A missing child, a distraught mother, and a killer on the loose set the stage for a brutal bloodbath in the Florida Everglades in this thrilling read, perfect for fans of Wendy Walker and Megan Goldin.
When six-year-old Skye disappears from Everglades City, Noa is hesitant to return to her hometown to help with the search effort. Skye is the daughter of Noa’s ex, Zack, and Taylor, the girl he dumped her for. Going home also means facing the townspeople who have always misunderstood Noa’s medical condition, Congenital Insensitivity to Pain, and dealing with more of their ignorant comments.
But returning home is just the beginning of Noa’s painful journey. When her childhood friend, Jamie, is assaulted by a vagrant, Noa intervenes in a violent counterattack—and the man’s fingerprints are found near Skye’s DNA. As Noa gets closer to the truth of who kidnapped Skye, she starts to uncover secrets about her hometown that she didn’t expect.
Nothing and no one are what they seem in this small Florida backwater—and any good friend can quickly become a deadly enemy.
This is the story of Noa, a woman with a rare genetic disorder that makes her unable to feel pain. It’s complicated her life in countless ways, not the least of which is how others judge and dismiss her due to her disability. She was happy to escape her tiny hometown and all it’s drama for a career in the big city but when a tragedy strikes the town, she’s guilted into returning hope to help search for a missing child.
Noa’s uncomfortable returning for various reasons, not the least of which is that the missing girl is the child of the only man who ever broke her heart and the woman he dumped Noa to marry. This isn’t a romance so not my usual fare but it’s so good and worth every minute. Noa goes to help in the search but inadvertently upends her entire life because her mere presence in town changes everything.
I can’t say much without being a spoiler so I’ll just say that suspense-lovers need to read this book. There’s more than one mystery to solve and reasons to suspect most of the main characters. It’s full of fun twists, especially the one in the epilogue, which made my day. I loved Noa and couldn’t put this book down because I needed to know what was coming next so I’ll definitely be checking out more from this author. I received an ARC from Social Butterfly PR in exchange for an honest review.
