Splinter in the Blood by Ashley Dyer (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"After months of hunting a cold-blooded murderer that the press has dubbed the Thorn Killer, Detective Greg Carver is shot in his own home. His trusted partner, Ruth Lake, is alone with him. Yet instead of calling for help, she’s rearranged the crime scene and wiped the room clean of prints.

But Carver isn’t dead.

Awakening in the hospital, Carver has no memory of being shot, but is certain that his assailant is the Thorn Killer. Though there’s no evidence to support his claim, Carver insists the attack is retaliation, an attempt to scare the detective off the psychopath’s scent, because he’s getting too close. Trapped in a hospital bed and still very weak, Carver’s obsession grows. He’s desperate to get back to work and finally nail the bastard, before more innocent blood is spilled.

One person knows the truth and she’s not telling. She’s also now leading the Thorn Killer investigation while Carver recuperates. It doesn’t matter that Carver and the rest of the force are counting on her, and that more victims’ lives at stake. Ruth is keeping a deadly secret, and she’ll cross every line—sacrificing her colleagues, her career, and maybe even her own life—to keep it from surfacing."

My Thoughts:

How could I not want to read this book after that synopsis?  I mean seriously - I felt like this book summary was written with my tastes in mind.  Dark, secretive main character where you don't know their true intentions?  Check.  Possibly unreliable main character with memory issues?  Check.  Page turning mystery where you don't fully know who to trust or what is going on?  Check, check, check.  I was sold on reading this one as soon as I read the above and it was just as good as I had hoped it would be!  This is just the type of thrilling mystery that I can't get enough of!  I was immediately intrigued from the very first page.  What actually happened to Greg Carver that night?  Why did Ruth compromise the crime scene and what is she hiding?  Those questions alone kept me reading and turning the pages as fast as I could.  It was just such a tangled mystery and I couldn't get enough!  Ruth was such a great main character to read about as I'm a sucker for a main character with a secretive nature.  It just always seems to add to the suspense and tension in the book when you don't fully know the motivations behind the main character and their actions.  The mystery portion of this book was very well done and kept me guessing until the very end.  I found the last 100 or so pages made the book unputdownable for me (no that's not a real word but it feels like it should be).  I could not stop reading and really didn't want to!  I'm super excited that this looks to be the beginning a series!  Bring on the next book please!

Overall, I really enjoyed my time reading this book and am left really excited about this being the beginning to a new series!  There was just something so completely immersive about this book and my reading experience with it.  I couldn't stop reading and really didn't want to!  I found myself trying to figure out what was going on and why the entire time that I was reading.  I wasn't successful which made for a very page turning read!  I'm really excited to see what these authors come up with next!  I think that readers who enjoy mysteries and thrillers should give this book a try!  I can easily recommend it and really want more book just like this one!  It felt like it was written for me and my reading tastes so what else could I possibly want?  

Bottom Line:  A page turner that left me pining to read more!

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