger ending of this book.

                                                                     AUTHOR BIO


Roger Stelljes is the acclaimed New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of pulse-pounding murder mystery and suspense novels, including the Tori Hunter and McRyan Mystery Series. Roger’s crime thrillers are noted for their fast-paced, yet intricate plots filled with layered and complex characters.


Roger started his first novel in July 2002 while on vacation in Minnesota’s Brainerd Lakes area and has been writing ever since. His debut book, The St. Paul Conspiracy, was nominated in genre fiction for the Minnesota Book Awards along with finalists Brian Freeman and William Kent Krueger. With his follow-up, Deadly Stillwater, where Vince Flynn hailed Roger as a “powerful new thriller voice”, he won the Midwest Independent Book Publishers award for commercial fiction.


Born and raised in Minnesota, Roger still lives there with his family. In addition to his work as an author, Roger is a partner in his law firm. Roger is an avid sports enthusiast and enjoys spending time outdoors boating, attending hockey games, and honing his golf game.


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Pub Day: Oct 7th 2021

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