A hypnotic, sinister debut mystery about a seemingly good cop who is secretly the daughter of a notorious serial killer.
Anna Koray escaped her father’s darkness long ago. When she was a girl, her childhood memories were sealed away from her conscious mind by a controversial hypnosis treatment. She’s now a decorated sheriff’s lieutenant serving a rural county, conducting an ordinary life far from her father’s shadow.
When Anna kills a man in the line of duty, her suppressed memories return. She dreams of her beloved father, his hands red with blood, surrounded by flower-decked corpses he had sacrificed to the god of the forest.
To Anna’s horror, a serial killer emerges who is copying her father – and who knows who she really is. Is her father still alive, or is this the work of another? Will the killer expose her, destroying everything she has built for herself? Does she want him to?
But as she haunts the forest, using her father’s tricks to the hunt the killer, will she find what she needs most…or lose herself in the gathering darkness?
Oh, this one was wild. I was trying to describe this thriller to my friend and used the words “genuinely creepy.” We meet Anna right away, a sheriff’s lieutenant intent on doing good in the world. When she is forced to kill a man while on duty, her memories from her childhood begin to emerge. Anna was hypnotized as a young girl, after learning – in the most gruesome of ways – that her father was a serial killer. Not only are Anna’s memories returning, but it appears another serial killer is on the loose – one that is copy-cating her father’s crimes. Could her father possibly be alive after all these years, or is a new killer now also after Anna as well?
I think one thing I loved about this book was how unpredictable it was. I really couldn’t even guess what was going to happen next, who the next victim would be or who the real killer was. The writing skillfully weaves you through each chapter, taking you down some dark paths when it came to Anna’s past. I think this is a true must-read for anyone who is a fan of dark thrillers, just be prepared – you’ll be haunted by this one for weeks after you finish it.
