Controversial Real Life Bleeds Into Story. I fully cop to the title of this review being clickbait, but it is also 100% true. Yet again Bratt brings elements of real-world cases and her real-world life into this particular series, and in this particular case the most obvious direct real world connection is also one of the more controversial things Bratt has ever done in her actual life since I've been reading her books since 2018 or so. But revealing exactly where that moment is in the book and what the direct connection is to her real life would be a spoiler... so read this book and see if you can spot where it might be, then follow Bratt on her social media channels to see if you were right. Yes, I'm plugging both the book and the author here, because to be quite honest both are equally great - even if I personally 100% disagree with the choice made both in the book and in real life - but Bratt manages to tell both stories quite compellingly, and it is her books and her life. :D
One word of caution though: This *is* Book 6 in a series, and in this case you really do need to read the prior books first to really have any real understanding of exactly where we are in this tale. Some more words of caution about the actual content: There is stalking, possible gaslighting, bullying, and a touch of animal neglect here (all on the part of the bad guys, to be sure), but Bratt manages to show these as exactly that - actions not to be condoned. Still, if those are absolute no-go issues for you for whatever reason, know that they're here.
Overall though, this was yet another compelling entry in a series that manages to combine both police procedural and family drama elements quite well, all while showing off the merits and perils of both policing and small town life - which is something few other books I've ever read have done quite so well. Very much recommended.