The Innocent Girls by BR Spangler – Books On Tour (Review)

I really enjoyed the origin of Detective Casey White in Where Lost Girls Go, so I was excited about her next case. Second time this weekend, where there is no Sophomore Slump in a series (I’m on a winning streak).

Casey has progressed since moving to the Outer Banks: she’s in a relationship with Jericho, she’s firmly rooted in her job, and she seems to be coming to grips (at least a little bit) with her missing daughter, Hannah, being so close, yet still so far away.

However, with the gruesome opening scene, the author lets us know right away that not all is peaceful in the Outer Banks, and things are going to get a lot more complicated and violent. From there, a new investigation is launched…one that hits closer to home than Casey expects.

I like Casey because she is natural. She has failings and personal demons, but she knows that she still has a job to do and she does it well. Her instincts are strong, and she puts clues together in a smart fashion.

The plot itself was interesting. Somehow the author managed to tie together cults, brainwashing, environmentalism, wrongful accusations, loyalty, love, and revenge to create a thoughtful and well-plotted case. A late twist (very late) kept me guessing up until the very end. Extremely well-done.

I did think that one lead in the case (a tie to the summer solstice) hat appeared early on was misguided and a little inaccurate. It seemed like a red herring, and not a well-informed one. Fortunately, it went by the wayside sort of quickly, so I was able to forgive it. Had it remained I would have had an issue with it.

I mentioned Casey’s demons. She has to face one head one with the reappearance of a person from her past. I loved the way she ultimately handled it (no spoiler, but you’ll know it when you read it.

With the way everything wrapped up, I’m very excited to see what’s up next for Casey and Jericho and am looking forward to the next book.

Author Bio:

B.R. Spangler here. I’m a resident of Virginia along with my family, five cats, two birds, a hamster, and a lizard. During the day, I work as an engineer and spend my off hours writing, editing, and thinking up the next great story.

I split my time across pen names, writing crime thrillers, science fiction, horrors, paranormal and contemporary fiction.