“The lights of her parents’ cabin just visible through the woods, the girl carefully curls up amongst the reeds, her knees pulled tight to her chest. Terrified, the only sound she makes is the pounding of her heart, but she hears the stranger searching… if she keeps silent, will she be safe?”
The third book in Roger Stelljes‘ Agent Tori Hunter series, The Hidden Girl follows Agent Tori Hunter who is urgently called to the murder scene of Dan and Heidi Newman. She finds their throats slit, and Dan tied up: forced to watch his wife lose her life. Desperate to find the monster behind this crime, Tori pieces together the broken chain. But then another local couple is murdered in their isolated home, another husband forced to watch his worst nightmare unfold. As more couples lose their lives, can Tori keep her one witness safe from this vicious killer? And can she track him down before more innocent families are torn apart?
Rating: 
Today is my stop on the #booksontour for this book. Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
With a gut-punching opening, The Hidden Girl gets you right into the action. Focusing on a chilling series of crimes, it’s a fast-paced and intriguing story with plenty of thrills.
The characters are brilliantly dynamic. A big fan of Roger Stelljes’ Tori Hunter series, I’ve grown to love these characters over the past year or so. I’ve always liked Tori and have looked forward to seeing her relationship develop with Braddock. And with The Hidden Girl taking a glance into the past, I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see Tori’s father at work and get a better sense of her upbringing.
However, I do think that you need to be a fan of the series to really enjoy this book. While it does give a good summary of the previous two books, it does rely on the connections you have made to the characters.
While it’s a great instalment in a series that I get excited to keep up with, The Hidden Girl just isn’t as gripping as the first two books were so I would definitely recommend that you go back and read those first. Nevertheless, this is a brilliant detective series to get into, so they are well worth checking out.
Details:
The Hidden Girl by Roger Stelljes
Release Date: 7th October 2021
Print Length: 396 pages
Genre: Detective Thriller
Publisher: Bookouture
Synopsis:
The lights of her parents’ cabin are just visible through the woods, the girl carefully curls up amongst the reeds, her knees pulled tight to her chest. Terrified, the only sound she makes is the pounding of her heart, but she hears the stranger searching… if she keeps silent, will she be safe?
When Agent Tori Hunter is urgently called to the murder scene of Dan and Heidi Newman, she finds their throats slit, and Dan tied up: forced to watch his wife lose her life. Tori’s first thought is for their seventeen-year-old daughter Cara who is nowhere to be found. Will this popular young girl be the next victim?
A broken bracelet is the one clue left at the scene, but the team are running in circles until Tori finally tracks down Cara hiding in the woods. Sobbing, the devastated girl says all she remembers is a flash of a man’s face as she was chased through the forest…
Desperate to find the monster behind this crime, Tori pieces together the broken chain: and it leads her to an elderly lady living alone nearby. When the woman won’t speak to the police, Tori senses that although it means breaking all the rules, introducing Cara will show this lonely soul what’s at stake. And once inside her house, Cara gasps when she sees a framed photo on display. It’s the man who chased her…
But then another local couple is murdered in their isolated home, another husband is forced to watch his worst nightmare unfold. As more couples lose their lives, can Tori keep Cara, her one witness, safe from this vicious killer? And can she track him down before more innocent families are torn apart?
An absolutely addictive and mind-blowing crime thriller that will have you glued to the pages through each and every twist, until the final shocking conclusion. Fans of Kendra Elliot, Robert Dugoni and Lisa Jackson won’t be able to put this down.
About The Author:
Roger Stelljes is the acclaimed New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of pulse-pounding murder mystery and suspense novels, including the Tori Hunter and McRyan Mystery Series. Roger’s crime thrillers are noted for their fast-paced, yet intricate plots filled with layered and complex characters.
Roger started his first novel in July 2002 while on vacation in Minnesota’s Brainerd Lakes area and has been writing ever since. His debut book, The St. Paul Conspiracy, was nominated in genre fiction for the Minnesota Book Awards along with finalists Brian Freeman and William Kent Krueger. With his follow-up, Deadly Stillwater, where Vince Flynn hailed Roger as a “powerful new thriller voice”, he won the Midwest Independent Book Publishers Award for commercial fiction.
Born and raised in Minnesota, Roger still lives there with his family. In addition to his work as an author, Roger is a partner in his law firm. Roger is an avid sports enthusiast and enjoys spending time outdoors boating, attending hockey games, and honing his golf game.
Read, Watch & Drink Coffee 
Please Leave A Comment