When Death Draws Near

June 13, 2016
In Parks’s (The Bones Will Speak) third Gwen Marcey Novel forensic sketch artist Marcey travels to Pikeville, Ky., for what is supposed to be a temporary assignment. While helping solve a serial rapist case, she is drawn into a second open case of seemingly accidental deaths. After receiving a chilling death threat and a growing number of odd questions from the investigating officers, Marcey becomes suspicious of everyone and decides she must rely solely on herself to figure out what is really happening in Pikeville. With no one to turn to, Marcey must rely on her faith and wits to maintain hope in such bleak circumstances. Making use of her artistic and forensic skills, she slowly homes in on a stranger living in the community as the prime suspect. And the deeper she digs, the more the evidence mounts connecting the two separate cases. With no time to waste, Marcey must use her investigative skills to solve the dangerously entwined cases before more victims are harmed. The compelling crimes, inscrutable community, and resilient heroine propel Parks’s latest thrill-packed installment in the chronicles of no-nonsense Gwen Marcey.

June 15, 2016

At the forefront of Park's second series outing (after The Bones Will Speak) is a string of crimes taking place in a small town of Kentucky; a rapist and murderer is on the loose, and the sheriff has called in forensic artist Gwen Marcey to help him solve the crimes (even though he doesn't believe in her theories). Things get a little dicey when Gwen's daughter joins her in the community, but Gwen will do anything to keep her daughter safe and earn the reward she so desperately needs. Forensic artist Parks has written a suspenseful mystery series that mingles faith with a tightly paced plot. Each book introduces a different type of religious practice or belief; snake handling is the focus here. VERDICT This fast moving and readable thriller will delight fans of Dee Henderson, Brandilyn Collins, and Terri Blackstock.--Shondra Brown, Wakarusa P.L., IN

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