Title: The Dead Season
Author: Tessa Wegert
Series: Shana Merchant, #2
Published: December 2020, Berkley Books
Format: Paperback, 352 pages
Source: Publisher
Summary:
Senior Investigator
Shana Merchant has spent years running from her past. But she never
imagined a murder case would drive her to the most dangerous place of
all–home.
After leaving the NYPD following her abduction
by serial killer Blake Bram, Shana Merchant hoped for a fresh start in
the Thousand Islands of Upstate New York. Her former tormentor has other
plans. Shana and Bram share more than just a hometown, and he won’t let
her forget it. When the decades-old skeleton of Shana’s estranged uncle
is uncovered, Bram issues a challenge: Return home to Vermont and solve
the cold case, or the blood he spills next will be on her hands.
As
Shana interviews members of her family and the community, mining for
secrets that could help her solve her uncle’s murder, she begins to
realize how little she remembers of her childhood. And when Bram grows
impatient and kidnaps again, leaving a trail of clues Shana alone can
understand, she knows his new victim will only survive if she wins the
psychopath’s twisted game. In order to solve one mystery, Shana must
wade into her murky past to unravel another.
My thoughts: This is the second book in Tessa Wegert’s Shana Merchant series and I really like this series. I’m so glad I had the chance to read the first book, Death in the Family, a few months ago. You all know how much I like reading my series in order!
This latest installment is intense! As much as this book could be read as a stand-alone in the fact that has a self-contained case for Shana and her colleagues to solve, it also deals with Shana’s past and that involves a bit of what we learned in the previous book. Yes, Tessa Wegert does give a bit of backstory if you haven’t read the previous book, but there is also the issue of Shana being on leave – and this is all due to circumstances that happen in the previous book. If you haven’t read that one, maybe by reading this one, it will leave you eager to pick it up!
I love that we really get into Shana’s history in this one. It was so fascinating digging into not only her own background, but also her family history. Her abductor from a while back is not letting go and is really intent on playing games with her. We come to find out that she really does indeed know his true identity and that is quite a revelation! When he kidnaps again, he decides to play games with her, challenging Shana to solve her uncle’s murder or the blood of the missing child will be on her hands. This puts her in quite the predicament as she isn’t ready to let her colleagues know who he is yet.
This book kept me glued to the pages and guessing as to what was going on. I loved all the twists and turns that it took and was quite surprised at all the revelations that popped up along the way. This cat and mouse game isn’t done yet and I cannot wait to see what happens next…this series just gets better and better and I will be eager for the next installment!
Books in this series:
- Death in the Family
- The Dead Season
