Killing Me Softly (Secrets of Shadow Falls, 1)

by Maggie Shayne

Book Overview

The Nightcap Strangler, who terrorized the town of Shadow Falls sixteen years ago, has finally been executed. Case closed. Until Bryan Kendall's lover is murdered in the notorious killer's unique... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0778327930
• Release Date: June 2010
• Publisher: MIRA
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.6" x 1.0" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

Page Turner

The Nightcap Strangler has finally died in prison so everyone sighs with relief. Then rookie cop Bryan Kendall wakes up next to his dead girlfriend. She has been killed in the same manner as the Strangler used to kill his victims. Bryan is then suspected of killing her. Dawn Jones gets word that her first love has been accused of the crime and returns to Shadow Falls to help Bryan solve the mystery of who has started killing girls again like the Nightcap Strangler 16 years earlier. Actions cause Bryan and Dawn to go on the run and being so close together, they start questioning why they ever broke up. However, they have to put their feelings aside and figure out who killed Bryan's girlfriend before someone else gets killed and Bryan gets accused of the murder. This book was a page-turner. The author has a way of making you want more and more and more until you realize it is 2am in the morning. This is the first book I read by this author and I would highly recommend it. I enjoyed the depth of her characters and the story line. The romance part of the book was not over the top too much which made it seem even more real. Just two people trying to figure each other out but also trying to figure out who is killing before they are killed?

Great!

I had no idea that this was another book in the Mordecai Young series when I bought it, so I was so excited when I recognized the characters after reading a few pages. Shayne is a fantastic author and I truly enjoyed exploring Dawn and Bryan's lives as adults. The story was fast-paced and exciting, although I did figure out "who-dun-it" a little too quickly. I'm a sucker for a series-I love to revisit characters and see them grow and change. Can't wait for the next one

superb paranormal murder mystery

Shadow Falls, Vermont police officer Bryan Kendall was shot in the line of duty. Healed, a party is thrown welcoming him back to work. The next day Bryan awakens up on his bathroom floor. Confused, he enters his bedroom to see Bettina Wright lying dead in his bed. The murder looks identical to the M.O. of the Nightcap Strangler; who was just executed by the state after fifteen years on death row. Learning what happened from her biological mother, Bryan's former girlfriend Dawn Jones decides to help him prove his innocence so she comes from the West Coast to New England. She hears voices in her head, but ignores them as she has for five years ever since she broke Bryan's heart by leaving. However, for Bryan's sake she heeds the voices when she realizes she is a dead ringer for the latest victim of apparently The Nightcap Strangler. This is a superb paranormal murder mystery with a supporting second chance at love romantic subplot. The story line is fast-paced with a strong support cast especially the intriguing killer and a great unique witness to the homicide in Bryan's bedroom. Readers will relish Maggie Shayne's taut thriller as Bryan and Dawn (see Thicker Than Water and Darker Than Midnight for her previous appearances) work the case while rekindling their love. Harriet Klausner