Killman Creek (Stillhouse Lake, #2)

by Rachel Caine

A #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller.

Every time Gwen closed her eyes, she saw him in her nightmares. Now her eyes are open, and he’s not going away.

Gwen Proctor won the battle to save her kids from her ex-husband, serial killer Melvin Royal, and his league of psychotic accomplices. But the war isn’t over. Not since Melvin broke out of prison. Not since she received a chilling text…

You’re not safe anywhere now.

Her refuge at Stillhouse Lake has become a trap. Gwen leaves her children in the protective custody of a fortified, well-armed neighbor. Now, with the help of Sam Cade, brother of one of Melvin’s victims, Gwen is going hunting. She’s learned how from one of the sickest killers alive.

But what she’s up against is beyond anything she feared—a sophisticated and savage mind game calculated to destroy her. As trust beyond her small circle of friends begins to vanish, Gwen has only fury and vengeance to believe in as she closes in on her prey. And sure as the night, one of them will die.

• ISBN10: 1542046416
• ISBN13: 9781542046411
• Publish Date: 12 December 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Thomas & Mercer
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 348
• Language: English

Reviews

[Berls]

I am so glad we decided to continue with this series for book club. I think I enjoyed this book even more than the first one. Unlike the first book, we get multiple POVs  - including the kids - and it really changed the dynamic of the story for me. Getting the kids perspective really gave me space to almost doubt her husband's guilt for a few momentary seconds, even. Gwen goes hunting her ex-husband and her being on the offensive, while under attack added a lot of tension and excitement. Especially since she's still also under attack. I'm curious to see how the series continues, as this one wrapped things up fairly well, in my opinion. But I'm eager to keep reading. 

[Quirky Cat]

Killman Creek is the conclusion to Rachel Caine’s Stillhouse Lake duology. I’ve read some of Rachel Caine’s other works, but thus far Stillhouse Lake had been my favorite (clearly the thrilled genre works well for her). Considering how much I loved Stillhouse Lak, I was pretty excited about the fact that the sequel was coming out less than half a year later (I’m not exactly known for my patience), and I imagine a lot of fans felt the same way.



Warnings first: If you’ve read the first book (and if you haven’t, what are you doing here? You don’t want crazy spoilers!) then you already have a pretty good idea what you’re in for here. Gwen/Gina’s ex-husband is a monster, there’s no way around that fact. He kidnaps, rapes, and tortures women; his past comes up frequently, by main characters as well as side characters. (Spoiler warning) Lanny and Gwen both get kidnapped, and a dog does get injured (but I promise you he’s ok), and a woman gets brutally murdered (I actually kinda skipped that scene, so I can’t be completely accurate on how bad it was, just that it was too much for me). So just consider yourself warned.
I was so excited for Killman Creek, more so when I found out that it was the conclusion as well as the sequel. That being said, I found myself let down. A lot of the elements I had loved so much in the first book were altered, almost like they were turned up to volume ten. It changed the tone and frankly, the believability for me.
For example, I kind of loved the idea of internet vigilantes wreaking havoc on Gwen’s family life, simply because they thought they were right. It feels so similar to events we see and hear happening all the time in the real world, so our knowledge only helped to add context to it all. It was believable. If a man was busted as a serial killer, there’s no way today’s society would believe the wife was completely unknowing, even if that was the truth. I can see it happening.
The problem is they brought that to unbelievable extremes – Absalom (who in the first book had been a hactivist double agent sort of character) is actually an organization of people (my eyebrows went right up at that revelation), and not only that but (massive spoiler) they’ve been helping to hide Mel (and worse). I just don’t buy it. Yes, I do believe a group of people could get that corrupt, and possibly buy that it could go largely unnoticed. But to the levels that happen in the book? To the extremes here? No, I don’t see it. I know it’s just a book, but I like believable thrillers, and that element had been in the first book, which I loved.
I did like the perspective changes in this novel; we finally got a chance to see things from other character’s points of view. Mostly those views were of Sam, buy Lanny and Conner occasionally popped up, which was good (as they weren’t always together, so different sets of events were able to unfold quickly).
My last complaint was the unnecessary romance – do I see the possibility between Sam and Gwen? Honestly, maybe? But not in the manner or timeframe it happened in. There’s too much between them for things to move that quickly and still be stable. I just don’t see it.
I’m glad Rachel Caine has started dipping into other genres. While I’ve liked her fantast works, it’s always felt like something was missing to me. And I think she’s found that something in thriller. Like I said, while I didn’t really love this novel, I did like its predecessor quite a lot, and would absolutely give another series by her a chance.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[kimbacaffeinate]

After the events of book one, I was anxious to get back to Gwen and her children. Gwen used to be Gina Royal and had the seemly perfect life. Two children, a loving husband and a house in the burbs. At least it was until the dead tortured body of a young woman was found in her garage and she learned her husband Melvin was a serial killer. Gina was arrested, tried and released since she had no knowledge of her hubby's secret life. Now she and the children are the Proctors. Until Stillhouse Lake, they have been on the run, avoiding the crazed people who think she is guilty and seeking their own brand of justice.  Events in book one leave Gwen and her children on the run and a serial killer on the loose.

Stillhouse Lake was told mainly from Gwen's POV and was narrated by Emily Sutton-Smith. Killman Creek is told through the POVs of four characters.  Gwen, Sam, whose story is quite interesting. Lanny (Gwen's daughter) and Connor (Gwen's son). I love that Brilliance cast four narrators for the story. The POVs were broken up by chapter, and the different narrations made changes easy to follow.  Emily Sutton-Smith continued Gwen's narrative, Lauren Ezzo was the voice of Lanny. Will Ropp shared Sam's POV, and Dan John Miller portrayed young Conner.

Gwen hides the children with  Javier and Kenzia, whom we met in the previous book. She and Sam begin to investigate the mysterious group that betrayed Gwen. They hope finding them will help them hunt down Melvin.

Killman Creek was darker than its predecessor as Caine took us on the hunt to catch a brilliant and twisted killer. OMG! I was biting my nails and clenching my fists with some of these realistic, terrifying scenes. The twists and deception along with the POVs of Conner and Lanny about killed me. I LOVED EVERY TERRIFYING MOMENT! This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer