Detective Ellie Reeves: Book 6
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
The girl trips over branches, losing her footing. The darkness swallows her and she grabs thin air as she falls, her scream piercing the night. When she slams into the bottom of the pit, her heart hammers. She can’t believe what she’s seeing—a pile of perfect white bones…
In the small town of Crooked Creek, where the Appalachian Mountains climb into the clouds, nineteen-year-old Mandy’s Spring Break takes a sinister turn. Detective Ellie Reeves races straight to the scene, driving through the winding roads to the abandoned orphanage.
Ellie saves the teenage girl but discovers human remains that have been there for thirty years, ever since the home for children closed down. Her heart shatters at the thought that they might belong to the helpless orphans.
Working day and night on the case, Ellie searches for the orphanage’s files, but they have been stolen—somebody is clearly trying to cover their tracks. As she interviews the residents of the mountain community, Ellie finds out that almost everyone connected to the children’s home has disappeared.
Then a woman is found dead, her body marked with a strange symbol. When Ellie learns that the victim used to work at the orphanage, it’s clear that a twisted killer is trying to stop the truth coming out.
Ellie vows to solve this case that spans decades and, when her research into the meaning of the symbol leads her to a local business at the heart of recent controversy, she’s on the right track. Can she bring the secrets to light before another innocent person is murdered? And when she gets too close to uncovering the truth, will she survive?
A totally gripping and pulse-pounding crime-thriller that will have you holding your breath as you race through the pages! Perfect for fans of Lisa Regan, Kendra Elliot, and Melinda Leigh.
When teens from Crooked Creek decide to participate in a social media challenge and spend the night at an abandoned orphanage, they never expected to discover human remains.
Author Rita Herron serves up a twisty thriller in Hidden Bones, the sixth installment of the Detective Ellie Reeves series. With her signature style, the author crafts the story, setting the stage as Reeves launches her investigation. Since I have read all the stories in the series, I have watched the characters grow and evolve. As demonstrated by the author, there are still plenty of adventures waiting to be told.
This particular installment gets high marks for a dual storyline featuring the discovery of the bones and the dumped bodies of murdered women. While seemingly unrelated, the story ends up coming full circle, bringing all the different angles together. This is definitely one of the most interesting cases that Reeves and the other characters have handled.
Because the investigation also focuses on the past history of the orphanage, there’s a level of complexity and additional danger involved. Probing allegations of abuse, even decades after the fact, tends to make people nervous.
Hidden Bones delivers a suspenseful story that underscores the continued success of the series. Author Rita Herron has found just the right ingredients to deliver captivating stories with Det. Reeves in charge.
Award-winning author Rita Herron wrote her first book when she was twelve, but didn’t think real people grew up to be writers. Now she writes so she doesn’t have to get a real job. A former kindergarten teacher and workshop leader, she traded storytelling to kids for writing romance. She lives in Georgia with her own romance hero.