Up In The Pines by Katie Jennings – a Review

Amazon / B&N

Description:
Deep in the mountains of Montana, Deputy Lark Galloway discovers a body. Despite being nothing more than bones, she connects the remains to a resident who disappeared twenty years earlier. As she unravels the dead man’s history to solve his murder, someone tries desperately to throw her off the scent. Meanwhile, famed Hollywood screenwriter Sawyer Matheson returns to town to escape his cheating fiancé, only to find himself at the heart of Lark’s investigation. Sparks fly as things heat up between Lark and Sawyer, but nothing can prepare her for the earth-shattering truth behind the body in the pines.

Review:

Up in the Pines by Katie Jennings is a standalone romance suspense thriller.  Up in the Pines takes place in a small town in Montana, where we meet Deputy Lark Galloway, our heroine.  A decaying body is discovered by a tourist, and when Lark surveys the scene, she knows it was murder.  The lab will confirm that the body has been buried approximately 20 years.   Lark will find herself, and the detective team researching missing persons back in that time period.

Sawyer Matheson, our hero, returns home to his deceased father’s house after having left years before.  Sawyer is now a successful and famous screenwriter, who comes home to get away from the media hounding him over his split with a famous actress, whom he found in bed with another man.  Sawyer will meet Lark, who lives in a cabin nearby, and thinks she looks familiar.   Lark, of course, knows who the famous Sawyer is, and remembers having a crush on him in high school.

What follows is a complex murder investigation that will become difficult to solve, especially with the element of time having passed.  Lark will work with the lead detective and learn the identity of the victim, which will bring out a few possible suspects.   When Lark’s partner is attacked and left for dead, she knows the danger is escalating, as the murderer is still alive and trying to stop the investigation.

Sawyer, whose mother ran away years before, will begin to help Lark in the investigation, in the hope he will learn why she left.  In a short time, their romance will begin to heat up, and they made a sweet couple.  Lark felt that there was no future, as he would go back to California; but Sawyer begins to see value in staying in his old home town.   But first they must survive, and a murderer must be caught.

This is a difficult review, because saying too much more would be spoilers.  Up in the Pines was an excellent “whodunit” with many twists and surprises.  Just when you thought you knew who it was, the next breath things turned another way.   Katie Jennings did a wonderful job keeping us glued to our seats, unable to put the book down.  The last third of the book was non-stop action, intense and very exciting.  If you love mysteries, thrillers, and a great couple, then you should read Up in the Pines.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy supplied for review