The Coldest Case by Tessa Wegert
11/5/24; 306 pages
Severn House
Shana Merchant #6
The Coldest Case by Tessa Wegert is a highly recommended investigative thriller and the sixth book in the Shana Merchant series.
On the small remote island of Running Pine, part of Lake Ontario’s Thousand Islands
Archipelago, eight people are
overwintering, including six year-rounders and two Social media influencers, Cary Caufield and Sylvie Lavoy. Cary and Sylvie are documenting their stay on the Instagram account Running
Wild and receiving thousands of dollars of merchandise for product
placement. When Cary goes missing while ice fishing, the state police
are called in to assist.
Tim Wellington, Shana Merchant's partner and husband, is part of the initial 2 person team who make the dangerous journey to the island. Shana is almost 7 months pregnant and trying to cut back on risky activities, but on the island Sylvie insists to Tim that she will only talk to Shana, so Shana also makes her way to the island to talk to Sylvie. At the same time, Shana has called an old friend to help look into a cold case that still haunts her. She believes it may be tied to a serial killer case from New York City.
The even-paced plot follows the present day freezing cold search for Cary, which turns into a murder investigation, with flashbacks to Shana's previous unsolved cold case in NYC from 4 years ago. It is easy to follow both cases, although I found the current case more interesting than the cold case. The action does pick up later in the novel with some unexpected developments. Both cases have surprising twists that are unpredictable.
As the sixth book in the series, I personally felt that this would work better for readers already following the series. At times it felt as if I was missing pieces of information or had an incomplete picture of background information and character development. It is still a very satisfying investigative mystery/thriller. Thanks to Severn House for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
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