The team is in place, the trap is set, and the rat seems to be on his way.
Cassandra "Cassie" Dewell, a chief investigator for Bakken County in
North Dakota, has spent years trying to capture a notoriously clever
and highly intelligent serial killer called "The Lizard King." As the cold-
blooded killer operates as much as possible off the grid, few law
enforcement officers have been able to get near him. Cassie, however,
has a good relationship with Leslie Behaunnek, a county prosecutor in
Wilson County, North Carolina and she has some intel on his
whereabouts. With all the planning she has put into setting up this trap,
what could go wrong?
But wrong do things go... terribly wrong. What caused this to happen?
As in any tragedy, politics and political ties make their move to get what
they want and county attorney Avery Tibbs is demanding answers.
Meanwhile, two boys, Raheem Johnson and Kyle Westergaard, go
missing. Officially, no one seems to take an interest in their
disappearance, and Cassie is charged with finding them. Her quest
proves far more dangerous and fares more frightening than she could
possibly imagine. Will she be able to find them in time?
With its deceptive and idyllic title, PARADISE VALLEY is the final and starkly realistic
novel about a hunt for a psychopath serial killer in C.J. Box's Highway
Quartet series. While PARADISE
VALLEY is an absolutely terrific read as a stand-alone book, the
award-winning C. J. Box's fans are sure to be thrilled with this very
grande finale centred on the hunt for The Lizard King.
I have long been a fan of C.J. Box, especially for his Wyoming Game
Warden Joe Pickett stories, as he is a master storyteller and his
character portrayals are top of the class! Cassie is a wonderfully
independent and resourceful protagonist coping with so many
challenges, especially with the loss of her formal role. Box's storyline is
strong and full of tension and shifting emotions. His descriptions of
characters and scenes are so authentic, it is easy to visualize the
action as if it is happening right in front of your eyes. The emotional
tension between characters, especially the hostages held by the killer,
keeps your eyes on the page as they move back and forth between
dealing with the situations they face and the impact they have on each
other. Thriller and crime fans definitely need to have PARADISE VALLEY
on the TOP of their must-read lists! Don't miss it!
For three years, Investigator Cassie Dewell has been on a
hunt for a serial killer known as the Lizard King whose
hunting grounds are the highways and truck stops where
runaways and prostitutes are most likely to vanish. Cassie
almost caught him...once.
Working for the Bakken County, North Dakota sheriff's
department, Cassie has set what she believes is the perfect
trap and she has lured him and his truck to a depot. But the
plan goes horribly wrong, and the blame falls on Cassie.
Disgraced, she loses her job and investigation into her role
is put into motion.
At the same time, Kyle Westergaard, a troubled kid whom
Cassie has taken under her wing, has disappeared after
telling people that he’s going off on a long-planned
adventure. Kyle's grandmother begs Cassie to find him and,
with nothing else to do, Cassie agrees—all the while hunting
the truck driver.
Now Cassie is a lone wolf. And in the same way that two
streams converge into a river, Kyle's disappearance may have
a more sinister meaning than anyone realizes. With no
allies, no support, and only her own wits to rely on, Cassie
must take down a killer who is as ruthless as he is cunning.
But can she do it alone, without losing her own humanity or
her own life?