I took it out from the library on a whim and I finished the book in two days and I have the second book of this trilogy and will start it ASAP. It didn't feel quite up to par of his past writing in the sense that there seemed to be a bit extra padding at times, but I'm chalking that up to a need to set up for the remaining books. Detective Duckworth has to find out the killer and at the same time some person in town had just killed and strung 23 squirrels and did something at the abandoned fairground. In addition to this murder, Officer Barry Duckworth (obsessed with donuts and trying to lose weight) has his hands full, juggling cases coming at him at once with a sweep of crimes in the area.

Each new book that he has published has consistently fulfilled and exceeded the promise of his previous one, with many of them set in a mythical but true-to-life town in New York named Promise Falls. We will process the refund due to you as soon as possible and, in any case within thirty (30) days of the day we confirm via e-mail that you are entitled to a refund for defective goods. But when David's mother asks him to check on her, he's horrified to discover that she's been secretly raising a child who is not her own--a baby she claims was a gift from an "angel" left on her porch. Self-important and brash, she doesn't actually connect very much with her daughter or the wider family as she attempts to fan the flames of the fire.

All these instances hold similarities that cause concern for the head detective Barry Duckworth, who is also investigating the brutal death of a young woman and her stolen baby. David’s character steers the ship, so to speak, but we also get the inner musings of several other characters. Readers can join the Barclay train at any time and not miss a beat, though his sometimes minute references to past stories are not lost on long-time fans. But the puzzlement turned to bewilderment and horror when a woman was discovered not that far away, brutally murdered, her baby missing.

The lies and deceit make me wonder who in this town isn't a crappy person or involved in some underhanded dealings.

There is also a backstory of Olivia Fisher, a young woman with a bright future, killed years ago in a brutal murder.