Rachel Caine

She can't ignore a cry for help. But in this remote hunting town, it's open season. Gwen Proctor escaped her serial-killer husband and saved her family. What she can't seem to outrun is his notoriety. Or the sick internet vigilantes still seeking to avenge his crimes. For Gwen, hiding isn't an option. Not when her only mission is to create a normal life for her kids. But now, a threatened woman has reached out. Marlene Crockett, from the remote town of Wolfhunter, is panicked for herself and her daughter. When Gwen arrives in the small, isolated rural community, Marlene is already dead--her own daughter blamed for the murder. Except that's not the person Marlene feared at all. And Gwen isn't leaving until she finds out who that was. But it may already be too late. A trap has been set. And it's poised to snap shut on everyone Gwen loves. Her stalkers are closing in. And in a town as dark as Wolfhunter, it's so easy for them to hide...

Wolfhunter River

Geoffrey Froggatt

I loved returning to Gwen Proctor’s life to see how much has changed (and how much hasn’t) since the events of the last book. Wolfhunter River takes readers back to the small Tennessee town of Stillhouse Lake following Gwen Proctor, formerly Gina Royal, as she tries to make a new life for herself and her children after finding out that her husband was a notorious serial killer. But even though it has been years since Gwen was cleared of being his accomplice, the family of some of Melvin Royal’s victims still refuse to believe she had nothing to do with his murders. In particular, the mother of one of the women he killed has been leading a harassment campaign against her, making Gwen’s life a living hell. Worse, now it appears there will be a documentary made about the women Melvin murdered, dashing all hopes of privacy for her and her family. Still, Gwen is determined to do her best to protect her daughter Lanni and her son Connor, shielding them from the worst of the harassment, both online and in the real world. But as it turns out, the threat might be even closer to home, as Gwen’s boyfriend Sam has plenty of secrets in his past that he wishes to keep hidden even as their relationship deepens. One day, Gwen also receives a cryptic phone call from a frightened woman named Marlene Crockett who lives in the nearby town of Wolfhunter. At the time, Gwen is unable to offer much help while her situation in Stillhouse Lake is so uncertain, but not long afterward, Marlene ends up dead and the main suspect is her teenaged daughter. Feeling concern for the girl and a bit guilty for not having done more, Gwen decides to travel to Wolfhunter to investigate, bringing Sam and the kids along because of a sudden need for all of them to get out of town. But when they arrive, they discover a small community rotting at its core: a kidnapped child, women going missing, a police department rife with corruption. Content warning for kidnapping, murder, emotional abuse, violence, homophobia and depiction of a hate crime. I loved the commentary on conspiracy theorists in this book. I was indifferent to Sam’s character in the last book, but this book made me like him as a character as we got to see things from his POV. Lanni and Connor also get fleshed out more as characters, and we get to explore more of their storylines from previous books. I found the kids to be less annoying in this book, and I felt sympathy for Gwen and Sam as a family unit. This book was interesting but it definitely doesn’t stand on its own as a solo story as strongly as much as the previous books in this series. This book is very much a transitional and bridge book to the rest of the series but it does a decent job at wrapping up certain storylines and setting up newer ones.

Denaiir

Another gritty and dark story, Rachel Caine is on par with Karin Slaughter for addictive stories that explore the dirtiest minds and actions you can think of (or can't even imagine). I thought this was a trilogy but this is actually a series and this one has a completely new mystery. Since the Melvin Royal arc ended in volume 2 I was wondering what this one would be about, but it has a brand new mystery and of course we continue to follow Gwen and family as they struggle to get accepted. I still love the characters and am very happy this is an on-going series, Rachel Caine is a new favorite thriller author and I'm excited for her next story.

TYLER

Salwa Mohamed

I appreciated the plot but the pacing was brutally slow and unnecessarily detailed.

Kate Gravelle

The writing is so engaging it doesn’t even matter that I just read the same book three times in a row!

Venessa Johnstone

Not as exciting as the first couple.. ( need sadistic husband ) but I'll continue on..

Melea Mullican

Probably more like 3.5. I really loved the first book in the series and enjoyed the second. This one, unfortunately, did not quite live up to the first 2 in the series. 

There were several things I liked about this book. 1) Gwen and Sam's relationship. It is very real, raw, and I think well done. 2) Gwen's relationship with her kids and their characters. I am interested to see where Connor's storyline goes. 3) The action. Caine definitely knows how to keep up suspense.

Unfortunately there were also a lot of things I didn't like. Nothing seemed to happen for the first 60% of the book. It was just recapping how awful their lives are and how they'll never get a moment's peace. That's been the entire focus of the first two books. It was unnecessary to devote the first half of this book to that. I also know I will be the unpopular opinion here, but I didn't like how far off from the original story this went. The first focuses so much on Melvin and that part of their lives that the main story of this book just felt like an add on to a criminal minds episode. There was no logical flow to them being involved in Wolfhunter other than the always end up in crappy situations. However, I liked the way she wrapped it up to lead into future books without this disconnect or lack of logical lead in.

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

Stillhouse Lake #3, and sequel to Killman Creek, we once again meet Qwen Proctor, her two children, and Sam Cade her boyfriend. This time, not only are the family members of those whom her ex-husband killed coming for her, but she has been called to help another woman with a similar problem.

Alright, time to be honest. This is a book I won’t finish. I am sitting here, staring at this novel that I am halfway through, and I just can’t do it.

I really enjoyed the first two novels. But I am so tired of things coming between Qwen and Sam, and I am so tired of her ex-husband’s past stalking her. I get it. There are some crazy folks out there.

But three books of this?

Can we just get to the part where they are together and solve other stalking issues? Please.

I will probably give the next story in this series a go, but I just can’t finish this one.

Randy Robbins

I wasnt sure what more could be done with this series but I think Caine managed to write the best book of the series. It is full of suspense and at no point could you guess what was really happening. The switched to a mixed perspective really helped grow this series into something more. I am eager to find out what is next for the Proctor family.

Wolfhunter River

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