Atonement (The McIntire County Series Book 1) by Winter Austin – Review by Shea Gilkerson 9/10/23

Atonement by Winter Austin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nicolette Rivers is an ex military sniper who is now a detective in the Eider, Iowa police department.
When she is called in on a case of a dangerous man who is holding his wife and kids hostage, her boss tells her right out of the gate that if he can’t be talked down to take the shot and protect the family. He loses it and shoots his wife, so Nic takes the shot and is reminded of her past – and with it comes a whole bunch of suffering from PTSD.

Con O’Hanlon is a fellow Eider police detective who has been pining for Nic for a long time. When they pair up to investigate a rash of suicides that don’t appear to actually be suicides the more they look, Con seems to be the only person in Nicolette’s corner. He helps cover up the issues she is facing while searching for The Priest and offers so much support and strength as she spirals from her PTSD. The two of them together deal with thrills, romance, danger, suspense, chemistry…

While it’s pretty clear from early on who the killer is, and there are a lot of things unexplained, I enjoyed the world building, relationships and chemistry, and how much I learned about PTSD and how misunderstood it really is. Looking forward to watching these worlds and relationships grow and expand.

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