Innocence Slain - The Anderson Chronicles 2
Formats: E-Book, Audio, Paperback, Hardback
Ages: 18+
Young women have gone missing and unmissed, until the wrong one disappears.
The tranquility of tiny Anderson Montana is once again shattered when pampered Stacey Nichols disappears after a quarrel with her boyfriend.
Clues are few and flimsy, but newly hired deputy, Birdie Bradshaw, has more than a professional interest in the case. Digging through old records, she uncovers evidence of similar disappearances going back decades.
While a battered Stacey plots ways to escape her abusive abductor, Anderson deputies struggle to unravel the mystery of her disappearance.
Sheriff Peter Elliott faces a ticking clock, self-doubt, and bad press in his race to find Stacey before it’s too late.
Reviews
"Karson imbues the telling with small-town realism, a real feeling for Western living and landscapes, and a convincing sense of the fickleness of public opinion and the difficulties of investigative work, especially missing persons cases where the family “didn’t know she was missing and didn’t care.” The prose is crisply detailed, with vivid descriptions of a persuasive milieu, attentive to porcupines, Anderson’s mining history, and the dark secrets and bloody unpleasantries the genre demands. Karson also nimbly juggles humorous scenes with graver ones and illustrates Stacey’s horrific dilemma with tense clarity and attention to physical detail. Characters are sharply drawn, such as the beleaguered sheriff, victim-turned-badass Stacey, newbie Birdie, and Mary, who spends her time paying forward the decency she has been shown in Anderson. Less admirable but a pleasure to jeer at is the distinctly unlikable mayor, ripe for a #MeToo lawsuit. Karson combines these elements into a suspenseful ride that culminates in a satisfying ending that leaves the door open for future entries." – Publisher's Weekly, Booklife
"Author Kit Karson has crafted a riveting and suspenseful novel that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish with its well-paced plot and fantastic revelations. The confident narrative structure is filled with tension, mystery, and heart-pounding twists. I was particularly impressed by the way the atmospheric details of the descriptions matched these different moods and set each scene up for the discoveries that awaited Sheriff Elliot and readers. The characters, particularly my personal favorite, Birdie Bradshaw, are well-developed and compelling, drawing readers into their personal struggles and motivations. I loved the way that their unique dialogue styles characterize them at once, and there was some great use of dialogue to give the key plot exposition a chance to shine too. The small-town setting was a great choice to highlight the tight-knit community's response to tragedy and the challenges faced by law enforcement in rural areas. Overall, Innocence Slain is a gripping thriller that I would not hesitate to recommend."
"Innocence Slain by Kit Karson is a compact, well-crafted crime novel that surprised me with the measure of information a couple of hundred pages can contain. The setting is vividly described and could be any rural town in the U.S. The characters are well-developed and diverse, ranging from the stoic Sheriff Elliot to the lovable Helen (who is the quintessential definition of a "Mama Bear.") Having said that, where this book truly excels is in its ability to build tension. The buildup is subtle but effective, like a low-grade campfire gradually turning into an inferno that threatens to engulf the forest. Despite its intensity, the violence is at an absolute minimum, and the author doesn't rely on brutality to create a sense of danger. Overall, the book is an engaging read that left me craving more." –
