Shatter the night by Emily Littlejohn

 
From the book blurb:
An enthralling, atmospheric new novel from Emily Littlejohn, author of acclaimed debut Inherit the Bones, featuring Colorado police officer Gemma Monroe.

It’s Halloween night in Cedar Valley. During the town’s annual festival, Detective Gemma Monroe takes a break from trick or treating with her family to visit an old family friend, retired Judge Caleb Montgomery, at his law office. To Gemma’s surprise, Caleb seems worried—haunted, even—and confides in her that he’s been receiving anonymous threats. Shortly after, as Gemma strolls back to her car, an explosion at Caleb’s office shatters the night.

Reeling from the shock, Gemma and her team begin eliminating suspects and motives, but more keep appearing in their place, and soon another man is killed. Her investigation takes her from a chilling encounter with a convicted murderer at the Belle Vista Penitentiary, to the gilded rooms of the renovated Shotgun Playhouse, where Shakespeare’s cursed play Macbeth is set to open in a few weeks.

Yet most disturbing of all is when Gemma realizes that similar murders have happened before. There is a copycat killer at play, and if Gemma can’t stop him, he’ll carry out his final, deadly act.


My thoughts:
I really enjoyed this fourth instalment in the series. Detective Gemma monroe from the little town of Cedar Valley is trick and treating with her partner and their one-year-old daughter Grace. She makes a detour to visit Judge Caleb Montgomery, who is an old family friend. She finds him looking older and stressed out about a series of anonymous letters with death threats he has been receiving. Gemma promises to look into the case. As she is walking back to her car, she hears a car explosion and quickly realises Judge Caleb has been murdered. Gemma sets out to investigate the case by checking out a long list of possible suspects. As you would expect the retired judge had made a lot of enemies during his career. And then it turns out that this murder is just the first one, and there is a serial killer out on the streets of Gemma's little town.
Gemma is a great female lead- she is tough and sensible, and above all, she is a mom who has to balance her work and family life. The little town setting works really well for this series. You might assume that in a small place like Cedar Valley everybody knows everything worth knowing about each other, yet, there is a killer lurking in the streets and it isn't easy to work out who they might be.
This is a fast-paced thriller and the fans of Emily Littlejohn and Gemma Monroe will find it a quick and exciting read. If you are thinking of reading this series, it might be better to start from the first book in order to appreciate the development of the recurring characters, especially Gemma herself.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Minotaur Books for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.