Bitter Falls by Rachel Caine @rachelcaine @esuttonsmith @danjohnmiller @HelloMLC @SingleWithFries @willropp @BrilliancePub #StillhouseLake

the setup…
Now that Melvin Royal is dead and his “army” dismantled, Gwen Proctor and her family can start to move on, though that doesn’t mean that life is easy. She and Sam Cade still feel the need to protect daughter Lanny and son Connor. Gwen is now a private investigator working for a woman who’s based in Knoxville. Her latest assignment is to try and find out what happened to Remy Landry, a college student who vanished three years ago. Her investigation leads her toward something sinister and familiar. Meanwhile, there’s trouble brewing at home with Lanny and someone from their past presents an odd connection, and threat, to Gwen’s case.

the heart of the story…
It’s been almost five years since I read the last story as I’d become exhausted with the constant threats and assaults from people who still believed Gwen was Melvin’s co-conspirator. The futility of it wore me out so I was glad to see those undertones seriously minimized here. But the cold case quickly heated up and presented new threats and danger but at least it was different. I liked the changes in Gwen, though she’s still formidable, and how deeply committed she and Sam are to each other and the kids to him. It’s not your normal family construct but it’s steadying for this one.

the narration…
Multiple narrators are used for the points of view of the family. Sutton-Smith is one of my favorites and she’s perfect as Gwen. Miller’s tone and voice for Sam is just delicious. Listening to the story certainly elevated my reading experience as all delivered great performances.

the bottom line…
I’m glad I resumed this series because the tone and excitement was so different from the previous stories and that change was needed. The case was odd and had some twists and turns that were unforeseen. The ending brought all the excitement and surprisingly put Connor in the driver’s seat, reflecting his growing maturity and development. It also brings some finality to Stillhouse Lake remaining as the home for this family and I’m anxious to see where they go from here.

Book Info

• Release Date: January 21, 2020
• Series: Stillhouse Lake #4
• Narrators: Emily Sutton-Smith, Michael Crouch, Dan John Miller, Lauren Ezzo & Will Ropp
• Audio Length: 11 hours, 53 minutes
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio

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(Thanks to Brilliance Audio for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)