Savage: An Ash Park Novel by Meghan O’Flynn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Detective Edward Petrosky returns and he is even more of a mess than last time, his sobriety is practically non-existent and although he hasn’t been caught with the alcohol yet, only time will tell as to whether he is, but he and his partner are still solving crimes despite it. He is woken too early as usual by the buzzing of his phone combined with his dogs terrible breath and slobber and as he goes to answer it, it is his partner on the other end, again as usual, however, today she is calling from somewhere all to familiar, the diner where he picks up his laced coffee most mornings because there has been a kidnapping . When he gets to the diner and realises just who is missing, and it his favourite waitress who doses up the coffee who is the victim, she is pregnant and due any day, but the thing which makes matters even worse is that the witness who called it in doesn’t have that much information to give them, so they have no leads and no idea who has taken her, but they have an idea where to start looking, those who were closest to her.

As they start to look into the case more, speak to people to try and find something, they just keep coming across dead end after dead end, the only lead they have is a truck, but with no make, model or even colour to go on, they are starting to lose hope of finding her alive. When he gets home, Petrosky wants nothing more than a drink, but instead he is faced with a family meal with his family and the girls who live next door, as well as his dog, he is trying to keep up appearances, but he is struggling, even though he loves them all dearly, he feels responsible for all that has befallen them. The next day Petrosky and his partner head to a house in the suburbs where a member of the public reported that a truck which could match the one they are looking for pulled up to the house, honked its horn and left, although they say that they didn’t see anyone going in, it isn’t guaranteed that they didn’t, but when they arrive and find that a newborn baby has been left in the basement surrounded by empty, but sealed cardboard boxes, it is clean and healthy, but has been abandoned, however, Petrosky realises that the scene has been set up and is almost identical to one he worked years before.

Later on at the diner, Petrosky and his partner meet with another detective and this is where the deja vu in the basement really hits home when the confirmation is made that it is connected to the past case which Petrosky wishes he could forget, but the similarities and connection to another homicide make it undeniable that there is a copycat on the loose, but there are differences as well and that is what Petrosky is trying to focus on. As Petrosky tries to hold things together and investigate what he can, but after the waitresses body is found, he has to come face to face with an old adversary to get some answers, but while he is there, one of the worst things that could happen does when one of the ladies next door is kidnapped. Will Petrosky be able to follow the trails of breadcrumbs which are the only leads he has, or will he be too late to save his friend, lie all the others he has failed before and will he be able to stop his drinking before it leads him to oblivion? This is another thrilling chase to solve a crime where everything points to a killer who should be dead, but you will be hooked into the investigation as much as the detectives as time passes by.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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