Score: 5/5 Bookmarks

Thank you to Minotaur Books for sending me a free review copy of Trace of Evil by Alice Blanchard.

I absolutely love a good female detective book and this one was no exception. I loved the lead character, Natalie Lockhart, and really enjoyed learning about her history and being immersed in her small town in upstate New York.

Natalie followed in her father’s footsteps to become a cop on the Burning Lake Police Force, and work her way up to be their only female detective. She catches a rough case when she arrives at the house of someone she grew up with, only to find they’ve been brutally murdered.

The book has loads of twists and turns, witchcraft, and suspense but I won’t spoil it for you, you’ll just have to read it for yourself.

And do you want to know the best bit? Trace of Evil is the first book in the Natalie Lockhart series, so we can expect to read more of her (hopefully soon)!

Synopsis:

A riveting mystery that introduces a bold and audacious rookie detective assigned to hunt for a killer who is haunted by the past in this gripping murder case…

Natalie Lockhart always knew she was going to be a cop. A rookie detective on the Burning Lake police force, she was raised on the wisdom of her chief-of-police father. These cases will haunt you if you let them. Grief doesn’t come with instructions.

But the one thing her father couldn’t teach her was how to handle loss. Natalie’s beloved sister was viciously murdered as a teenager, and she carries the scars deep in her heart. Although the killer was locked up, the trace evidence never added up, and Natalie can’t help wondering―is the past really behind her?

As the newest member on the force, Natalie is tasked with finding nine missing persons who’ve vanished off the face of the earth, dubbed “the Missing Nine.” One night, while following up on a new lead, she comes across a savage crime that will change everything.

Daisy Buckner―a popular schoolteacher, wife to a cop, and newly pregnant―lies dead on her kitchen floor. As Natalie hunts for Daisy’s killer in the wake of the town’s shock, her search leads to a string of strange clues―about the Missing Nine, about Daisy’s secret life, and reviving fresh doubts about her sister’s murder.

As the investigation deepens, Natalie’s every move risks far-reaching consequences―for the victims, for the town of Burning Lake, and for herself.