DEAD GIRL RUNNING

When a Washington coastal resort that unwittingly plays host to an international smuggling ring comes under siege, the manager has to sort friend from foe.

Kellen Adams’ life is a trail of secrets, and even she doesn’t know what happened for a full year of it. That missing memory is the line between her past as a helpless, abused wife and her more recent past as a tough, skilled Army officer. Her present consists of working as an assistant manager at Yearning Sands Resort. January is off-season, so owners Leo and Annie Di Luca take a vacation. As soon as they leave and Kellen is in charge, a corpse is found on the property, creating a domino effect of violent events that indicate a smuggling ring is using the remote shoreline to bring stolen artifacts into the country; it’s hard to tell whether it’s a patron or an employee who’s running the show. With a handful of potential suspects and a younger Di Luca sent in to help with security, Kellen has her hands full, but the stakes are getting higher. Maximilian Di Luca makes her uncomfortable, and the guest who claims to be an author is clearly hiding something. But so is Kellen. She knows she’s in danger, but when threats from the past and present intertwine, it’s hard to tell which is worse. Dodd weaves popular characters from her Virtue Falls and Bella Terra series together, which will delight her fans. However, while she brings her typical intelligence and inventiveness to the plot, there’s a bit too much going on, and a couple of twists strain credibility.

A vivid, creative—though slightly far-fetched—romantic suspense novel.