Unstable (Pike, Wisconsin #3)

by Alexandra Ivy

Blurb:

WHEN IT COMES TO KILLING

A dead man in a cemetery isn’t news—unless he’s found on top of a grave, with a bullet through his head. The body belongs to Jude Henley, who was supposed to be buried below. Instead, the grave contains the remains of Staci Gale, thought to have run away nearly three decades ago. Then an old VCR tape arrives at the sheriff station, showing Staci before her death—bound and terrified—with a note, claiming to be from the killer’s apprentice ...

PRACTICE

Rachel Fisher’s job in cold case files has brought her back to Pike, Wisconsin—where she’ll be working alongside her ex-husband, Zac Evans. As Pike’s interim sheriff, Zac expected a low-key assignment. Instead, he and Rachel are racing to solve serial murders from decades past while a new monster goads them with a chilling promise. Every week there’ll be another old tape—and a fresh victim...

MAKES PERFECT ...

In this small town a killer walks—twisted, ruthless, determined to continue his master’s work. And unless Rachel and Zac can find a way to get ahead of him, the nightmare will never end.

Themes: Contemporary

Rating: 4 stars

Heat Rating:

Review:

So I have to admit a lot of times I am not really into these Romantic suspense novels where the author delves into the psyche off the killer and we get into the sick and twisted psychoses off the serial killer, but Alexandra Ivy seems to have a flair for it that keeps me from having the creeps and wanting to toss the book into the trash. I have enjoyed the Pike, Wisconsin series since the beginning and, while I wonder how one small town could have so many nut-jobs running around killing people for decades with no one noticing, I loved every installment so far. This latest story picks up with the new sheriff in town being led into the past in order to uncover the secrets of a killer that once stalked the women of the area and to stop his acolyte who has taken to killing again. Zac Evans had no idea what he was in for when he volunteered to be the interim sheriff, but now he has bodies turning up and decades old murders being uncovered on his watch. When his ex-wife, a cold-case detective, asks to job the hunt, suspecting it might be linked to a case she is investigating he has an all new issue to deal with. Though he never stopped loving Rachel, Zac had to let her go so she could live her life and he could return to his small town to help out his family on the farm. Now they are working together to bring this killer in, but as the bodies continue to pile up and the sick and twist truth of the past comes to light, Zac and Rachel discover that the passion and love they shared is still there. But in order to have a chance to explore their newly rekindled relationship, they first have to stop the seemingly unstoppable killer before one or both of their lies is forfeit, because the killer has new obsession, one that will cost them everything. I really liked this story though I could have wished for a lot more romance between Rachel and Zac as they rekindled their marriage and found a way to love again. Rachel is a hardass detective that has obviously had a lot of issues with trust and being open to love ever since a huge loss when she was a young girl and that lead to a lot of issues in their first relationship. I did love her bravery, intelligence and the way she so obviously cared for Zac and her parents, but I would have enjoyed a bit more softness in the private moments she shared with Zac. Zac gave up a lot in order to be there for his parents, costing him his future and his marriage, but he never stopped loving Rachel and it’s obvious he knows the mistakes he made. That self-awareness, dedication, and willingness to own up to his issues and mistakes made him a great guy, and of course his dedication to protecting his town and those he loves made him an even better hero. I was glad to see these two finally give into their feelings, though I would have loved to see it more, but in the end I think they found their way back to one another again and that’s all that matters. I will say I loved the overall plot building, the twists and turns, and super creepiness as the story progressed, leading even me to not be able to pick out the bad guy until almost the end, but the story focused a lot more on that aspect that than the romance, which was a con for me. I am looking forward to the next story in the series and hope to see more of these characters in that one as they move forward with their lives.