Title: Keeping Hope Alive (Whitley & Keal Mystery #4)
Author: Dawn Kopman Whidden
Narrator: Amy Deuchler
Link: https://www.audible.com/pd/Keeping-Hope-Alive-Audiobook/B07G7JFNY1
Summary
A young couple taking a leisurely walk through the woods is shocked when the quiet, peaceful stroll ends as they come across what is without question a human skull. When detectives Jean Whitley and Marty Keal are called to investigate, two more bodies are uncovered nearby in shallow graves, but unlike the first, these murder victims have just met their demise. Now, not only do the detectives have to discover the identities of all three victims, but they also have to see if the victims are somehow connected or if it’s just a coincidence all three were dumped so close together.
While Jean and Marty search for answers, Marty’s fiancée, psychiatrist Dr. Hope Rubin, is working hard to get her patient Brad Madison released from Armistace Hospital for Children, where he has been living since the brutal murder of his own parents, while trying to take care of her own personal business of planning her wedding. But then the unforeseeable happens. Hope disappears, and Brad claims he knows what happened.
Can the disturbed boy be trusted to be telling the truth, and is Hope’s kidnapping in any way linked to the three victims found in the nearby woods?
Marty and Jean’s search for the killer become much more desperate and horrifyingly personal when Hope is kidnapped. Will they find her before it’s too late? Or will she become another victim? Will the detectives be able to keep Hope alive?
My Review
5/5 Stars
A grave filled with corpses of all ages. Jean and Marty are stumped. At first, they don’t believe the murders are connected, but as the identify of the corpses are revealed, it becomes clear that they’re all connected in some way. What they don’t know, however, is that the killer is someone close to their immediate family, and the next person to go missing will be someone dear to them.
As with all the books in this series, this one will keep you guessing who the bad guy really is. I loved the redemption line of young Brad as he struggles through his own issues and comes out better for it at the end of the story.
The best part about these books is how human the characters feel. It doesn’t feel like I’m reading fiction when diving into this series, and I’ve grown to love all the characters, Hope especially for everything that she endured in this piece.
Narration was beautifully done.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
Author Kayla Krantz 