By: Willow Rose
Detective Billie Ann Wilde #4
ISBN: 978-1836182214
Publisher: Bookouture
Publication Date: 12/03/2024
Format: e-book
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
Madison was supposed to be on the school bus. But she never made it home…
Detective Billie Ann Wilde assesses the couple sitting awkwardly on plastic chairs in her interview room, certain she knows exactly what has happened to little Madison Harris. She was supposed to come home on the school bus, but her cold body was found in local marshlands, and as her mother cries desperately, her stepfather, John, barely looks up. And they found Madison’s blood in John’s car…
With John arrested, Billie is certain she has put a killer behind bars, but it’s not long before she hears the heart-shattering news that another girl is missing. Sweet ten-year-old Kayla has also vanished on her way home from school, and with John in custody, it couldn’t have been him. Billie’s only lead is gone.
At Kayla’s house, Billie finds tracks leading to the gnarled trees surrounding the marshes. She races through the wetlands and sees a pale shape floating on the surface of the water. As Billie cradles Kayla’s half-drowned body, desperately hoping she got there in time, she winces when she sees a mark freshly carved into Kayla’s skin.
Certain the intricate star-shaped branding is the key to unlocking the case, Billie shares it with Madison’s mother, who instantly recognizes it as the symbol of her old church. Is there danger hidden behind those private, imposing walls? As another mother finds her little girl gone, Billie will have to fight harder than ever to unlock the truth and save another innocent from being marked by a monster…
A tense and electrifying thriller from international, multi-million-copy bestseller Willow Rose that will have you racing through the pages to the heart-pounding ending. Fans of Lisa Regan, Mary Stone and Kendra Elliot will love the unstoppable twists and turns.
My Review
International superstar and bestselling author Willow Rose (favorite author) returns with one of my favorite crime series, Detective Billie Ann Wilde, with the fourth installment, FIND MY GIRL.
In this emotional and riveting suspense, young girls go missing and collide with a past/present storyline involving a dangerous cult, revealing secrets of the past. The past is intricately woven into the current plot, adding complexity and mystery to this spine-chilling psychological suspense.
About...
Set in Florida, Detective Billie Ann Wilde is back, desperate, trying to save lives while being torn as her husband has custody of their children, living in her former family home after coming out as gay and her dangerous job.
Now, she is in an apartment trying to survive and strive to get her children back. Her relatable struggles and unwavering determination make her a character you can't help but root for.
She is a dedicated, loyal, and tenacious detective who puts her heart and soul into all her cases. She strives for justice. There are cases to close, leads to follow, and lives to piece together. She is also a great, caring mother and friend, and she experiences struggles on the home front and at work.
When a young girl goes missing in the Florida marshes, all fingers point to the mom's boyfriend. However, when a second girl goes missing while he is in jail, and a body is found, it has a symbol branded on her skin that is the emblem of a church.
Is there something more sinister and evil going on in this secretive, cult-like religious community? Are there monsters hiding in plain sight?
Billie Ann will not rest until she finds the monsters killing young girls and every innocent child caught in this twisted web.
These 'monsters' are not just the physical perpetrators but also the dark forces and secrets that lurk within the cult and the community. How many secrets are yet to be unraveled?
My thoughts...
Billie Ann Wilde is a masterful, electrifying, intense series with a highly relatable detective you will root for. FIND MY GIRL is packed with twists and turns and brimming with emotion and heart.
Powerful, poignant, and utterly gripping, featuring a strong-willed female detective and well-developed characters with unforgettable twists
Like the other three books in the series, FIND MY GIRL is a captivating crime thriller that is suspenseful, intense, and deeply emotional. Rose keeps you hooked with heart and skill from the first page until the last— keeping you dying for more.
I adore Detective Bille Ann Wilde and enjoy her gritty personal and professional sides. In the end, your heart will go out to her, and I hope we get more, Billie Ann, as I want her to find happiness and balance in her life.
Rose keeps the suspense high with two gripping storylines, then and now, with multiple POVs. One involves the missing girls and others caught up in a cult (then/now), pulled in, and brainwashed by a leader. Billie Ann's personal and family life comes front and center with her past and present.
With its mysterious and malevolent leader, the dangerous cult adds spine-chilling drama and mystery to the story, keeping readers on the edge of their seats.
Inspiration...
I enjoy how Rose draws inspiration from real crimes and includes these stories and links in her Author's Note. You become invested in these stories. Trust me, you will go down a rabbit hole when researching. FIND MY GIRL was inspired by central Florida's Madeleine Sota case and the Waco Siege, which involved a raid on a religious cult compound near Waco, TX (a 51-day standoff).
I highly recommend the author and this series. As a Floridan, I enjoy books set in my backyard, and I love the author's twisty plot and strong character-driven style.
I have read all the books in the series and anxiously await the next! This series is unputdownable, and all are 5 Stars. Even though FIND MY GIRL can be read as a standalone, I highly recommend reading them (in order) to better understand Billie Ann and her journey. I'm not sure how the author cranks out this many books a year (plus her other series/books)— very impressive!
I look forward to reading some of her other series and backlist in between new books.
Recs...
FIND MY GIRL, and the series is for fans of the author and those who like smartly written crime thrillers with heart, such as Lisa Unger, Karin Slaughter, Lisa Gardner, and Christina McDonald.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review. I can't wait to see what Rose has in store for Wilder fans next.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Dec 3, 2024
Read My Reviews
DETECTIVE BILLIE ANN WILDE SERIES
About the Author
Willow Rose is a multi-million-copy best-selling Author and an Amazon ALL-star Author of more than 80 novels. Several of her books have reached the top 10 of ALL books on Amazon in the US, UK, and Canada. She has sold more than six million books all over the world.
She writes Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense, Horror, Supernatural thrillers, and Fantasy. Willow's books are fast-paced, nail-biting page turners with twists you won't see coming. That's why her fans call her The Queen of Plot-Twists.
Willow lives on Florida's Space Coast with her husband and two daughters. When she is not writing or reading, you will find her surfing and watch the dolphins play in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. WEBSITE
BOOKS BY WILLOW ROSE:
DETECTIVE BILLIE ANN WILDE SERIES
-FIND MY GIRL #4
-IN HER GRAVE #3
EVA RAE THOMAS MYSTERY SERIES:
- So We Lie (Eva Rae Thomas prequel)
- Don't Lie To Me (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Book 1)
- What You Did (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Book 2)
- Never Ever (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Book 3)
- Say You Love Me (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Book 4)
- Let Me Go (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Book 5)
- It's Not Over (Eva Rae Thomas#6)
- Not Dead Yet (Eva Rae Thomas # 7)
- To Die For (Eva Rae Thomas # 8)
- Such a Good Girl (Eva Rae Thomas#9)
- Little Did She Know (Eva Rae Thomas #10)
- You Better Run (Eva Rae Thomas #11)
- Say it isn't so (Eva Rae Thomas #12)
- Too Pretty To Die (Eva Rae Thomas #13)
- Till Death Do Us Part (Eva Rae Thomas #14)
HARRY HUNTER MYSTERY SERIES:
- All The Good Girls (Harry Hunter Mystery #1)
- Run Girl Run (Harry Hunter Mystery #2)
- No Other Way (Harry Hunter Mystery #3)
- Never Walk Alone (Harry Hunter#4)
MARY MILLS MYSTERY SERIES:
- What Hurts the Most (Mary Mills Mystery #1)
- You Can Run (Mary Mills Mystery #2)
- You Can't Hide (Mary Mills Mystery #3)
- Careful Little Eyes (Mary Mills Mystery#4)
JACK RYDER MYSTERY SERIES:
- Hit the Road Jack (Jack Ryder #1)
- Slip out the Back Jack (Jack Ryder #2)
- The House That Jack Built (Jack Ryder #3)
- Black Jack (Jack Ryder #4)
- Girl Next Door (Jack Ryder#5)
- Her Final Word (Jack Ryder #6)
- Don't Tell (Jack Ryder#7)
REBEKKA FRANCK MYSTERY SERIES:
- One, two ... He is coming for you (Rebekka Franck #1)
- Three, Four ... Better lock your door (Rebekka Franck #2)
- Five, Six ... Grab your crucifix (Rebekka Franck#3)
- Seven, Eight ... Gonna stay up late (Rebekka Franck #4)
- Nine, Ten ... Never sleep again (Rebekka Franck#5)
- Eleven, Twelve ... Dig and Delve (Rebekka Franck #6)
- Thirteen, Fourteen ... Little Boy Unseen (Rebekka Franck#7)
- Better Not Cry (Rebekka Franck #8)
- Ten Little Girls (Rebekka Franck #9)
- It Ends Here (Rebekka Franck #10)
EMMA FROST MYSTERY SERIES:
- Itsy Bitsy Spider (Emma Frost #1)
- Miss Polly had a Dolly (Emma Frost #2)
- Run Run as Fast as You Can (Emma Frost #3)
- Cross Your Heart and Hope to Die (Emma Frost #4)
- Peek-A-Boo I See You (Emma Frost#5)
- Tweedledum and Tweedledee (Emma Frost#6)
- Easy as One Two Three (Emma Frost#7)
- There's No Place like Home (Emma Frost #8)
- Slenderman (Emma Frost#9)
- Where the Wild Roses Grow (Emma Frost#10)
- Waltzing Matilda (Emma Frost #11)
- Drip Drop Dead (Emma Frost #12)
- Black Frost (Emma Frost #13)
UMBRELLA MAN SERIES:
- Umbrella Man (umbrella man trilogy book 1)
- Blackbird Fly (umbrella man trilogy book 2)
STAND ALONE MYSTERY/THRILLER/HORROR/POST-APOCALYPTIC:
- Sorry Can't Save You
- In Cold Blood
- The Surge
- Girl Divided
- In One Fell Swoop
- To Hell in a Handbasket
- Rock-A-Bye Baby
- Nibble, Nibble, Crunch
- Eenie, Meenie
- Humpty Dumpty
- Edwina
- Chain Letter
- Better Watch Out
- Mommy Dearest
- The Bird
FANTASY/PNR SERIES:
- Flesh and Blood (Vampires of Shadow Hills #1)
- Blood and Fire (Vampires of Shadow Hills #2)
- Fire and Beauty (Vampires of Shadow Hills #3)
- Beauty and Beasts (Vampires of Shadow Hills #4)
- Beasts and Magic (The Vampires of Shadow Hills #5)
- Magic and Witchcraft (The Vampires of Shadow Hills #6)
- Witchcraft and War (The Vampires of Shadow Hills #7)
- War and order (The Vampires of Shadow Hills #8)
- Order and Chaos (The Vampires of Shadow Hills #9)
- Chaos and Courage (The Vampires of Shadow Hills #10)
- Beyond (Afterlife #1)
- Serenity (Afterlife #2)
- Endurance (Afterlife #3)
- Courageous (Afterlife#4)
- Savage (Daughters of the Jaguar #1)
- Broken (Daughters of the Jaguar #2)
- Song for a Gypsy (The Wolfboy Chronicles)
- I am Wolf (The Wolfboy Chronicles)
Check out my fun #LitLift Mini Author Chat with Willow!
