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Faceless

A Whitley and Keal Mystery, Book 2

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About this listen

Fallsburg, New York, has a killer on the loose - one who's leaving their sadistic, telltale marks on innocent victims.

A pretty teenage girl is found dead in the woods, her face horribly mutilated. A few days later, a second girl, also strikingly beautiful, is attacked in a similar fashion. Who would do such a brutal thing - and why? Is there some sort of psychopathic monster lurking out there, preying upon vulnerable females? Or are the victims being targeted by someone they know?

It's up to two of Fallsburg's finest - Detective Jean Whitley and her new partner, Marty Keal - to find out who's responsible for the grisly crimes. When she starts digging up clues, Jean is startled to learn that the crime has hit uncomfortably close to home. The victims - and many of the potential suspects - are classmates of Jean's 14-year-old daughter, Bethany. To make matters worse, Bethany's behavior has drastically changed. Jean's sweet, loving child has become a sullen, secretive stranger. How much does Bethany really know about the victims - and the crimes that are taking place? Does Bethany's hunky new heartthrob have anything to do with the crimes? And why does the mounting evidence keep pointing to a popular parish priest?

Suddenly deprived of her longtime police detective mentor and friend, Jean is forced to take the lead in this latest investigation, while breaking in a new partner. As they dig deeper into the case, Jean encounters threats to her career, her family relationships...and quite possibly her own daughter's life. Through it all, Jean and Marty must unravel a multi-layered mystery and put a face on the unseen villain, before anyone else ends up dead...and faceless.

©2016 Dawn Kopman Whidden (P)2017 Dawn Kopman Whidden Detective Fiction Mystery Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Crime Scary Exciting Heartfelt
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I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This was a really brilliant detective thriller. I loved the plot, with beautiful teenaged girls tuning up dead with their faces burnt off, and it kept me guessing until the very end. I suspected three different people and it was none of them. It was really interesting, and I greatly enjoyed it.

My major complaint about this series is actually the main character, Jean Whitley, who I’m really not a fan of. She’s ruled by her emotions and constantly excusing her actions because of this. “Oh, I slapped my daughter, it’s because I was upset because she may have had sex” or “I don’t want to talk to my fellow detective because he abandoned me to help his injured daughter”. She becomes incredibly frustrating during parts of this novel, and to me, feels like a really selfish character.

However, the narrator, Amy Deuchler, was incredible. Despite the difficult character, it was easy to listen to, and I loved her narrative speed.

Engaging

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This is the second book in the series (although could be read standalone) and yet again Dawn has managed to really tell an intriguing murder mystery but at the same time there are stories around each of the main characters. it's a really good book and I can't wait to listen to Book 3 x

another one I couldn't put down

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This was the second book in the series featuring Jean Whitley and Marty Keal. In the first book, Jean had a different partner, but he has had to stand down for personal reasons and she is now working with Marty Keal, a younger, up-and-coming (and sexier) detective.

I listened to the audio version and was happy to find that the narrator for this book was Amy Deuchler, who seemed more suited to the role than the narrator for Book 1.

The victims of Whitman's serial killer are beautiful teenage girls, whose faces are burned off. It turns out that they are classmates of Jean's fourteen-year-old daughter Bethany, and as such, the crime takes on a very personal note for Jean. While Bethany becomes more and more withdrawn and petulant, her boyfriend also becomes a suspect, as does the local vicar.

I enjoyed that this narrative brought the crime closer to home than the previous book, but I was hoping that Brad, the young boy who was being treated in the first book, might make an appearance too. However, his nurse, Dr Hope Rubin, does feature and her insights into child behaviour are always fascinating.

Great characterisations and an interesting crime. I'm looking forward to Book 3 in the series.

Who killed these young girls??

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An excellent second book in the series, building on the existing characters and introducing Whitley and Keal as partners. A killer is targeting teenage girls and murdering them in horrific ways meanwhile Jean Whitley has her own problems at home as her daughter turns into a typical teenager. The story is gripping, the characters familiar and the ending unexpected.

Excellent Second book

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This is a good mystery about a killer targeting teenage girls from the same school. There are quite a few suspects for the police to investigate.
The story is told from the points of view of the two detectives on the case. The pace is good and the narrator did very well with the characters.
Overall, a good listen.

Good mystery

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