THE HUNTING GROUNDS by Katee Robert. Book 2 in Hidden Sins
Ranger finds a body at the campgrounds called it in saying "strung up. Maggie was hoping it would be something she would never have to do.
Being a ranger the job was a mixture of things. Vic hadn't seen Maggie in seven years, and didn't expect seeing her here. Their past was with the FBI, until she left. Can they work together, and have the trust needed, with a killer on the loose. Katee gives us a detail plot of the murder and a little bit of romance. It grabs your attention from the first of the emotions of Maggie. Readers will enjoy this second book by Katee and can be read as a stand alone. Given ARC by Net Galley for my voluntary review and my honest opinion.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars
M/F Thriller
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

I did not read the previous book in this series. However, I didn't feel that I was ever missing anything.

Megan and Vic have history. They were partners when Vic was a senior field agent and Megan was just a newbie out of the gate. While they had one stolen moment, the case they were working on devastated Megan and turned her out from the BAU.

When they meet again, someone is doing very bad things in the national parks. I think that this was a great story of past meets present. The flashbacks were well placed, informative, and really painted a picture of the past.

Then, when you would flash to the present, it was an edge of your seat, who done it story and I loved it!

I don't want to write too much because the thriller is great. The romance was definitely back burner, but I think that made it better.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
This story had me seriously frightened and more than a little bit jumpy. The tale of a serial killer hunting hikers in a national park is definitely not a story to read in a tent by flashlight. I loved the gorgeous descriptions of Glacier National Park and I really enjoyed the two main characters.

Park Ranger Maggie and FBI agent Vic make a great investigative team. Maggie is a former FBI agent and her and Vic’s relationship is complicated. While they try to stop the killer, Maggie and Vic face threats from the harsh environment, the unpredictable weather, and the predatory animals living in the park. I enjoyed Maggie’s physical and mental strength. She’s not a typical leading lady but she’s certainly an inspiring and engaging woman. Her survival skills give her an interesting edge over Vic’s years of experience as an agent and they work well together. There is a little bit of romance between Vic and Maggie, but the main focus of this story is the criminal investigation.

The reason I’m awarding four, not five stars is that some of the clues given throughout the story don’t help readers attempting to identify the killer. We get constant flashbacks to a hike that happened five years earlier but I’m not sure they were always necessary and they didn't always provide useful information. The author does a good job keeping readers guessing up to the very end but I’m not sure enough was offered to allow readers an accurate guess. And I still had unanswered questions at the end.

However, this is an incredibly exciting read. While Maggie and Vic track the killer through the enormous park, the deaths become increasingly gruesome. I enjoyed the mix of physical and cerebral action and investigation in this book. Vic’s partner’s investigations in town feed Vic and Maggie information they use as they hunt their killer.

Even if I lost some sleep, I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I’m looking forward to the next story in this series.

Review: THE HUNTING GROUNDS (Hidden Sins Book 2) by Katee Robert http://wp.me/p3d0RZ-9dy
Publication Date: July 25, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Reviewed by: Reading in Pajamas/ Donna
Rated 5 Stars

Wow! I loved this fast-paced mystery. Serial killer, hot FBI agent, Glacier National Park….it had it all. Even though Maggie seemed a little whiney at times, I still liked her. Vic was solid, sexy and caring; a nice combination that worked well with the hot romance. The story never let up and kept me glued to the pages wondering who the killer was, and how the HEA would come about. I can’t wait for the next one.

*Review copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Katee Robert offers readers a stellar romantic suspense novel in The Hunting Grounds. It is the second in a two book series, however it stands alone well. I read the first book, which is why I chose to read Hunting Grounds. I was not disappointed. Ms Robert provides an excellent story, beautifully balanced between action and romance. Her characters are rich and complex, and I really appreciated the even pacing of the story. It is hard to strike the right tone, to keep the story interesting and fresh, but Ms. Robert has some strong skills. I will definitely read more from Katee Robert.

The Hunting Grounds is the second book in Katee Robert’s The Hidden Sins Series. I did read the first book and can assure you that this is a standalone read. As with The Devil’s Daughter, the mystery was difficult to figure out and the situation was rather intense. I really liked the fact that most of the action took place within Glacier National Park making for some impressive scenery.

While tracking a serial killer through a couple of national parks, FBI Agent Vic Sutherland finds himself working with Park Ranger and former FBI Agent Maggie Gaines. Seven years ago, a very difficult case ended Maggie’s very short career as an FBI Agent and Vic’s partner. Over that time, Maggie has become a very adept Park Ranger. Maggie’s world gets turned upside down when she learns that the park is being taken over by a ruthless murderer who is gutting his/her victims and hunting them with a bow and arrow. To add insult to injury, Maggie is still lusting after Vic long after their last contact with each other all those years ago. In addition, Vic has had those same feelings for Maggie that she is not even aware of. As fate would have it, they get a chance to work together again and address their feelings in and out of the bedroom. Somehow, they manage to carry out a comprehensive investigation until the killer puts them both in imminent danger.

Since there are a lot of twists and turns that I don’t want to ruin, I will just say that high school relationships will play a huge roll in everything that happens. I would call The Hunting Grounds the serial killer version of Beverly Hills 90210. There are a lot of unlikely suspects and the murders are gruesome in nature. By the time that I got to the end, I was thrown way off by motive and the big reveal of who the killer really was. Consequently, I had an issue with the motivation but I did enjoy the book. The hero and heroine were likeable and I couldn’t argue with the intensity. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Katee Robert has my heart. No lie I fell in love with her books a long time ago and her books have only gotten better. I read The Devil’s Daughter when it was released and loved it. I never knew what was going to happen next, or who was going to die. The perfect mystery/suspense story. I was a little disappointed when I thought The Devil’s Daughter would be a stand along, but lucky for me it wasn’t. The Hunting Grounds was absolutely amazing. I couldn’t put it down for even a few minutes.

Maggie Gaines left the FBI after her first case went bad. She was top of her class and ever since she left seven years ago her biggest regret has been not being good enough. Now Maggie is a park ranger and she thought the bodies and murders were behind her. That’s when the first body shows up and so does her old partner Vic Sutherland.

Maggie is a no nonsense kind of girl. She harbors a lot of resentment over not being able to “cut it” in the FBI after her first case went terribly wrong. She also had a huge crush on her partner Vic Sutherland, who was married at the time. I loved Maggie’s character. Kate Robert did a great job making both the characters seem so real, like Maggie and Vic were people we knew. Maggie doesn’t really enjoy interacting with people, but she cares about the people under her protection. One of my favorite aspects of this story was when Maggie started slowly using her FBI training and how well she did under pressure using her park trainer along side her FBI trainer.

Vic Sutherland was interesting as well. I got to meet him in The Devil’s Daughter and was glad he got his own story. Vic has a lot of his own demons from his divorce and how things went wrong with Maggie. Vic does a lot of worrying in this story about Maggie and I enjoyed how much he began to kind of lose his cool whenever Maggie was involved.

Overall The Hunting grounds was an amazing story. I was constantly left guessing about who was who. Everything was a little terrifying and I felt along with the characters which is just indicative of good writing. This is definitely a must read.

"The Hunting Grounds" was a solid, well-paced suspense story with a touch of romance. The romance took a back seat, but it made sense for the story, more emphasis on the romantic aspects would have felt forced in the midst of trying to find a deranged murderer; I appreciated this realistic approach and still cared about Maggie and Vic's second chance at a relationship and in their career. The plot was engaging throughout and kept me guessing until the end. This was my first book by Katee Robert, but I will definitely have her on my radar from now on.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

The Hunting Grounds by Katee Robert
Book Two of the Hidden Sins series
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Publication Date: July 25, 2017
Rating: 4 stars
Source: eARC from NetGalley

Summary (from Goodreads):

For two FBI agents with a past, love becomes a matter of life and death in the new Hidden Sins novel from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katee Robert.

Maggie Gaines used to be an FBI agent—top of her class and one of the bright, up-and-coming stars—until she spectacularly fell apart during her first high-profile case. That was eight years ago. Now she’s a ranger at Glacier National Park, and she’s found some measure of peace. But when the body of a murdered woman is discovered, she must finally put the past behind her and work with the one man she thought she’d never see again.

For months, Vic Sutherland has been hunting a killer who’s been targeting unsuspecting hikers in national parks—and now the predator has come to Glacier. Vic knows the case will bring him face-to-face with his former partner, yet nothing can prepare him for seeing Maggie again after all these years, or for the memories of passion it stirs in both of them.

As the investigation brings them closer together—and closer to the killer—Maggie and Vic fear they have only each other to trust. But even that might not be enough to make it out of Glacier alive.

What I Liked:

I'd not read too many romantic suspense novels before this year, and it never really seemed like it would be my thing. I get creeped out and freaked out easily, and suspense novels tend to get scary and creepy pretty quickly. But with Katee Robert writing this series, I knew I wasn't going to pass. Yet again, Robert has written an excellent chilling romantic suspense that is just as good as (if not better than) her previous novel, The Devil's Daughter.

Vic Sutherland was introduced in The Devil's Daughter as a secondary character. In this book, he takes front row and center when he is called to investigate a gruesome murder at Glacier National Park. This happens to be the Park at which his former partner at the FBI works. Maggie Gaines left the FBI less than a year after joining, and she hasn't looked back. Seven years at the Park has made it feel like home. But one murder, and then another, and another, and another, has made the Park feel tainted and unsafe. Vic and Maggie were former partners once, and they'll have to work together to track down the deadly hunter who shows no signs of stopping the killing.

This book has me shuddering a little! I get freaked out fairly easily but still, I have to say that Robert definitely sets the tone of this book. It is chilling and eerie, and I honestly can't say I ever want to go to a National Park to hike. Visit, yes, but not hike. The atmosphere of this book is perfect for a suspense/mystery novel.

It is clear that Robert has done her research! Everything from Glacier National Park geography to a park ranger's duties to the BAU of the FBI... this book may be fiction but Robert made the story incredibly authentic. Her efforts showed and I appreciated how much detail she thought to include.

I don't want to go into too much detail about the murders and the case, but I will say that Robert had me guessing who the unsub was until the very end. This is pretty rare for me - I tend to discern these things somewhat early on - so it goes to show how well Robert set up the case. Every time I thought I knew who it was, Robert threw a curveball in the plot.

That being sad, I was completely hooked on this story. I couldn't stop reading and stayed up late in the dark hours of the night, trying to finish this book. That didn't help with me feeling freaked out, by the way. Never read these types of books at night!

I adored the two main characters! Vic seems robotic and calm and collected and never really shows outward emotion, but he is a complicated and tough guy. I like how overprotective he is, and how much of a control freak he is. I understand the type. He and Maggie are good together. Maggie is less controlled and has to reign in her temper at times. She is a little more anxious compared to Vic (well, anyone is, because he sometimes comes across as a block of ice), but I like this about her. They are like foils, opposites, and yet their minds work similarly.

This isn't really a second-chance romance since they never dated or had any sort of romantic relationship. However, Maggie had a huge crush on Vic when they were partners. Vic was married at the time, so they were not going to happen. But fast-forward to the present - Vic has been divorced for five years, and Maggie has never really stopped having feelings for him. Vic knows he wants something with Maggie and he goes after that something. The two of them take a leap and I like where things go. Their romance is sweet and tender, and not too messy, though you'd think it would be a messy romance. I like how open and honest they are with each other.

There is one sex scene and it is adult-rated (though it's not as explicit as scenes in Robert's other books). I like the chemistry between Vic and Maggie and definitely appreciated the presence of the romance.

I was intrigued, hooked, and clueless until the very end! The ending is a big reveal and it should surprise anyone reading this book (in terms of the identity of the unsub). There are so many hints throughout the book but it's easy to look past all of them. Hindsight is 20/20, of course. Robert wraps up almost everything, though she hints at concrete things for Vic and Maggie. I would love to read an epilogue to this story, featuring the pair!

What I Did Not Like:

That last thing I mentioned would probably be the only thing I would note here. I wanted a more concrete ending for Vic and Maggie - yes, they have the whole future ahead of them, but I wanted more specific details! An epilogue to show where they ended up together would be so nice. I adore them as a couple!

Would I Recommend It:

If you like romantic suspense, I highly recommend this novel (and The Devil's Daughter). This book is slightly different compared to the first one because the case isn't as personal to either protagonist (Vic or Maggie) as the case was in The Devil's Daughter. I found this to be a great thing. Be warned, this is a chilling story (in my opinion)! And it is definitely adult fiction.

Rating:

4 stars. Is there nothing Robert can't write? I love her sexy contemporary romance novels, and her darker contemporary romance novels, and now I find myself enjoying her romantic suspense (a subgenre I never really pictured myself enjoying). I need to try her paranormal romance!

Revenge is a dish best served cold . . .

Wow, Katee Roberts has written an unforgettable serial murder mystery, filled with suspense and liberally sprinkled with romance to make this another superb read from this highly talented author. This is definitely one of those select few books where I suggest you forget reading any reviews and go straight to read the book, it is brilliant IMHO!

Maggie Gaines was top of her class whilst training to become an FBI agent but the horrendous first case had her leaving the job. Now she’s working as a ranger in the Glacier National Park when the body of a woman is discovered in the Park . . . a woman who has been murdered, then treated like she’s just a piece of meat. After this horrific discovery Vic Sutherland is brought in to investigate. It turns out this is the third such killing, each in a different National Park, apparently by the same perpetrator. Maggie was Vic’s partner during her time in the FBI and she was very attracted to him, but he was married then. Now he’s divorced and the attraction between them is mutual but there’s a serial murderer to apprehend before he can find more victims . . . . can they survive the deadly archer? With danger in the wilderness, it isn’t only the bears they need to avoid!

This is another superb, action packed suspense thriller that has so many twists, it is a real roller coaster ride! I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish and have no hesitation in highly recommending it – definitely one of my favourite reads this year and one I hope you don’t miss out on reading! If you do read it, hope you enjoy it as much as I did – definitely a 5* read for me!

I requested and was lucky enough to be given a copy of this book via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion after choosing to read it – I just couldn’t wait to do so!

Maggie Gaines' life as a ranger at Glacier National Park isn't the life she planned on, but it's one that brings her peace. Seven years ago, her first case in the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI had broken her. BAU agents are tasked with finding the most heinous serial killers imaginable. The stress and mental anguish had been too much to bear and she cut her losses. She thought she had put her old life behind her and buried it. But when a grisly murder scene is discovered in the park, she realizes old ghosts are about to be resurrected. 

Vic Sutherland is called in to investigate the murder, and the prospect of coming face to face with Maggie is leaving him unnaturally rattled. He's known for his iron tight control, but his old partner left quite a few unresolved feelings that now must be confronted. 

To be honest, I liked the idea of these two together, but the romance fell short for me. Vic and Maggie had an interesting past, but I feel as if we only barely broke their surface. Individually, we know that Vic's marriage didn't work out because of his inability to show emotion and their incompatibility. We know that Maggie's parents were controlling and disapproving of her life choices, but it didn't stop her from following her own heart. But as a whole, I would have liked to have seen them drawn out in more depth. And due to the number of murders piling up, their relationship build was pretty non-existent. 

After the first murder, a group of friends hike into the forest together and all hell breaks loose. More bodies are found, and Maggie and Vic must race against the clock to hunt down the unknown predator in the forest. Clearly, there seems to be a personal connection to the victims, because the tally is escalating at an alarming rate. Through flashbacks from the hikers' POV and the investigation, we learn that these young friends are not who they appear to be. Secrets and jealousy run rampant, and just when you think you've pegged the unsub, you're given new facts that lead you away in another direction. 

Typically I like a heavy dose of romance in what I read, but I didn't need it here. I still enjoyed their dynamic together and I could easily see them flourishing. Vic was very protective and caring, but he didn't coddle her. He had faith in her ability to contribute to the case and didn't prevent her from stepping into the danger for fear of her safety. He saw her as an equal. Maggie seemed to understand his quirks and accepted him as he was. She was also a straight shooter just like him, and they weren't the type to play games. Though their future was unresolved in the end, I was optimistic that they would find happiness together in the future. 

Though this is the second in the series, but it's a very loosely connected standalone so it's completely safe to read out of order. I would recommend this to readers who love a good mystery. This book had my guessing the entire way and in the end none of my theories were correct. Well played, Ms. Robert. Well played. I look forward to reading more of this series in the future.

This is the first book I have read by this author and I liked it.. Good mystery, gory, but good.

I hadn't read the first book and that didn't matter a whit- everything here made perfect sense within the context of the novel. I'm a sucker for books set in National Parks so the idea that Maggie is working as.a ranger made this a plus for me. I liked how she interacted with Vic, who is a pretty darn character himself. This is an interesting entry into the serial killer genre; the concept of a romantic pair (well, not at first) working together in different law enforcement organizations helped me get past the unsavory aspects of the crimes. Well plotted with good twists. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed Katee Robert’s first foray into romantic suspense, The Devil’s Daughter, earlier this year, even though I felt that the balance between the two elements wasn’t quite right and that the suspense plot worked better than the romance. I’m afraid I have similar reservations about The Hunting Grounds, which, while it is well-written and has an intriguing plot about a serial killer who is hunting and murdering his victims in national parks, suffers from somewhat uneven pacing and a lack of strong chemistry between the leads.

Seven years earlier, Maggie Gaines was a rookie with the FBI Behavioural Analysis Unit partnered with Vic Sutherland, one of the unit’s most experienced and successful agents. Her first case proved to be an incredibly tough one – involving a child killer – and after a year of working on it, it broke her and she left the Bureau, burned out and feeling like a failure. At her lowest ebb, she reached out to her partner for comfort – which turned into a passionate kiss, even though she knew Vic was married and off limits.

Maggie now works as a Park Ranger at Glacier National Park in Montana. She’s good at her job and is happy with her quiet life and small circle of friends; she’s not an especially social person and likes it that way. But when she is called to the scene of a gruesome murder within Glacier, she finds herself thrust headlong back into the world she thought she had left behind seven years ago.

Vic Sutherland has been working the case of a killer who has so far murdered two victims in two different national parks. The MO in each case is the same – and is the same as the newly found victim in Montana, making three killings in nine months. The FBI has a serial killer on its hands and the lack of time between the last murder and this latest one indicates that he’s escalating and that there is likely to be another one soon. Vic arrives at Glacier and meets with the medical examiner, who confirms to him that the latest victim was hunted and ‘field dressed’ in the same gruesome way as the others. His next step is to interview the rangers who found the body – one of whom is Maggie Gaines, who, he feels sure, isn’t going to be all that pleased to see him.

Maggie is surprised to see Vic after all this time – and equally surprised to discover he’s been divorced for five years – and it doesn’t take her long to figure out that his presence signifies that they are dealing with more than a ‘simple’ case of murder. Plus, seeing him again is unsettling; they haven’t had any contact since she left the Bureau, but even so, she has never forgotten their ill-judged kiss and having him around stirs up feelings she’d thought long buried. She’s curt and off-hand with him to begin with, but they soon find their way back to something resembling their old working relationship, bouncing ideas and theories off each other and generally working as a good team.

Their focus quickly turns to a group of five twenty-something hikers who had arrived at the park earlier in the day with plans for a ten day hike. When one of the group is found dead, her body horribly mutilated by a bear, it seems that Maggie and Vic’s suspicions that the earlier killings were a ‘trial run’ for a concerted attack on that particular group of friends were well founded. While they try to find the killer and work out why those people are being targeted, a search and rescue operation gets underway to try to find the rest of the group and get them to safety before the killer can strike again.

I did enjoy the book, but it has quite a few flaws that have prevented me from rating it more highly. I like second chance romances as a rule, and in a story such as this one where there is a split focus, incorporating a relationship between people who already know each other can be an advantage because less time is needed to set it up. On the plus side, Vic and Maggie act like sensible adults; they don’t have time to engage in silly misunderstandings or mind games -they fancy each other, they’re single adults and they don’t waste time acting on their mutual attraction. But they haven’t seen or otherwise communicated with each other in seven years, and while we’re told the mutual attraction they experienced back then has never gone away, the on-the-page chemistry between them wasn’t strong enough for me to buy that they’d be talking about a long-term relationship within two or three days of reconnecting. The book ends abruptly, with hasty ILYs and with the suggestion of an HFN, which brings the deficiencies in the romance into even sharper focus.

The suspense plot is well executed and although it moves fairly slowly, that gives the author time to build a sense of menace, allowing readers to wonder who will be the next victim as we, along with Maggie and Vic, try to see the pattern and work out the killer’s motive. I didn’t mind the slower pace, but some of the PoV switches – from Maggie and Vic to the hikers and then to the odd flashback which tells us more about why they’re such a dysfunctional group of friends – interrupt the flow of the narrative, which I found frustrating on more than one occasion. I couldn’t help thinking that maybe the flashback parts would have worked better in a prologue.

I’m the first person to admit that I’m not that great at working out whodunit, so I was surprised by the final reveal of the killer’s identity, and I also enjoyed Ms. Robert’s vivid descriptions of the wonderful scenery and the sheer majesty of the surroundings in which most of the book is set, which put the reader right in the middle of what sounds like one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

The Hunting Grounds is the second book in the Hidden Sins series but as it’s only loosely linked to the first – Vic appeared briefly in The Devil’s Daughter as Eden Collins’ FBI partner – it can easily be read as a standalone. I’m giving it a qualified recommendation because the suspense angle is well done and held my attention sufficiently that I was eager to find out what was going on, but the romance takes a back seat, so if you prefer your romantic suspense to have a better balance between those two elements, you might want to adjust your expectations if you’re planning on picking this one up.

Grade - 3.5 stars/B-

This story fell a little flat for me right from the start. Despite the mystery and suspense, I found the story a little dull and seemingly very long winded. The characters were likeable though and their chemistry worked well. The conclusion of the book was the highlight as the murder mystery is resolved, with an unexpected twist, and it was at this point that I couldn't put the book down.

Good but not great is my overall impression of this book, some will love it but I suspect others may find it a little tedious at times.

The Hunting Grounds is the second installment to Hidden Sins series, and reunite Vic Sutherland, from previous book of the series, with his former partner turned park ranger Maggie Gaines. I haven't read The Devil's Daughter (though I'm really tempted after reading this one) but had no trouble following the story, so I believe this could be read as a standalone.

I've known Katee Robert for a while but this is my first book of her and what a good introduction it was. Nicely written, fast-paced this murder mystery put me on the edge of my seat. It's set in the wildland of Glacier National Park, giving double trouble to the hunt and chase undertaking.

For a romantic suspense story, this book felt real. The romantic aspects of the story was present in an unobtrusive way. I liked the characters's way of handling personal and professional issues; and the mutual respects on top of the (latent) attraction they (still) felt for one another.

If nothing, this intro to Ms. Robert's writing intrigued me to read her other titles, especially the first entry to the Hidden Sins series


Copy of this book is kindly provided by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

THE HUNTING GROUNDS is the second installment in Katee Robert’s contemporary, adult HIDDEN SINS murder/mystery, romantic suspense series. This is FBI agent Vic Sutherland, and former FBI agent and park ranger Maggie Gaines’s story line. THE HUNTING GROUNDS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary. Vic Sutherland, and his boss at the FBI Britton Washburne were first introduced in book one THE DEVIL’S DAUGHTER.

Told from several third person points of view including Maggie and Vic, with flashbacks to the past THE HUNTING GROUNDS focuses on the search for a killer who is targeting hikers at various National Parks. When the most recent victim(s) is discovered in Glacier National Park park ranger Maggie Gaines comes face to face with her past-FBI BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit) specialist Vic Sutherland-her former partner and the man with whom she had fallen in love. What ensues is the search for a killer, as Maggie and Vic analyze the path of jealousy and revenge.

THE HUNTING GROUNDS is a story of mystery, murder, suspense and retribution. As the number of victims grows, Vic and Maggie begin to break down the potential who and why of the killer’s murder spree.

The relationship between Maggie and Vic is one of mutual attraction but seven years earlier Vic Sutherland was a married man, and our heroine walked away from a career in the BAU when her first case went all to h*ll. Their attraction for one another has never waivered, and Maggie and Vic are wiling to reclaim what was lost years before.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including the head of the BAU Britton Washburne, Vic’s FBI partner Tucker Kendrick, park ranger Ava Boyle, seasonal ranger David Downey, coroner Dr. Katherine Huxley, and Maggie’s current boss Wyatt Thornton. There are also a large number of hikers who become targets for a psychopath h*ll bent for fury in the name of betrayal and revenge.


The superb and detailed world building focuses on the sights and sounds of life on the trails; the geography of Glacier National Park; and the search for a killer who will not stop until everyone is gone.

THE HUNTING GROUNDS does not focus so much on the romance aspect of the leading couple but focuses more on the hunt for a killer so I hazard to label THE HUNTING GROUNDS a true romantic suspense. The relationship between Maggie and Vic is a little more than a bi-product of working together but a relationship that has the potential to resume when all is said and done. The premise is intriguing but predictable although the killer’s motivation needed a more thorough explanation; the romance is limited and secondary to the overall story line; the leading characters are reserved and fell a little flat. THE HUNTING GROUNDS by Katee Robert is an imaginative tale of murder, suspense and revenge.

Copy supplied by Netgalley for review

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Many thanks to NetGalley and publisher for advancing me a copy of “The Hunting Grounds” by Katee Robert in exchange for an honest review.

I was going to rate this novel two stars but I can't. I can only give it one as this was really bad. Sorry folks, but I was bored out of my mind. Most definitely not thrilling or suspenseful. Half-way thru I had no choice but to start skimming thru just to end my misery. So long and so boring. I wanted to bang my head against the table it was that bad. The story, the characters and even the ending, I didn't like any of it.

A good book, that kept me guessing! I didn't love it as much as the first one, but I liked it!

This is the second book in the Hidden Sins series and this can be read as a standalone with no problem at all since that's how I read this one.

This is hands down one of the best thriller/suspense novels I've read in quite some time and it kept me guessing right up until the very end! I get bored very quickly with these types of stories of they're at all predictable and this one isn't at all, which I loved!

Vic and Maggie share a bit of a history together and that's brought into the mix when they once again cross while attempting to track down a sadistic killer that's hunting their victims like animals. This book was definitely creepy in all of the right places and I couldn't get enough of it!

I loved reading this so much that I went and ordered the first one so I can read it next! I highly recommend reading this entire series to anyone and I look forward to much more from this amazing author in the future!