Bitter Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff

Oh gosh, I love this series! As promised on Wednesday, here are the details for Bitter Moon, the fourth in the Huntress/FBI series by Alexandra Sokoloff. Now, I have a wee confession to make - I haven't yet read book 5 (hangs head in shame). But I will as soon as I can and get back to you. In the meantime, enjoy my review of this book.

The Blurb:

FBI agent Matthew Roarke has been on leave, and in seclusion, since the capture of mass killer Cara Lindstrom—the victim turned avenger who preys on predators. Torn between devotion to the law and a powerful attraction to Cara and her lethal brand of justice, Roarke has retreated from both to search his soul. But Cara’s escape from custody and a police detective’s cryptic challenge soon draw him out of exile—into the California desert and deep into Cara’s past—to probe an unsolved murder that could be the key to her long and deadly career.

Following young Cara’s trail, Roarke uncovers a horrifying attack on a schoolgirl, the shocking suicide of another, and a human monster stalking Cara’s old high school. Separated by sixteen years, crossing paths in the present and past, Roarke and fourteen-year-old Cara must race to find and stop the sadistic sexual predator before more young women are brutalised.

My Review:

I was curious where this book would take us, as at the end of Cold Moon, Roarke had taken a voluntary leave of absence from the Bureau, and is ignoring calls from his team.

But Cara's pull is too strong, and prompted by an aggressive message left by a detective from the Palm Desert Sheriff's department Roarke is soon carrying out his own investigation into two sixteen year old cases, which he is convinced are linked to Cara in some way.

This book was different from the previous three in that the action alternates between Roarke in the present and Cara in the past. Cara's chapters are set when she was 14, and Roarke's are set in the present day as he looks into those events of 16 years previously. There is obviously no actual interaction between Roarke and Cara, and Roarke only has limited contact by phone with his team.

I enjoyed finding out more about Cara's early days, and the events that helped shape her. And I thought it was clever, and effective, to have essentially two investigations taking place 16 years apart. It worked really well. And as with every book in this series so far, the scenery is beautifully described - I could picture myself there.

I can't wait to read book 5! I would recommend this series to everyone, but would suggest you start at book one. You won't regret it!

You can buy Bitter Moon from Amazon UK and US.

You can read my reviews of the previous books in the series here: Huntress Moon, Blood Moon and Cold Moon.

The Author:

Alexandra Sokoloff has received the Thriller Award and been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award, the Anthony Award, and the Black Quill Award for her supernatural thrillers The Harrowing, The Price, The Unseen, Book of Shadows, The Shifters, Keeper of the Shadows, and The Space Between. Her Huntress/FBI series—featuring the books Huntress Moon, Blood Moon, and Cold Moon—has been nominated for a Thriller Award. The New York Times Book Review has called her a “daughter of Mary Shelley” and referred to her books as “some of the most original and freshly unnerving work in the genre.” As a screenwriter, she has sold original horror and thriller scripts and adapted novels for numerous Hollywood studios. She is also the author of two nonfiction workbooks based on her internationally acclaimed workshops and blog: Screenwriting Tricks for Authors and Writing Love.

You can find out more about Alex and her books on her website.