Stevie‘s review of Dead Girl Running (Cape Charade, Book 1) by Christina Dodd
Contemporary Romantic Suspense published by HQN Books 01 May 18
Christina Dodd is a new author for me, but I was sufficiently intrigued by the blurb of her latest novel – particularly its protagonist’s three confessions – that I set aside my customary distrust of any book labelled as romantic suspense to find out what lay behind them. And for once, the heroine of this story lived up to my expectations.
Fresh out of the military, former captain Kellen Adams takes a job as assistant manager at a remote resort during the off-season and secures employment for her ragtag band of former comrades as well. When first the managing owners and then the head of security announce they plan on taking a break for part of the winter, Kellen worries at her ability to cope with covering both roles, barely two months into her job, even though the hotel is low on both guests and staff at that time of the year. Her self-doubt intensifies when a body turns up, especially when longer-serving members of the team reveal their strong suspicions that the remains are those of Kellen’s predecessor.
Kellen really can’t afford to get involved in a murder enquiry: the real Kellen Adams died some years earlier, victim of an apparent murder-suicide gone wrong, and her cousin, the real intended victim, took on Kellen’s identity in an effort to escape her husband’s abusive family. While on the run, the replacement Kellen sustained a gunshot wound to the head in circumstances she is unable to remember, and awoke in hospital knowing she needed to make a more permanent identity for herself. Hence the military, which turned Kellen into the strong character her cousin had been before her and helped her to make the best of the abilities she’d not been aware of previously.
The head injury also changed Kellen, in ways she doesn’t fully understand, but is able to turn to her advantage. At first I found her thought processes irritating, but the authorial conceit grew on me as the book progressed. It was also a clever way to show us just how diverse the set of characters around the resort truly was, without long paragraphs of description to hammer that point home. The book had a large cast, but all of the staff and guests had their own distinctive traits and flaws, and the identity of the bad guys took me truly by surprise.
Following Kellen’s attempts to reclaim her missing memories was almost as fun an investigation as the main murder and smuggling plot, although I felt there were a couple too many unexplained coincidences that I’d like to see resolved in subsequent books. I definitely plan to follow the series and possibly catch up on the author’s other works too, especially given one unexpected twist that happened after most of the plot-lines had been tied up. One small gripe: I could have done without the secondary antagonist in this one – their story felt a little too cliched compared to the main mysteries.
Grade: B
Summary:
I have three confessions to make:
1. I’ve got the scar of a gunshot on my forehead.
2. I don’t remember an entire year of my life.
3. My name is Kellen Adams…and that’s half a lie.Girl running… from a year she can’t remember, from a husband she prays is dead, from homelessness and fear. Tough, capable Kellen Adams takes a job as assistant manager of a remote vacation resort on the North Pacific Coast. There amid the towering storms and the lashing waves, she hopes to find sanctuary. But when she discovers a woman’s dead and mutilated body, she’s soon trying to keep her own secrets while investigating first one murder… then another.
Now every guest and employee is a suspect. Every friendly face a mask. Every kind word a lie. Kellen’s driven to defend her job, her friends and the place she’s come to call home. Yet she wonders–with the scar of a gunshot on her forehead and amnesia that leaves her unsure of her own past–could the killer be staring her in the face?
Read an excerpt.
