The Last Sister (Columbia River #1) by Kendra Elliot is the first book in her new Columbia River 
series. The plot is full of new and old mysteries to be solved. There’s plenty of action to keep the reader turning the pages.
Emily Mills has stumbled across two gruesome crime scenes twenty years apart. Can they be related?
Twenty years ago Emily Mills ran outside in the middle of the night and found her father hanging from a tree. Now she has stopped by her employee Lindsay’s house to see why she hasn’t shown up for work. What she discovers at Lindsay’s house is horrifying. Lindsay is dead in her bed stabbed multiple times. After following a blood trail from the bedroom outside Emily finds Lindsay’s husband Sean hanging from a tree and bled out. What a nightmare! Too similar to her nightmares after her father’s death.
From the symbol Emily sees carved into Sean’s forehead she believes this is a hate crime but the sheriff pooh-poohs that idea. Emily strongly believes that a hate crime has been committed so she goes over the sheriff’s head and calls the nearest FBI office. She is so insistent that FBI agents Zander Wells and Ava McLane are sent to the small, rural Oregon town of Bartonville to investigate. When they arrive they find a corrupted crime scene and an adament Emily Mills.
The investigation into these gruesome murders becomes complicated. Does this recent crime have any connection to the hanging death of Emily’s father? How could that be since his confessed killer is in prison serving a life sentence? Then fairly close to thecurrent crime scene skeletal remains are found. Does this have any connection to the current crime? Keep turning the pages to find out.
The characters are well-developed and very likeable. The relationship between Emily and Agent Zander develops slowly and realistically. I liked the methodical step-by-step investigation in this story. This is an interesting beginning to the author’s new series.
Book Info:
Publication: January 14th 2020 | Montlake | Columbia River #1
Three sisters’ secrets collide in a shocking novel of suspense by the Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author of the Mercy Kilpatrick series.
Twenty years ago Emily Mills’s father was murdered, and she found his body hanging in the backyard. Her younger sister, Madison, claims she was asleep in her room. Her older sister, Tara, claims she was out with friends. The tragedy drove their mother to suicide and Tara to leave town forever. The killer was caught. The case closed.
Ever since, Emily and Madison have tried to forget what happened that night—until an eerily similar murder brings it all back. It also brings FBI special agent Zander Wells to the Oregon logging town. As eager as he is to solve the brutal double slaying, he is just as intrigued with the mystery of Emily’s and her sisters’ past.
When more blood is shed, Zander suspects there’s a secret buried in this town no one wants unearthed. Is it something Emily and Madison don’t know? Or aren’t telling? And Tara? Maybe Emily can’t bear to find her. Because when Tara disappeared, she took a secret of her own with her.
[email protected]
Sounds great.