Crooked Lane Books, Belletristik, The Wrong Woman (Englisch, Leanne Kale Sparks, 2022)

COLORADO BOOK AWARD 2023 WINNER, BEST THRILLER The past is never far behind, as a string of murders threatens to unleash long-buried secrets in this pulse-pounding thriller for fans of Melinda Leigh and T. R. Ragan. The only survivor of Denver&rsquo s notorious &ldquo Reaper&rdquo serial murders, FBI Special Agent Kendall Beck grapples with the ghosts of her past by seeking justice for victims of abuse. She&rsquo s neck deep in a particularly ugly case involving the disappearance of five-year-old Emily Williams&mdash but her investigation is derailed when her best friend and roommate, Gwen Tavich, turns up dead floating in a nearby lake. Devastated by the news of Gwen&rsquo s death, Kendall teams up with Denver detective Adam Taylor to find the killer. Gwen&rsquo s fiancé , Ty Butler, is being evasive about the last time he saw Gwen, and as the evidence mounts against him, he&rsquo s arrested for the murder. With every new clue, Kendall questions how well she really knew her friend. And when Gwen&rsquo s dark secrets begin spilling out one by one, she begins to understand the devastating magnitude of her murder. The Reaper has returned to Denver&mdash and he&rsquo s not stopping at just one victim. As the trauma of Kendall&rsquo s past comes roaring back, she and Adam have no time to spare before more bodies start piling up. And then Kendall makes a shocking discovery that reveals the horrifying truth behind Emily Williams&rsquo s disappearance. Now, Kendall must confront her darkest fears as she and the Reaper face off one more time.