Title: Wildwood
Author: Amy Pease
Genre: Mystery/thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5
Deputy Sheriff Eli North has spent the last year getting his life back together. He hasn’t touched a drop of alcohol, he’s working through his PTSD from his military deployment, and he’s repairing his most important relationships. When an undercover informant disappears and all signs point to murder, Eli must expose the dark underbelly of his idyllic Wisconsin small town while safeguarding his newfound stability.
Then, with the unexpected arrival of FBI Agent Alyssa Mason, Eli and his mother, the sheriff, are pulled deeper into a violent criminal network built on the backs of the lost and forgotten.
As the case deepens, loyalties fracture and the line between justice and survival begins to blur. In a town where everyone has something to hide, exposing the truth may cost them everything.
I’m pretty sure I thought the setting for Northwoods—the first novel in this series—was bleak, and that opinion hasn’t changed. I have zero desire to visit Wisconsin. Though bleak, the setting is vivid and well-drawn, and I have no problem picturing it, even if I have no desire to go.
There are so many layers in this town and with these characters. I found that fascinating, and the investigation into whatever happened to Trinity drew me in immediately. This book deftly avoids the sophomore slump to keep the reader glued to the page, eager to figure out just what is going on in Shaky Lake.
Amy Pease lives in Wisconsin. Wildwood is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of Atria Books | Atria/Emily Bestler Books in exchange for an honest review.)
Tomorrow Is Another Day 