Usually I would give a warning about spoilers when I review a book in a series. But I think this time I managed not to spoil anything. So feel free to read on.

Heartbreak Bay by Rachel Caine

Publication Date: March 9, 2021

Summary from NetGalley:

They’re hunting a killer so silent, so invisible, that his unspeakable crimes are the only proof he exists.

A car submerged in a remote pond. The bodies of two girls strapped into their seats. The mystery of their mother, vanished without a trace, leads Gwen Proctor and Kezia Claremont into dangerous territory.

On the surface, Gwen’s life is good—two children approaching adulthood, a committed partner, and a harrowing past dead and gone. But that past is attracting the attention of someone invisible…and unstoppable. Trouble’s just beginning. So is the body count in this backwoods Tennessee town.

As threats mount and Gwen’s hunted by an enemy who pulls all the strings, Kezia has her back. But working to solve these vicious and unreasonable crimes will expose them both to a killer they can’t for the life of them see coming.

ARC provided by Thomas and Mercer via NetGalley for an honest review.

Confession:

I think this one ended up being my favorite of the series. I loved that Kezia got a starring role in this one. I always liked her and missed her when she wasn’t involved in some of the other books. Plus this story was so intriguing, and the killer wasn’t like anything I had come across before. Quite the page turner and really left me breathless at times!

Gwen has gone through so much in her life. It always seems to be that just when things start to settle down, some one is out to get her and her family once again. You just feel so sorry for them all. I loved that she has shown so much growth through out the books too. In this one she is just starting to trust that her kids will be okay without her as well. Plus she knows that if something should happen to her that Sam will be there for them.

Kezia’s voice was such a nice addition to the narration. She is a detective in the town where Gwen and her family settled in the first book, and for most of the series she was always in the background, providing support when needed and police protection too. But I always knew there was way more to her than we were getting. She is just as fierce and protective of the ones she loves. She is also a very good and dedicated detective. She does like to take chances and risks though, just like Gwen. They actually made a very good team.

The plot of this story was fantastic. The killer they were after was amazingly brilliant, and some of the things he did and his justification of it was so evil, but you could get the process of how he got there. The fast pacing and the twists and turns of the story are nicely done, and it really is a hard book to stop reading. The ending did feel a little bit rushed, and I think I would have liked a better epilogue, but that is really my only complaint.

I am sad that this is the last book, not only of this series but from this author. For those of you who may not know, Rachel Caine lost her fight with cancer last fall. She and the books she never got to write will be missed.