REVIEW: The Surviving Girls by Katee Robert

In The Surviving Girls (Hidden Sins #3) by Katee Robert, Lei Zhang is a survivor who knows what it means to have lived through hell at the hands of a cold blooded killer. She and her best friend–and now roommate, Emma Nilsson–were the only girls left alive after Lei’s boyfriend Travis Berkley killed twenty-one of their sorority sisters over a decade ago. Reliving the horror of that night over and over to put him behind bars was enough to send the two girls packing for a different locale. Now having rebuilt their lives and ensuring the home they have outside of Seattle is a veritable fortress, Lei feels about the safest she has in the past twelve years. That is, until three girls are murdered in Seattle in an eerily similar style to what Travis had used. And that has Emma and Lei on high alert even more than they always are.

‘Lei didn’t have the ability to lean on anyone, and she wasn’t going to start now, but for the first time in more than a decade, she didn’t have to be the strongest person in the room.’

With the facts looking more and more like there is a copycat murderer on the loose near Seattle, the local police are in over their heads so FBI agents Dante Young and Clarke Rowan are brought in to work the case. Lei is thankful to have some more eyes looking into the disturbing details and helping track down the killer. But her immediate attraction to Dante is unexpected. She never loses control–and definitely never falls in love–since Travis. Although it has Lei wondering if she would have met Dante under different circumstances, would the chemistry still have been there? She has a feeling it would have. And that just throws a whole other level of tension onto an already volatile situation. With the killer tying his or her crimes and clues back to the Sorority Row Murders, it has everyone on edge and waiting for the culprit to make a mistake so he or she can be taken down for good.

“You’ve gotten under my skin. I care about you, and not just because you’re part of this case. I care about *you*.”
“Dante, I–”
“I know. It’s too much and highly inappropriate and–”
“I care about you, too,” she blurted.

Talk about a thrilling story! The Surviving Girls was all fast action, codependent friendships, great chemistry, and one seriously demented killer that led everyone on a wild chase.

‘This was what the killer wanted–for them to feel hunted again, scared and helpless and waiting for the next blow to fall.’

I’m really enjoying this Hidden Secrets series by Katee Robert so far. I’ve always adored the characters she creates in her contemporary romances I’ve read, but the cast in this book (and the others in this series) have been wonderfully layered and complex. Lei was our main character overall but we got the POVs of a few others, including her love interest Dante, Lei’s BFF Emma, and even Dante’s partner Clarke. They each had their own issues and hangups but I thought they made a pretty good team when they put their individual skills together. The progression they went through during the case, building a profile and piecing things together, was fascinating to watch and had me throwing my own theories into the ring. It wasn’t until the last third or so of the book before everything started falling in place, figuring out what was going on and that one of my thoughts on the culprit was correct–which was fun.

I think some readers may look at Lei and Emma’s codependent relationship as a bit off or weird, but I got how their anxiety and how the horrendous past they survived bonded them like nothing else could have. I also thought Katee Robert did a good job with the romance blossoming between Dante and Lei. It wasn’t overbearing, nor did it take away from the overall plot. It was realistic and added a nice bit of tension while bringing in something a bit lighter (and happier) to the feel of the book. My only teensy little gripe was about how the disappearance of one of the characters was handled. For me, it didn’t seem like there was enough concern for this person’s welfare or a true sense of urgency with the search that was being done. But other than that, this was a rock solid novel.

With a dramatic ending worthy of any big screen thriller flick, The Surviving Girls had me riveted from the very beginning–*and* looking over my shoulder for bad guys! This book will have you locking your doors, checking your windows, and thanking your lucky stars you weren’t in Lei or Emma’s shoes at any point, past or present.
 

Book Info:

Publication: May 29th 2018 | Montlake Romance | Hidden Sins #3

A fierce survivor and a fearless FBI agent battle a copycat serial killer in a gripping thriller from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katee Robert.

Twelve years ago, Lei Zhang and her friend Emma Nilsson miraculously lived through the notorious Sorority Row Murders that left twenty-one of their sisters dead. Still wrestling with the trauma but finally out of the limelight, Lei and Emma are now devoted to helping other victims find closure. But most disturbing for Lei—beyond the gut-wrenching survivor guilt—is that the killer was her boyfriend. He’s behind bars, but she’ll never lower her guard again.

When a copycat killer targets Lei and Emma, FBI Agent Dante Young is put in charge of anticipating the sociopath’s every move. But what he doesn’t expect is his immediate and overpowering attraction to Lei. The closer they get to each other, the more desperate and terrifying the questions become: Who wants to finish what the killer started—and why?

Now Agent Young vows to protect Lei at all costs. If they have any chance of a future together, first they have to stay alive…