Synopsis:
Jillian Thorne built her career making the unreal feel real.
On Hollywood soundstages, she stages murder, kidnapping, and violent crime with chilling authenticity—turning fiction into gripping entertainment.
But nothing she’s created compares to the truth waiting in Blue Gil.
Nearly six years after escaping her small hometown, Jillian is drawn back by the suspicious death of the town’s beloved high school football coach. What first appears to be a tragic loss quickly unravels into something far more sinister—a dark mystery no one is willing to confront.
Because in Blue Gil, secrets aren’t just buried… they’re protected.
As disturbing clues surface and a brutal tragedy strikes dangerously close to home, Jillian finds herself trapped inside a real-life psychological thriller. The instincts that made her successful in Hollywood may be the key to solving the crime—or the very thing clouding her judgment.
Everyone in this small town is hiding something.
Including Jillian.
To uncover the truth, she must break through an unspoken code of silence, deception, and loyalty—and face the past she thought she left behind.
Because some secrets refuse to stay buried.
And in this twisted game of suspense, trusting the wrong person could be deadly.
This is a complete stand-alone psychological thriller. The only connection is that the podcasters from Crime Daily Podcast are back.
Review:
We start off rather innocent: someone going for a run before work. But then he is hit by a car.
After that, we pick up two weeks later, when his body is found. Jillian returns to her hometown to find out more. We learn that she has a connection to him, but we must be patient to discover it bit by bit. She has a rather untypical job, investigating criminal cases to allow the entertainment industry to make crime scenes / murders as realistic as possible on screen. That sounded so interesting and bizarre to me that I was immediately intrigued. On top of that, she is avoiding getting in contact with her family, which makes it clear that her leaving years ago comes with a lot of baggage –
and I was here for it. When her sister becomes involved in a crime and she thinks that it is connected to the murder, I got so engaged in the story that I couldn’t put the book down.
That was one of the best mystery thrillers I have read recently. I can’t describe what reading this book did to me. It felt like a constant roller-coaster ride of emotions, and I had suspicions about certain connections, but I never expected it to be that intense. The crimes were also brutal and are not for the faint of heart, so be warned.
I could go on and on about how different and amazing this felt, and I didn’t want it to stop. Just wow 🙂
🌙 Recension: Rising Waters by Aleatha Romig
📚 Genre: Mystery Thriller
📅 Release Date: June 15, 2026
📖 Publisher: Romig Works
📗 included in Kindle Unlimited
📱 Read as: Kindle
💸 I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
🗣️ Language: English
📆 Pages: 414
⭐️ 5/5
Interested in more?
- Review: The Dream Home by T.M. Logan
- Review: The Love of Another Life by Emma Cooper
- Review: The Player by Rachel Thorne
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