Dead Girl Running by Christina Dodd (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"I have three confessions to make:
1. I've got the scar of gunshot on my forehead.
2. I don't remember an entire year of my life.
3. My name is Kellen Adams...and that's half a lie.

Girl running...from a year she can't remember, from a husband she prays is dead, from homelessness and fear. Tough, capable Kellen Adams takes a job as assistant manager of a remote vacation resort on the North Pacific Coast. There amid the towering storms and the lashing waves, she hopes to find sanctuary. But when she discovers a woman's dead and mutilated body, she's soon trying to keep her own secrets while investigating first one murder...then another. 

Now every guest and employee is a suspect. Every friendly face a mask. Every kind word a lie. Kellen's driven to defend her job, her friends and the place she's come to call home. Yet she wonders--with the scar of a gunshot on her forehead and amnesia that leaves her unsure of her own past--could the killer be staring her in the face?"

My Thoughts:

I picked this book up because I loved the sound of that summary and decided it needed to be my next read.  It was a pretty great choice and I'm excited because it is the beginning to a series which I didn't realize until I finished.  There was so much going on in this book that I almost don't know where to begin. Kellen has had a bad run of things which is why she is now working at a vacation resort far away from the life she once led.  As you begin to read this book, there are chapters that explain her past and help to make more sense of why she is the way she is now.  I liked the back and forth and felt that it helped flesh out Kellen as the main character.  There was a really solid layer of tension to this book thanks to everything that was happening.  And because Kellen is missing memories from a year of her life there is also a slightly unreliable narrator feel going on with Kellen.  She doesn't know the full truth of what happened so I as the reader couldn't fully trust her memories in relation to everything that was going on.  I'm trying to not give too many details as I don't want to spoil anything for anyone that hasn't yet had the chance to read this book.  Fair warning though - I'm going to get a little more detailed now so if you want to skip ahead to the next paragraph and avoid spoilers feel free.  My one and only complaint with this book was that it lacked believability at times.  Letting Kellen be involved in the investigation of the woman's body for one.  I found early on that for me to really enjoy this one to let those details go and just enjoy the ride the author was taking me on.  I only mention it because it did bother me at first and may also bother other readers in the same way.  On a different note, I loved the ending of this book!  I realized that I was getting towards the end and didn't yet have all of the answers so it wasn't a surprise to me that the book ended in a cliff hanger.  But what did surprise me was how that all played out - boy do I sure wish I already had that next book waiting in my hands!  I cannot wait to see what happens next!

Overall I really enjoyed my time with this book and am left wanting more!  This is my first book by Dodd but it won't be my last.  A couple of times this book mentioned a place called Virtue Falls and I believe that I have the first book in that series on my own shelves.  Maybe I'll go and try that series while I wait for the next book in this series to release.  It wasn't a perfect read but it was a book that sucked me in so I couldn't stop reading.  I would rate this one a solid four stars which is pretty darn good.  It wasn't perfect but I enjoyed my time with it which is all I can really ask.  I'm excited to go and check out Dodd's backlist now to see what else I've been missing out on.  Recommended!

Bottom Line:  A suspenseful read that left me wishing for the next book!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.  Thoughts are my own.