When Colorado police officer Gemma Monroe first appeared in Emily Littlejohn’s debut novel, Inherit the Bones, she was six months pregnant and dealing with a cheating boyfriend. Now semi-settled into domestic bliss with a fiancé and a new baby, she can turn her attention to crime—including the disappearance of a young woman, Sari Chesney, at Lost Lake.


Though the three friends that Sari was camping with all say that she disappeared without a trace, Gemma knows that there is more to the story. While investigating the woman’s background, she finds herself drawn into a burglary—and another murder—as well as a mysterious tale of other young women dying at Lost Lake. Gemma is also dealing with both professional and personal problems, including a new partner whom she doesn’t completely trust and an information leak within the police department, as well as her grandmother’s advancing dementia.

What sets these mysteries apart is Gemma’s fallibility. Like any new mother, she feels pulled in too many different directions, and as a policewoman, she still doesn’t feel as much a part of the team as she’d wish. With suspicions in the department running high and constant demands at home, it’s a wonder that she can focus on solving Sari’s death while feeling beset on all sides—a feeling a lot of women in the workforce can relate to.

Littlejohn makes it tough to figure out who the killer is, providing a number of possible and even probable suspects, including two battling brothers and a shady developer. Watching Gemma untangle all of the knotty relationships in her town to find the murderer is intriguing; if only she had as much luck in her own chaotic life.