Great characters, average mystery, frustrating police work.

The best thing about "Three Drowned Girls" is its characters, in particular its main protagonist, Detective Freya Sinclair, as well as her team and the woman who raised her. For that reason alone, I would consider picking up the second book in this series. I did, however, grow increasingly frustrated by the constant hints at Freya's traumatic past which was never fully explained; in fact, I feel like the book blurb told me more about it than the actual book itself. It would have worked better to have Freya's backstory fleshed out more, or left out altogether - it's perfectly okay to have a heroine who doesn't carry the weight of the world in the form of her own trauma on her shoulders.

The mystery itself, starting with the discovery of a drowned little girl on Freya's first day back to work in her hometown, is horrifying, but grows increasingly more implausible until it ends up in crazytown (and in such a small town, how many crazies can there be? And how many kids of the same age can go missing without anyone paying attention?). The story is also not quite what the blurb said it would be. For example, the white hair ribbon that is mentioned in the synopsis in particular is indeed found by Freya, but then never reappears in the story, and certainly not as an important clue or part of a soccer uniform, There are also, pretty much right from the start, more local girls missing than just Isa. I actually found myself wondering if I was reading an earlier version of the book at some point because of its deviation from what I had expected after reading the synopsis.

Finally, the police work / procedure in this book is just... questionable. Letting people touch photographs that were in evidence bags. Not carrying evidence bags when wandering through the woods looking for clues. Finding evidence (the white hair ribbon), yet never following up on it. Actually... never following up on a lot of things! There were so many loose ends in this, it made my head spin. Not processing a suspect, but letting them sit in an interrogation room *with their cell", before interviewing and processing them. And so on and so forth. On top of that, Freya went back and forth between frantically trying to do it all, not eating properly, and not sleeping - because, as numerous chapter endings remind the reader, she will not let these girls down- and then aimlessly wandering the woods for hours at a time looking for bright new ideas, or driving for more than an hour to another jurisdiction just to essentially turn around and head straight back, when local law enforcement could have done that job from the start.

All in all, I might give the series another shot because of the character development, but I was underwhelmed with the story as a whole.

TW for child abuse.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

My review can also be found on GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/210162915.

I really enjoyed this, I’m a huge detective fan and I love when I just fall straight in love with the team I adored Freya and Candy. I loved getting to know them and can’t wait to find out more about them and the rest of the characters.
The crime was shocking and a little disturbing. I was hooked from the start. It was fasted paced gripping and intense.
This is a great start to a new detective/crime book and I’m excited for more the characters are well written and have interesting backgrounds especially Freya. It’s also a nice easy read it flowed lovely and kept me interested.

Thank you to Net Galley, Bookouture and author Emily Shiner for the eARC of this book.

This is the first book of Emily Shiner's that I have read. I very much enjoyed it! When Freya Sinclair was a little girl, she had no idea what her parents were hiding in the basement of her childhood home…

After five years away from her hometown of Fawn Lake, Detective Freya Sinclair isn’t expecting a warm welcome from the people she’s sworn to protect. She became a detective to bring serial killers like her parents to justice, but the tight-knit North Carolinian community can’t see past her twisted roots.

Minutes after stepping foot back home, the body of a dark-haired young girl is pulled from the river and Freya races to the scene. She’s determined to identify the child and finally prove herself, but before Freya even has a chance to search through missing persons, another girl is reported missing.

Freya’s heart breaks at the sight of little Isa’s blonde ringlets and pristine soccer uniform in the photo her father clutches, but the look on his face says he doesn’t trust Freya. Does he think she’s just like her parents, or does he have a sinister secret of his own?

But when another innocent girl is found drowned, Freya finds a white hair ribbon snagged on a branch, and instantly recognizes it as part of the soccer team uniform at the local school…

Two drowned girls. One daughter still missing. Can Freya save Isa before she becomes the third victim? Or has the killer already set their sights on Freya next?

I really connected with the character Freya, and was curious to see how her character would develop, what secrets we would learn about her past. I liked her relationship with Esther. The character of Candy was great, a good side kick so to speak for Freya. I look forward to future books that will hopefully expand on Freya's past, her parents' crimes, and her own past.

3.75 out of 5 stars

I normally devour books by Bookouture. I find them to be interesting, fast-paced and well-written. Unfortunately, I can't check off any of those attributes with this one. I loved the premise and thought for sure I would love the story. I was sadly disappointed. I couldn't even make it past the half-way mark before I DNR'd it. I couldn't connect to, or like, any of the characters. I found there was no flow with the writing.

This one just didn't do it for me. Since I didn't finish it, I'm only rating it on what I did read.

Thank you #netgalley and #bookouture for the eARC.

This is one of the best detective thrillers I’ve read. I loved this authors previous books, so was excited to read this new style. It certainly didn’t disappoint.
It’s an engaging, well written and gritty drama. I’d certainly recommend this book and can’t wait to start book 2!

Emily Shiner is one of my favorite authors and I was so excited when I heard about a new series following a detective!

This book starts off strong and will pull you in immediately until the last page.

We follow Detective Freya Sinclair who is returning to her hometown to be a chief when she gets wrapped into a case of drowning girls, little drowning girls for that matter. Through the novel we get to see all the things going on with the case, and a little into Freya's life and why she fled town.

I loved the characters in this story and that the book felt like it had a lot of depth to continue into a series that I will absolutely be following along with!

This is a gripping, fast paced read that will have you begging for more.

Detective Freya Sinclair has returned home and is immediately thrown into a strange and worrying case of drowned girls and missing girls. Just what is going on? A brilliant thriller that keeps you turning the pages until the shocking ending. I loved this and can't wait for more in the series.

Thank you to Netgallery and the publisher for this ARC. The publication date is the 22nd April. This is the first book in the Detective Freya Sinclair series. I loved the premise and concept of this book and it drew me in and it was impossible to put down.

The book was fast paced and tension radiated through the pages I liked the characters especially Freya.

Overall, an addictive book with many twists and turns which had me gripped and I can’t wait instalment of the book.

This book is full of amazing characters the story was good. The writer draws you in. With both a captivating storyline and character
Will be on the lookout for other books by this author

Freya is a very captivating character, with a very complicated life story, at least from what we can tell from the small snippets that tell her past.
I really liked the story, although it stirred my psyche a lot, it's not easy as a mother, to imagine such a macabre scenario, involving such small children.
Unfortunately it's not an impossible story to happen, I think that's what bothered me the most.
However, obviously it was well worth the read, it is a very well structured and well written book. I can't wait to see what the next mystery Freya has to solve, and I'd no doubt like to know more about her history and her past.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, this review is of my own opinion.

I loved the premise of the book. Freya is a detective who parents were serial killers. You learn that she was the one to make their arrest. She left her hometown following their arrest, but is now back 5 years later. Little girls are going missing and a couple have been found dead in water.

While I was hooked by the concept, the writing left me wanting. On multiple occasions (twice on one page), the MC is driving and it’s described as “eating up the road”. Esther, Freya’s stand-in mom, is described as an “old woman” several times as if we needed to be reminded she’s aging. And what really got to me was the number of chapters that ended with just 3-5 word sentences trying to build suspense.

I did enjoy the characters and really want to learn more about them. I’m on the fence as to whether I’ll give the series, and author, another chance.

Detective Freya Sinclair returned to her home in Fawn Lake after five years and was able to resume her job as a detective with the town police force. Difficult circumstances shadowed her return, and she wasn’t welcomed back with open arms, but she was able to overcome these circumstances when she was assigned to the heartbreaking task of finding the killer involved in the drowning of several young girls shortly after they were reported missing.
As reports of missing girls increase, Freya races against time to find them. In a shocking sequence of events, her investigation leads to the local school soccer team. How could that be?
A gripping, intense story that is beautifully written will leave you trapped in an unimaginable world of inconceivable events.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC! I had high hopes for this one and was excited to get into the upcoming series of Freya Sinclair. Unfortunately it did fall a bit flat for me. The synopsis of the book definitely drew me in but while reading I felt like I constantly wanted more.

This book follows Freya Sinclair who is a detective solving the case of young girls gone missing and mysterious drownings of young girls. While this current case is taking place we dive into the main character Freya Sinclair’s personal life and past that includes her parents being serial killers right under her nose. She is now battling with her past traumas as well as her present day case that she desperately wants to solve. I feel that I would’ve rated this much higher if more of the past was explained as well as more story lines being tied up in the end.

I am not sure if I will be continuing the series.

A fabulous gritty drama which sucked me in from the off. Well written and believable characters. The main character Freya has had tough times and i cannot wait for part 2.
Love this author.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

4 stars. Three Drowned Girls is the first book in Emily Shiner's Freya Sinclair series. From what I can see, this is the first series that Ms. Shiner has written. I like this author's books so I wanted to give this one a read. Freya Sinclair is back in her hometown after being away for 5 years. She left after she arrested her parents for being serial killers. There's not a lot of info on that in this book, except for the guilt Freya feels.

Freya returns to a mess. Fawn Lake is usually a quiet quaint town and all of a sudden little girls are going missing and being found in the many lakes and rivers. Freya has her work cut out for her as these girls are only 6-7 years old. Her dynamic with the Chief is wonderful. She's not taking any lip from him. Also her team of one other detective, Candy, and a road officer, Brad, works perfectly. This is a tame book for me and what I usually read when I read a series. I find sometimes the first book is a lot about getting to know the characters and dynamics of the town. That's how this book felt. I have already requested the second book in this series to see where it goes from here. All in all a well written book except for repeating one phrase that started to get on my nerves. When Freya was driving her Jeep "ate up the road". It was just in this book way too many times.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. I greatly appreciate it and I do recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

Detective Freya Sinclair returns to her hometown after a few years away. Her first case is a tough on-little girls have been found dead or are missing and no parents are looking for them. Her team consists of Candy another detective and occasionally a patrol officer. Her chief doesn’t believe in her and the town isn’t welcoming.

A new series and it was ace! Really enjoyed how Freya’s secret about her parents is known but teased through out to the reader. The characters are flawed and believable. The relationships are all genuine. The ‘leader’ was obvious, but it really worked. While the other whole plot seemed far fetched, when reading the why things had happened it all fell into place and made sense. This was a great read. Really looking forward to reading book 2!

First, I would like to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review!

Let me start off by saying that I loveeeee a good detective thriller. The only thing I disliked was the amount of characters, as I felt it was a bit hard to keep up with. I loved the way it was written, and the characters were likable. Freya and Candy make an incredible team, and their chemistry when working together is unmatched. This book had me hooked pretty early on, and kept me on the edge of my seat, and turning pages. Along with the likable characters, and suspense, it had a great plot. Overall, a fantastic read and will definitely be reading the sequel.

Three Drowned Girls- the debut novel in the Detective Freya Sinclair series by Emily Shiner is an absolute page-turner!

From the prologue I was hooked and struggled to set this read down. Shiner writes with a type of smoothness that keeps the pages flying. Her development of Freya throughout the book has me looking forward to what’s to come. I am eager to learn more about her past, but also excited to see how she approaches settling back into her old town and department in future books.

The title hides nothing- we are dealing with child abuse, trauma, and neglect. However Emily does a phenomenal job of keeping us on our toes and making the reader feel as though they are working to solve the case right alongside Freya and her team.

Speaking of her team; the dynamic between Freya and the Chief, as well as Freya and her team is incredible believable. The tensions to the camaraderie… it feels genuine. Given Freya’s history, I appreciated the honest and at times awkward moments expressed between the group.

There were a couple of moments outside of the team, but more in the way they operated that I questioned. Moments or decisions felt as though they were required for the story to move along, but wouldn’t have been believable or practical outside of the book- which didn’t align as well with the authenticity of the rest of the story.

The ending moves at lightning speed and while the pacing was appreciated throughout the who-done-it; I wouldn’t have minded slowing down the closure of some story points to have a more complete ending to those plot lines.

Overall it was dark, enigmatic, gripping, and I’ll be looking forward to see what Freya is in for next.

Thank you NetGalley and Emily Shiner for the ARC and opportunity to provide my honest review!

Emily is one of my favorite authors, and I always look forward to reading her books! This one was a little different from her typical stories. It's the first in a new series about a detective, and I really enjoyed it! I'm really excited to read more in this series. The storyline hooked me at the beginning, and I couldn't wait to find out how it all ended. I would recommend, along with anything else written by Emily!

This story is a textbook example of how someone with a lot of charisma can convince you of everything. They can even make you forget all the common sense you have and they can talk you around no matter how crazy and disturbed the idea might be.

And that of course must lead to tragedies...

Detective Freya Sinclair has only been back in her hometown for five minutes when this case lands on her plate. There is one person straight on her radar, but does it not seem a bit to easy? 

She starts digging deeper, together with her small team, and what they discover is beyond believe...

I love it when a detective has a tragedy in their background. At the moment we don't know everything that has happened in her past, but it's heavy without a doubt. As soon as I can, I will pick up the next book in this new series because I am intrigued.

As the stakes escalated, the tension mounted and I was dragged deeper and deeper into this fascinating story. 

The characters are still rather new to me, of course and I am looking forward to learning more about them. 5 stars

Thank you