She didn’t notice the corn stalks shiver a few feet to her right. By the time she looked up, the man towered above her. In a single movement he wrapped one thick hand around her waist, the other he clamped over her mouth, muffling her screams.

Detective Clara Jefferies has spent years running from her childhood in Alber, Utah. But when she hears that her baby sister Delilah has disappeared, she knows that the peaceful community will be shattered, her family vulnerable, and that that she must face up to her past and go home.

Clara returns to find that her mother, Ardeth, has isolated her family by moving to the edge of town, in the shadow of the mountains. Ardeth refuses to talk to the police and won’t let Clara through the front door, believing she and her sister-wives can protect their own. But Clara knows better than anyone that her mother isn’t always capable of protecting her children.

When Clara finds out that two more girls have disappeared, all last seen around the cornfields near her family’s home, she realizes it’s not just Delilah who’s in danger. And then she gets a call that a body has been found…

Clara will have to dig deep into the town’s secrets if she’s going to find Delilah. But that will mean confronting the reason she left. And as she gets closer to Delilah, she might be putting her more at risk…

My thoughts on The Fallen Girls…

The Fallen Girls is one of those books that seems perfect for me on paper. A missing girl, a mysterious kidnapper and a female detective determined to get to the bottom of whatever is going on in a town that doesn’t want her help. For some reason, though, I just couldn’t get away with it – and I’m not sure why.

Clara is an interesting character, one with a wonderfully complicated background that I feel could be unpicked in future books in the series. And the setting, a small Mormon community in a small American town is ideal for revealing secrets and throwing up red herrings.

My problem was, I didn’t warm to either. I wanted to like Clara, but I didn’t, and I wanted to get drawn into Alber, but I couldn’t. Neither were richly enough drawn for me. Which meant I didn’t get drawn into the story. I didn’t believe in it.  That’s something I really need in the books I read. And it’s why I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I should. Sorry!

Emma

Note: I received a copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review. All thoughts, feelings and opinions are my own.