Title:- What Waits in the Woods
Author:- Terri Parlato
Date published:- 26th December 2023
No. of pages:- 304 page
Genre:- Thriller
Rating:-
Plot:- 4/5
Writing:- 4/5
Overall rating:- 4/5
In this riveting thriller from a new master of suspense, a young dancer’s homecoming is marred by a grisly discovery—and the realization that nothing in her past may be quite what she believed.
When Esmé Foster left the Boston suburbs to become a professional ballerina, the future shimmered with promise. Eleven years later, her career has been derailed by an injury, and Esme knows it’s time to come back to Graybridge to help her brother care for their ailing father. But her return coincides with an unthinkable crime. Kara Cunningham, one of Esme’s high school friends, is found dead in the woods behind the Fosters’ house.
Esmé is shocked and grieving, but also uneasy. In her dreams, she still sees the man who showed up at the scene of the car accident that killed her mother—and told Esmé he was going to kill her too. Family and friends insisted the figure was a product of Esmé’s imagination, that she was concussed after the crash. But she and Kara looked alike, sharing the same petite build, the same hair color. Could Kara’s murder have been a case of mistaken identity?
Detective Rita Myers is familiar with close-knit communities like Graybridge, where, beneath the friendliness, there are whispers and secrets. The town has seen other tragedies too, including the long-ago drowning of a young girl in a pond, deep in the woods. Even within the once-close circle of friends that included Kara and Esmé, Rita discerns a ripple of mistrust.
Day by day, Esmé discovers more about the place she left behind—and the friends and family she thought she knew. Soon, shining a light into the darkness to learn what really happened the night Kara died is the only way she can bring the nightmare to an end . . .
This is the second book of the Detective Rita Myers although you can read this book as a standalone.
The story starts with the discovery of a body of a girl near former dancer Esme’s house. Esme’s father is suffering from dementia and it was her brother Bryce who discovers the body. The body was none other than Kara who is one of Esme’s friends. Esme meanwhile returns back home after an injury causes her to halt her dancing career. Rita Myers must find the murderer before he attacks again.
This was actually a good thriller. The story is told in the perspectives of Esme and Rita and I felt this was more like a police procedural than a thriller. I like the disturbing and creepy way Mr. York photographs the girls including Esme and Kara which gave a creepy setting to the story. The suspects list seemed to be clear but the reveal of the actual killer was quiet unexpected which actually increased my rating to this book. This wasn’t really fast paced but nonetheless there were some twists and turns and overall, this book worth four stars in my opinion.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.
Terri Parlato was born and raised in upstate New York. She currently lives in a small north Georgia town with her husband and their dog Lucy.
Tropical Girl Reads 