Monday, October 9, 2017

Dark Signal (Kate Fox #2) by Shannon Baker, A Review


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Book Description

Dark Signal by Shannon Baker is the second installment in the Kate Fox mystery series, called "A must read" by New York Times bestselling author Alex Kava, starring a female Longmire in the atmospheric Nebraska Sandhills.

Reeling from her recent divorce, Kate Fox has just been sworn in as Grand County, Nebraska Sheriff when tragedy strikes. A railroad accident has left engineer Chad Mills dead, his conductor Bobby Jenkins in shock. Kate soon realizes that the accident was likely murder.

Who would want to kill Chad Mills? Kate finds that he made a few enemies as president of the railroad workers union. Meanwhile his widow is behaving oddly. And why was his neighbor Josh Stevens at the Mills house on the night of the accident?

While her loud and meddling family conspires to help Kate past her divorce, State Patrol Officer Trey closes in on Josh Stevens as the suspect. Kate doesn’t believe it. She may not have the experience, but she’s lived in the Sandhills her whole life, and knows the land and the people. Something doesn’t add up―and Kate must find the real killer before he can strike again.


I received an eARC copy of this book from the publisher. Here is my honest review.

Dark Signal gripped me from the opening paragraph, dragged me to the Nebraska Sandhills and wouldn't let me go. As a mystery, this book hit all the points for me: intriguing mystery with numerous suspects, a law officer with just the right amount of confidence and vulnerability and a cast of supporting characters that draw in like one of the group and add a sense of real-life to the story.
I finished the book deeply satisfied and yet.....yearning for more Kate Fox and the rural Nebraska community she calls home. This book is so strong in both it's setting descriptions and character developments.

This is actually the second book in the series and while I haven't read the first book, that did not hinder me from connecting to Kate right away. Baker did an excellent job of making sure the reader knew bits of Kate's past and how that drives her now while not providing an overabundance of details or retelling the first book in a few pages. As a reader, I loved that; I was able to read and enjoy this book all the time knowing I'll go back and read the first book.

Another element that I enjoyed was the secondary mystery Baker wove throughout the book involving Kate's niece and her whereabouts and another mystery. It seems like this is a mystery that will unfold slowly, over several books and it's always fun to try to unravel the clues along with the protagonist. Finally, I loved how Baker was able to off-set tense moments with just the right amount of humor or sarcasm.

I gave this book: 

★ = I did not like it     ★ = It was okay     ★ = I liked it    
★ = I really liked it     ★ = I loved it


Want to Know More?

You can visit Shannon Baker's website to learn more about Kate Fox and this series.

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