Wetlands Investigation

The Swamp Slayings #3

by Carla Cassidy

A killer is stalking the swamps.
Stopping him is their mission.

Investigator Nick Cain doesn’t plan to stay in Black Bayou long. Just long enough to catch a serial killer. But his partner, Officer Sarah Beauregard, sees the case as an opportunity to prove herself. Uncovering town secrets as they investigate the murders of four women, they find their growing feelings for each other are an unwanted distraction. One they can’t afford when the killer targets Sarah.

Genres: Romantic Suspense, Harlequin, Romance

248 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 2024

Reviews

[Summer · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing style here had a stilted quality, especially noticeable in the dialogue. This was also extremely repetitive throughout, rehashing the same information over and over in a way that came across very much like filler.

I didn’t love the romance either, it seemed forced, I wasn’t really feeling chemistry between Sarah and Nick. It also seemed unlikely that Sarah would show so little hesitancy in hooking up with a co-worker when she’s waited so long to prove herself on the job, I just feel like for fear of the optics, most ambitious women would fight the attraction more than she does.

I was a bit disappointed that the disparity between those from the swamp and the townies didn’t ultimately play a larger role here as when that was mentioned very early on, I was intrigued, it seemed like it might have been interesting subject matter to explore, echoing how in real life socioeconomics seems to all too often factor in to the justice system, but ultimately that’s not where this went.

There were a few suspects offered up as the serial killer, however, due to the aforementioned repetitious nature of this novel, information on those characters mostly stayed at a one-note level on repeat rather than dig into them and add to their shadiness in a way that maybe could have steered the reader away from zeroing in on the most obvious suspect. As for Sarah and Nick and their detective skills, the further along this book went the more I found myself questioning their intelligence and competancy, which is kind of dealbreaker for me when it comes to main characters in a mystery.

This author has written over 150 books for Harlequin so clearly there’s an audience out there who really meshes well with her storytelling and would probably enjoy this one, too, unfortunately this novel just wasn’t the right fit for me in a number of ways.


I received this book through a giveaway.

[Karen Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent mystery but I had guessed who the killer was early on. Did not like Nick after the ending “The woman has to be willing to relocate..”. How about a conversation or a question vs a declarative sentence.

[Harlequin Books]

Romantic Suspense, Crime Thriller, Police Procedural Mystery & Detective
Miniseries
The Swamp Slayings (Book #3)

[Harlequin Books]

Romantic Suspense, Crime Thriller, Police Procedural Mystery & Detective
Miniseries
The Swamp Slayings (Book #3)

[Sheri Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick easy enjoyable read but man did they fall in love fast.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not as good as the first two in the series, but still a good story. I did not see the twist ending coming.

[Leah Jurado · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book will solve your desire for a silly little fluff romance but will leave you wishing it was better written.

Characters: 2/5.
Plot: 4/5
Writing style: 2/5
Spice level : 1/5

[Sadie Hult]

I think that this book is very energy-packed. It does describe some gruesome visuals of crime scenes and autopsies, but other than that, it is a very good read for murder mystery readers.

[tei hurst · Rating 3 out of 5]

tragically bad