With an early focus on the possible murderers, Ellis’ third series entry, The Girl Buried in the Woods, is more thriller than mystery. The author works this to great effect as the story reveals the burden of unearthing evidence. Matt, for example, is fairly certain he’s found the right men for the crimes, but he must admit to the police chief, at least initially, that he has nothing substantial on them. He nevertheless knows without a doubt that Colon is deceitful, but she’s evidently too influential to touch, making her the tale’s most formidable villain. When Matt denies her unfounded accusations (including planted evidence), Colon says with a smile, “The trouble is that no one will ever believe it.” Ellis generates an impressive amount of suspense, particularly when Matt is trailing suspects. The detective’s frankness also leads to brief conversations that, along with periodic action sequences, provide the book with a swift pace. Although this installment is not closely tied to the preceding two novels, its ending implies that Matt’s multivolume tale is far from over. Solid entertainment.
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The Girl Buried in the Woods
Robert Ellis, author
With Detective Matt Jones on medical leave after hunting down a brutal serial killer on the East Coast in THE LOVE KILLINGS, his supervisor from Hollywood Homicide makes a late-night visit. A body has been found buried in a remote park high above Los Angeles. Because LAPD resources are stretched thin, Jones is ordered to come off leave and work the case. Unfortunately, he makes a quick discovery, and it's grim. The murder victim is a fifteen-year-old girl.
Driven by the horror of the crime, Jones and his partner, Denny Cabrera, burn through the investigation like a wildfire. But as they turn over clue after clue, nothing adds up until they make an even more gruesome discovery.
There's another dead body out there, and now, no one is safe—especially Jones, who uncovers evidence that the murders may be linked to a turf war between an infamous mob figure and the power of Wall Street. But even worse, the big shots in city government are in on it, too. One suspect after the next shares the same goal—to pin the murders on Matt Jones and watch him run for his life.
From the Editors ...
"With THE GIRL BURIED IN THE WOODS, Robert Ellis delivers his most terrifying thriller yet. Overloaded with fully realized characters, and a story inspired by a real-life murder Ellis experienced as a ten-year-old boy, this spine-tingling read feels like a ride on a roller coaster plunging through the void with no brakes. Once again Robert Ellis demonstrates his masterful touch as a storyteller in THE GIRL BURIED IN THE WOODS."
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