Her Deadly Touch

Her Deadly Touch by Lisa Regan brings murder, drama, grief, and suspense to a well-written and dramatic police procedural and crime thriller set in Denton, Pennsylvania. This is the twelfth book in the Detective Josie Quinn series and the third book that I have read by this author.

Josie is due to report back to work for the Denton police department tomorrow, but doesn’t feel ready for it. She decides to visit the grave of her first husband. While there, she hears a woman scream. When Josie investigates she finds Krystal Duncan’s body. Krystal has been missing for a few days and is the mother of one of five children that were killed in a school bus crash two years ago. Josie is partnered with Detective Gretchen Palmer; and the case immediately gets complicated.

Josie is a compelling character and someone you can root for. Her grief and guilt over the recent loss of a close family member, realistic and woven seamlessly into the story, makes her feel more relatable. The secondary characters providing support and conflict had varying degrees of depth, but enhanced the story rather than detracting from it. While there are a large number of characters to keep track of, it wasn’t difficult to keep them straight.

The plot is suspenseful, fresh, complex and entertaining, but also somewhat sad and shocking. There are plenty of plot twists and turns with several surprises. With a fast pace from scene to scene, and subplots that tie together well, the tension, stakes and action build up to an exciting and pulse-quickening dramatic ending. The prose is well-written and entertaining.

Once again, this author has brought mystery, family dynamics, grief, secrets, lies and much more to life in a page turner that kept me engaged throughout. Her ability to bring fresh approaches to an established genre and series are fantastic. She brings strong characters, complex plots, twists and turns, and excellent pacing to this series. My only quibble was with the few flashbacks that were included which I didn’t think were necessary.

Overall, I was hooked immediately in the first chapter and the pages kept turning. The novel had me trying to determine the killer before Josie. Will you figure out what is happening? I recommend this book to those that enjoy thrillers with an edge, great police procedurals and those that enjoy this series. While not absolutely necessary, I would recommend reading the series in order to gain more insight into the characters. I look forward to the next book in this series.

Bookouture and Lisa Regan provided a digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and are not biased in any way. Publication date was August 12, 2021.