Emma (SCR)'s Review of Cry for Help (Detective Madison Harper, #2)

by ,Wendy Dranfield

Shivering in the early morning chill, the caretaker flips the switch on the Ferris wheel and stumbles back in shock. The teenage girl’s body is slumped in a halo of pretty colored lights, long red hair spilling over her tear-stained cheeks, her eyes fixed forever on her dangling feet.

When teenager Nikki Jackson’s body is found at an amusement park, just hours after Fourth of July fireworks lit up the night sky, the Lost Creek police rule her death as suicide––a devastating final act from a girl who had lost all hope. But the absence of the knife used to make the wounds on her delicate wrists makes Detective Madison Harper think otherwise. And the partial fingerprint found on the girl’s face proves her right. Someone else was with Nikki in her final moments…

Back home in Colorado for the first time in seven years to investigate the murder of a woman with ties to the son she lost to the care system, the pressure is on for Madison to work both cases at once. Fearing the team has missed a vital clue, Madison searches the crime scene alone and finds the last thing she ever expected: a note proving the victims knew each other, and that the cases are linked. Is this a coincidence, proof a dangerous murderer is on the loose, or a trap set to lead Madison off the trail?

It’s only when Madison finally finds the knife used to harm Nikki, tucked in an almost impossible to find hiding place, that she knows she is closing in on a twisted killer. But the last person she expects to see dragged into the department in handcuffs is her own missing son…

An absolutely unputdownable crime thriller that will have you sleeping with the lights on. Addictive reading for anyone who loves Lisa Regan, Robert Dugoni and Melinda Leigh.

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Bookouture for my copy of this book via Netgalley and for letting me take part in this tour. I absolutely LOVED the first book in this series so I was very excited to get back to this story.

If you haven’t read book one you can read this as a standalone as there’s enough background given to catch you up.
This book had me tense from the beginning. I was already nervous for Maddison and what she was going to find when she returned to her home town. I knew it wouldn’t be pretty but it was a lot worse than I imagined.

Wendy did an excellent job of keeping me hooked. I needed to know who really killed Ryan Levy, who killed Stephanie and what happened to Nikki. So many people have suffered in such a small town. The story is complex without being confusing. It’s clear there are links but what they are is a real mystery.

There was a big focus on Maddison in this story which I enjoyed but I really hope that we get to focus on Nate in the next book. His story is far from finished. I know Wendy has already written the next book and I cannot wait to get my hands on it!

Cry for Help (Detective Madison Harper, #2)

by ,Wendy Dranfield

Reviewed by Emma (SCR) on Mar 26, 2021

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