The Dead Season – Tessa Wegert

Book two in the Shana Merchant series is here!

Thanks to Berkley Pub for the free copy in exchange for my honest review

THE DEAD SEASON – Tessa Wegert (Released December 8th, 2020)

You can see my thoughts on book one, DEATH IN THE FAMILY, here!

Book Description:

Senior Investigator Shana Merchant has spent years running from her past. But she never imagined a murder case would drive her to the most dangerous place of all–home.

After leaving the NYPD following her abduction by serial killer Blake Bram, Shana Merchant hoped for a fresh start in the Thousand Islands of Upstate New York. Her former tormentor has other plans. Shana and Bram share more than just a hometown, and he won’t let her forget it. When the decades-old skeleton of Shana’s estranged uncle is uncovered, Bram issues a challenge: Return home to Vermont and solve the cold case, or the blood he spills next will be on her hands.

As Shana interviews members of her family and the community, mining for secrets that could help her solve her uncle’s murder, she begins to realize how little she remembers of her childhood. And when Bram grows impatient and kidnaps again, leaving a trail of clues Shana alone can understand, she knows his new victim will only survive if she wins the psychopath’s twisted game. In order to solve one mystery, Shana must wade into her murky past to unravel another.

Mini Review: 3/5 stars

I loved book one, Death in the Family, and I was anxious to see where book two would take us. While I still was captivated by Wegert’s writing, I found this to be more slow moving than the first book. We get a lot of background on Shana Merchant and I feel like this is to be expected in series like this. There’s usually a book in the mix that sets up more and lays the groundwork for future books. Still a great mystery and the pacing really picks up at the halfway mark! I will definitely continue the series when the next one releases!