Stolen Darlings by Helen Phifer

I'm very excited to be part of another book tour, this time for Stolen Darlings by Helen Phifer.

After going back to work full time this year (I teach 5th grade),  my reading has started to slip off since I fall asleep way too early each night.  I definitely needed a pick me up and Stolen Darlings was a perfect fit.  

About Stolen Darlings:

The girl’s body is lying still and the crown of rare darling roses is perfectly positioned in her beautiful auburn hair. Morgan thinks she looks picture-perfect. Until she notices the blood dripping down one side of the boulder beneath her…

Following her colleague Ben up to Castlerigg Stone Circle, Detective Morgan Brookes is shocked at what she finds. A young woman has been killed, left on display at the top of the hill with a crown of roses on her head. As the team race to get the popular tourist spot cordoned off, Morgan hears the heartbroken sobs of the woman who found the body, as she identifies the victim as her best friend Cora Dalton.

Morgan can already see that Cora didn’t struggle when her throat was cut. There’s no blood on the beautiful white gown she was wearing, which means that Cora knew her killer. But everyone, including her boyfriend Jay, has an alibi. As a local shopkeeper, Cora was a huge part of the community, and her neighbours are devastated to lose such a sweet soul.

Then Morgan’s team discover that a local photographer had arranged to meet Cora, and it’s clear from his messages that he chose her elegant white dress. Could their photoshoot have taken a sinister turn?

But when another body is found at another stone circle, wearing an identical flower crown, while the photographer is in custody, Morgan loses the only lead she has. Tracking down the florist who made the crown, Morgan pores over their records and realises the killer purchased three circles of roses…

Certain another innocent life is at risk and with the killer already steps ahead, can Morgan find the connection between these girls before another life is stolen?

My Thoughts:

Stolen Darlings was the page turner I needed.  Granted, I'm still super tired from fifth grade, but I'm also tired from having to stay up because I just HAD to finish my novel!

Morgan, Ben, and the team are back, having recently found a body in a stone circle, dressed in a long white dress, a flower crown, and having been brutally murdered.  The location of the murder, combined with the flower crown, an unusual date, and the profession of the victim, leave the team wondering about what kind of killer they are up against along with his motive.  As they race to solve the case, they realize they have ideas for potential victims they must protect.

Needless to say, it's a novel that you just can't put down.  The mystery is on point, and the crime scene leaves the reader with more questions as each chapter passes.  Phifer has done an amazing job on this series, keeping the interest as more books pass.  There's always a new case for Morgan and company, and it's necessary for the team to put their skills together in order to break it.

Author Biography:

Helen Phifer is the Bestselling writer of the hugely popular Annie Graham, Lucy Harwin, Beth Adams and her current series featuring Detective Constable Morgan Brooks published by the fabulous Bookouture.

She lives in the busy town of Barrow-in-Furness surrounded by miles of coastline and a short drive from the glorious English Lake District.

Helen loves reading books that scare the heck out of her and is eternally grateful to Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert and Graham Masterton for scaring her senseless in her teenage years. Unable to find enough scary stories she decided to write her own and her debut novel The Ghost House released in October 2013 became a #1 Global Bestseller.  She has written over twenty books in various genres.

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