Midnight Ridge is book 12 in Rita Herron’s Detective Ellie Reeves series. Detective Reeves receives a call regarding an apparent suicide on Midnight Ridge. Upon arriving at the scene, Ellie discovers the body of sixteen-year-old Minnie Benton. At first, it appears that she jumped from the cliff. However, a thorough investigation reveals evidence of murder.

She dug the heels of her shoes into the soil as he dragged her toward the ledge. Rocks skittered down the embankment. Leaves covered the ground, crunching as she fought. “Please don’t kill me,” she pleaded. “I can’t leave my daughter…”
When the call comes in that sixteen-year-old Minnie Benton’s body has been found at the bottom of Midnight Ridge, Detective Ellie Reeves is first on the scene. The local sheriff insists that Minnie’s death is a suicide… but Ellie can’t believe this beautiful young girl would kill herself in such a brutal way. When a witness confirms there were two people up on the ridge, and Ellie finds strands of Minnie’s dark hair in the thorny bushes, the thought of Minnie’s terrified final moments sends a shiver down her spine.
Minnie’s suicide note should provide answers but instead brings a shocking new twist to the case. The note is addressed to her baby daughter Iris, and as Ellie dispatches her team to hunt for the little girl, she can’t forget the shaky handwriting, as if Minnie was forced to write it. And Minnie’s love for Iris shines through. Why would she leave her daughter all alone in the world?
Desperate for answers and to find Iris, Ellie discovers that in the past year two other teenage girls plummeted to their deaths from Midnight Ridge, written off as suicides. But when Ellie realizes that they both left much-loved babies behind, she knows she is dealing with a serial predator.
With no sign of Iris anywhere, a call about a young mother and her baby missing from a nearby town fills Ellie with dread. Her mind races as she tries to get inside the head of this depraved killer. Can she stop their deadly mission before they claim another victim?

As the investigation unfolds, Ellie discovers a connection between Minnie’s death and two previous apparent suicides involving teenage girls. The similarities point to the presence of a serial killer.

The situation becomes even more precarious when Ellie learns that Minnie left behind a baby who cannot be found. Matters escalate further when a young mother and her infant also go missing. Ellie now faces the daunting task of tracking down a killer while racing against time to locate two missing babies before it’s too late.

Herron penned a tale riddled with suspense and laced with emotional threads. The atmospheric setting created a chilling backdrop, and the villain’s POV added an extra layer of tension and intrigue. The mystery kept me engaged throughout, and I found myself eager to uncover the truth behind the murders and disappearances.

Alongside the mystery and suspense, the characters grapple with personal issues. The storyline that stood out most was Ranger Cord’s. As Ellie’s partner, he struggles with the fear that a secret from his past could destroy the relationship they have built together.

While the mystery was compelling and the suspense well executed, there were moments when the pacing slowed, particularly during the investigative portions.

Despite this minor issue, Midnight Ridge was an enjoyable and engaging read. If Herron’s goal was to keep readers invested and turning the pages, then she definitely succeeded. The story kept me on my toes from start to finish and delivered a satisfying blend of suspense, emotion, and mystery.

 

Story Evaluation
Plot	4
Characters	4.5
World Building	4
Writing Style	4.5
Pacing	4
Cover	4
Enjoyment	4.5
Ending	4.5
Overall:

About Rita Herron

USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author Rita Herron fell in love with books at the ripe age of eight when she read her first Trixie Belden mystery. Although she wanted to be a writer then and actually scrawled her first novel at age twelve, she didn’t think real people grew up to be writers, so she became a kindergarten teacher instead. Ten years ago, she traded her classroom storytelling and puppets for a computer and now writes so she doesn’t have to get a real job. Having sold over fifty books to date, she enjoys spinning spine-tingling romantic suspense tales filled with murder, mayhem, and spicy romance as well as sexy romantic comedies. Rita Herron currently writes romantic suspense for Harlequin Intrigue and she’s writing dark, gritty romantic suspense thrillers for Amazon Montlake.

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