Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher. Post contains affiliate links; if you make a purchase, I may earn commission. Opinions shared are mine.

I’m torn between my insane delight at the invitation to read a new Stillhouse Lake book, and the guilt of wanting more, more, more from this series. Rachel Caine knows how to entangle her readers in the sticky web of suspense. Though it’s tough to keep a series going, she’s held the thrilling momentum from the start. Bitter Falls is a terrific addition to the series.

If you haven’t read books 1-3 in the series, you can probably catch up with the major details by picking up on the background details given in this one. But why would you want to? You’d get so much more out of the characters and plot events.

With Bitter Falls, we get to see the day-to-day normal life of Gwen’s family. Though I’m sure she’d be happy to go back to freelance computer work, she has a family to support. Her skills are put to good use as a private investigator. I felt frustrated by her stubbornness to retain a sense of normalcy, as though forcing her kids to attend public school would pave the way for a mundane life, but I could also relate to her desire to be a typical family. The Tennessee setting was strikingly familiar. I could easily imagine the hiking trails and lakeside homes nestled in the mountains and foothills.

Rachel Caine is currently fighting cancer, even while she’s writing her amazing books. I’m pretty sure she’s Wonder Woman. Follow her on Twitter!