This is a different type of book review post and that's because I'm going to tell you why you need to read an entire detective series. I am not usually a fan of detective series because I get a little overwhelmed with the storylines and characters; I find that I tend to forget a lot of the plot points and nothing ends up making sense. The other side of things is that I usually am finding series when they're like 15 books deep and I don't have the patience to read a backlist.
That's why I think I've taken up with the Detective Nikki Hunt series by Stacy Green -- I read it from the beginning and the books are released close enough together that the plot flows together very nicely.
I reviewed the first two books of the series, Girls in the Snow and One Perfect Grave but then I was reading them so often that I just never reviewed the rest of the series. We're now up to book 8, Bone Lake, in the series and I figured that it was time to review the entire series as a whole and get everyone to read the series.
The series follows Special Agent Nikki Hunt who works for the FBI and is sent back to her Missouri hometown to chase a case that might involve a serial killer. She's been tracking this killer for years and he has started to taunt her through the murders he commits.
Hunt's travels back to her hometown bring up a lot of bad memories from when her parents were murdered when she was a teenager. The man who did it is in jail now but members of the town are starting to turn, thinking he did not actually commit the murder even though Nikki is the one who saw him.
While trying to juggle her work and personal feelings about being back in the place that brings her a lot of pain, she is also trying to toe a fine line between keeping things civil with her ex-husband, taking care of her daughter (and keeping her safe) and dealing with her feelings for someone new in town.
That is pretty much the premise of the first book and the set up for the entire series. Nikki ends up staying in her home town, she comes to terms with her parents death, and falls in love with someone new. She is continually solving new cases, attempting to find the balance between work and personal life, and dealing with guilt she has from all the people in her life who have been lost.
Each book follows a different case that Hunt must solve which also comes along with her own set of personal struggles. Each case adds something to Nikki's life that she can't shake and she continues to bare a load that seems too much for one person to handle.
While this is a series and I do recommend reading each book to get the full picture, most of the later books, after Nikki Hunt figures out who the serial killer is, can stand alone. However, each book does contain something that she carries over into the next one and the books are so good, you won't want to pass any of them up.
This is one of my favorite series because the books are short, snappy and to the point. There are few unnecessary plot points so you never feel like you're wasting time. Stacy Green has created such complex, interesting characters that are always bending the rules, putting their lives in danger and using their quick wits and intelligent to solve difficult cases.
Every book, every plot point is so interesting, twisted and scary. This isn't a series for the faint of heart as it gets graphic at times but there has not been a book yet that I haven't gobbled up. Each story leaves me breathless and gives twists that you simply will never be able to figure out... yet nothing ever seems so extraordinary that it couldn't be true.
If you love thrillers and mysteries, you will fall in love with the Detective Nikki Hunt series. A powerful, strong, courageous woman is at the forefront of some of the most heinous crimes ever, and she never loses her will. It's so good!
Do you think you'll read The Detective Nikki Hunt series?
xoxo
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