Dead Woman Crossing

Thank you so much for taking a chance on me! I truly hope you’ve enjoyed Dead Woman Crossing, and if you did, I’d be forever grateful if you’d leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads or both. It makes such a difference in helping people discover my book for the first time. <br /><br />I hope my efforts brought you an entertaining and twisty story and that you want to continue along with Detective Kimberley King and her journey. Book 2 in the series LAST DAY ALIVE publishes April 20th, 2021. In the meantime, you can check out The Perfect Marriage, a twisty, psychological thriller that I wrote under my name Jeneva Rose. <br /><br />I love meeting and connecting with readers, so feel free to get in touch with me on my social media pages. <br /><br />Once again, thank you! ?

Favorite Quotes:<br /><br />Kimberley looked down, noting everything she had in tow— a diaper bag, a stroller, a tote bag, a backpack and Jessica. “They say it takes a village to raise a child, but I think it takes a caravan of random products.”<br /><br />In a small town like Dead Woman Crossing, gossip was like an airborne virus. Difficult to contain and easily transmitted. They were all infected.<br /><br />She glanced over at Ryan who gave her a scowl mixed with a leer as if his dick and brain were crossing wires and didn’t know how to respond to her.<br /><br />Henry Colton is a dickwad. His name stuck out like a mule in a dress...<br /><br />There weren’t any murders after that. He went inactive, as many serial killers do, as if taking lives was their job and they needed time off.<br /><br /><br />My Review:<br /><br />Oklahoma is one of those states that doesn’t really stand out to most Americans. Nothing much has sprouted from there other than crops, oil, idiot politicians, a few country and western singers, and hmm… me. Other than an old Rodgers and Hammerstein musical and being able to hum a bit of the State song, most people draw a blank at the mention. With that in mind, color me stunned and outright startled when I noticed the main character was not only leaving her job as a detective at NYPD to start a more low-key career as a Chief Deputy near the old family manse but would be working in the very same tiny inbreed rural hamlet of my youth. Oh, my! What a surprise!<br /><br />The author accurately captured the disconcerting small-town flavor down to the time-warped narrow-minded bigotry and misogyny, down to the very nub of hypocritical arrogance, condoned corruption and nepotism, domestic violence, and female boredom; and also reinforced my smugness at the brilliant decision to move far, far away. While I didn’t find it an enjoyable experience to reside there, as despite the old cliché - it wasn’t even a good place to be from, the breadbasket/short-grass country provided the perfect backdrop for Ms. Adler’s active and suspenseful murder mystery. <br /><br />I do loves me a kick-ass heroine and I adored Kimberly King as well as her brilliant office genie and my new favorite grandmotherly octogenarian, Barbara. Kimberly held her own and doled out her own brand of sass while doing so. The writing was easy to follow with welcome hits of wry humor mixed in with insightful observations and perceptive character descriptions and depictions. I will be eagerly watching to see what and whom Chief Deputy King stirs up next.

Chief Deputy Kimberley King has relocated with infant daughter Jessica from NYC to Dead Woman Crossing, Custer Co., Oklahoma. She needs a fresh start and hopes for a slower pace of life with time to reconnect with her mother Nicole who is now married to farmer David. Unfortunately, a particularly horrifying murder takes her right back to where she started. <br /><br />First of all, the Oklahoma setting is really good, the one horse town provides an atmospheric backdrop to the unfolding events partly because it has an infamous murder from 1905 in its history. The characters are good especially Sheriff Sam Walker and Kimberley though others are far from likeable. Her stepfather David makes my fist clench he’s so opinionated and old fashioned in his views. The case is gritty and has some twists and turns.<br /><br />Unfortunately, I cannot agree with the ‘heart stopping crime thriller’ description in the blurb as I do not find it so. It takes about 35% before we get to the crime and up to that point it’s more of a domestic drama and her memories of her time as an NYC cop. It’s filled with too much minutiae such as where the bathrooms are at the police station. Who cares? Once the murder happens it improves considerably and oh boy, it needs to. I also think it’s fairly obvious who the perpetrator is. <br /><br />Overall, it’s a very uneven book with a great title, some good sections and some dull ones. <br /><br />With thanks to NetGalley and apologies to Bookouture that I didn’t enjoy it more.

Detective Kimberley King #1<br /><br />Haunted by the serial killer she never caught, Kimberley King leaves her job in New York and relocates in the sleepy town of Dead Woman Crossing, Oklahoma. Kimberley is called to the murder scene of a young mother but she can't help but compare it to the murder of another young woman who was murdered in 1905.<br /><br />The pace is slow and there wasn't much depth to the story for the first third of the book, then the pace picked up around the middle. The first half seems to be more about family drama than police investigations. The second half is better. I found it to be more of a mystery than a thriller. We get backstory on Kimberley and her partner, Lynn that's told in flashbacks. I will read the next book in this series when it becomes available. <br /><br />I would like to thank #NetGalley, #Bookouture and the author #JRAdler for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book by this author that I have read, very well done. My one warning is that the first 100 pages or so are at a slow pace, they are not bad but story is not moving fast , so once you get past that there are no problems. I liked all the main characters, good sound dialogue, good build up of suspense. She also did one thing that was very good she never told you who the bad guy was during the story and also did not write what they were thinking or doing very well done. I thought I knew who the bad guy was but I did not try and guess to hard , I just let the story unfold. The ending was very good good it made sense and was well done. I enjoyed this book. I do not give out 5 stars often and not many books make my favorite shelf this one deserved it.. The only problem I see with this series is she is kind of boxed herself in-it is a small county how many serious violent crimes will pop up? I say go ahead and give this book a big spin.

An excellent start to a new series!<br /><br />Haunted by the serial killer she never caught, Detective Kimberley King leaves her job in New York and relocates to the sleepy town of Dead Woman Crossing, Oklahoma. Kimberley hopes to bring her daughter Jessica up close to her family, far from the bad memories the city holds. But her quiet new home is not the peaceful place she dreamed of.<br /><br />Within days of her arrival, Kimberley is called to the scene of a terrible murder of a young mother. Kimberley can’t ignore the similarity of the current murder to that of another young woman who was murdered in 1905 on the banks of the same twisting creek. <br /><br />In a town where news spreads like wildfire, Kimberley has a hard time gaining trust and answers. But with the help of Sheriff Sam Walker, she needs to find the killer before the killer targets her next.<br /><br />I just loved the main characters of Detective Kimberley King and Sheriff Sam. Kimberly's daughter Jessica is just so adorable. And Barb, is one character that just lights up anyone's face with a smile thanks to her amazing personality.<br /><br />Even though I had few doubts about who the killer could be right at the beginning, I enjoyed reading this. It was fast paced and well written. The plot flowed smoothly, so I couldn't stop reading till I finished.<br /><br />Definitely looking forward to the next book in this series!<br /><br />Thank You to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

Detective Kimberley King #1<br /><br />Haunted by the serial killer she never caught, Kimberley King leaves her job in New York and relocates in the sleepy town of Dead Woman Crossing, Oklahoma. Kimberley is called to the murder scene of a young mother but she can't help but compare it to the murder of another young woman who was murdered in 1905.<br /><br />The pace is slow and there wasn't much depth to the story for the first third of the book, then the pace picked up around the middle. The first half seems to be more about family drama than police investigations. The second half is better. I found it to be more of a mystery than a thriller. We get backstory on Kimberley and her partner, Lynn that's told in flashbacks. I will read the next book in this series when it becomes available. <br /><br />I would like to thank #NetGalley, #Bookouture and the author JPAlder for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If the first entry is an example, the Detective Kimberley King series should have a long run. For sure, I'll be waiting to get my hands on the next one.<br /><br />Detective Kimberley King and her young daughter, Jessica, have relocated to Dead Woman Crossing in Custer County, Oklahoma. It's far a more remote, and presumably laid back, place compared to the NYPD she left behind (along with some not-so-good experiences). For a while, she'll be living with her mother and stepfather in what turns out to be a small cottage on the farm that her stepbrother and his wife operate.<br /><br />The town got its name after an unsolved crime from 1905, when a young woman was murdered on the banks of a creek. Just as she's getting to know her way around - and to know the ways of Sheriff Sam Walker, her boss - another young woman is found murdered at the same place and in the same manner. Whoever killed the girl back then can't still be alive, so is someone trying to copy what happened back then?<br /><br />Meantime, Kimberley works to find the murderer, but her family isn't as supportive as she'd like - especially when clues lead to the possibility that the killer is someone they all know. The outcome of that could lead to more than ruffled family feathers as Kimberley learns she and her daughter could be in the crosshairs of a very dangerous person.<br /><br />All told, it's a solid start to a promising series. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review it.<br />

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of Dead Woman Cossing, the first novel to feature former NYPD Homicide Detective and newly appointed Chief Deputy Sheriff of Custer County, Oklahoma,Kimberley King.<br /><br />Kimberley is finding life in rural Oklahoma slow after her hectic New York life but she’s moved to Dead Woman’s Crossing to reconnect with her mother and provide her 16 month old daughter, Jessica, with a better life. That changes when a woman’s body is found in the same place and manner as the original dead woman in 1905. That case remains unsolved but Kimberley and her boss, Sheriff Sam Walker are determined this one won’t.<br /><br />I enjoyed Dead Woman Crossing which is as much a character study as an investigation. It is told entirely from Kimberley’s point of view so the reader is immediately able to dig in and get engrossed. To be fair the novel is slow to start with the body not being discovered until over one third in. Up till then it spends its time acquainting the reader with Kimberley, her new surroundings and her stepfamily. I liked the descriptions of rural Oklahoma as it’s so different from my life and could sympathise to a certain extent with the newbie, but, as I said, it’s slow for crime fiction. Is this to reflect the tempo of her new life? I don’t know. After that, things heat up with various suspects under the microscope although with no forensics it’s all theoretical. I thought this was well done with no one jumping out and all the theories credible. Basically, I couldn’t guess with any certainty.<br /><br />There are hints in the novel that the reader is not getting the full story on Kimberley’s decision to leave New York, a couple of comments and some flashback scenes to a previous, gruesome serial killer investigation. It’s a good hook for the next novel as I, for one, am looking for answers, as long as the characters don’t smirk as frequently. I know it’s a minor quibble but its overuse really started to get annoying.<br /><br />As Dead Woman Crossing proceeded I upped my rating from 3 to 4 stars and will want to read the follow-up, therefore I have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

Dead Woman Crossing is the first instalment in the Detective Kimberley King series, set in Dead Woman Crossing, named after the infamous unsolved murder of a woman by the local creek in 1905, in Custer Country, Oklahoma. Former NYPD Homicide Detective and newly appointed Chief Deputy Sheriff Kimberley has recently moved to Custer County for a less stressful and slower pace of life but is finding the difference between the two places jarring and difficult to become accustomed to. She hopes she will be able to properly reconnect with her mother, Nicole, and give her 16-month-old daughter, Jessica, a better life. Just as she's getting acclimatised to her new colleagues and surroundings, the body of a young mother is discovered; she has been killed in the same location and manner as the brutal slaying in 1905. Of course, the perpetrator from the cold case cannot be alive anymore so is Kimberley and her team looking at a copycat killer, and if so what is their endgame?<br /><br />This is a book that begins slowly in order to set the scene and introduce readers to protagonist Kimberley and her complex life. It appears that one of the reasons she left the NYPD was due to her torment over not being able to catch a serial killer. She's an interesting character and one I am sure will grow over the rest of the series. After the pedestrian start, the pace and intensity pick up and there was no putting it down after that. It became captivating and addictive with plenty of action and a fascinating and gripping mystery at its heart. It's a character-driven police procedural told solely from Kimberley's perspective allowing you to become immersed in the story easily. It's absorbing and well-plotted and the descriptions of rural Oklahoma were so vivid and atmospheric I could envisage the area itself in my mind's eye. This is a gritty read with a plethora of twists and turns and plenty of suspects to hang your hat on. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC.