The Girl in the Cellar by Natalie Carter-Giles

A Sunny and Roscoe Thriller set on the Bonavista Peninsula in Newfoundland, the reader is guided through fog, frustration and fantastic history in the search of red-headed girls. Overall the characters are the same as in Next to Die and Someone Else’s Secret, though it’s written well enough that reading the first in the series isn’t necessary. And if you did read one or both in the current trilogy, you aren’t bogged down by too much repetition. Being familiar with the partners is not necessary, though the reminders of their progression is done well.

A field of abandoned root cellars is an adventure waiting to happen, though the teenagers exploring the field never imagined what treasure they would find – a young girl trapped at the bottom. The plot, like the cellars, is built to last with its haunting possibilities and historical references, bringing family misfortune and murders of old to the forefront of detectives’ minds.

Carter-Giles writes in a unique timeline with it opening as present day, with Amy desperate to live though knowing the odds are stacked against her. She’s trapped, cold, hungry and, thankfully, stubborn. From meeting her, and the struggle of Sunny trying to decipher what’s real and what isn’t, it’s like the reader hits rewind and goes back to seven days earlier. Different province, different drama, same type of pressure. Sunny is being summoned back to her job, cutting her vacation short, and leaving her romantic partner to continue her personal investigation.

The setting and the weather are characters unto themselves, preventing more thorough investigations to be completed in a timely manner.

“From beyond the darkness, branches reach out to block her path and pierce her skin in desperate attempts to hold her back.” Imagery like this can be compared to the piercing of the words, and the darkness of the plot that keep the reader ready, eager, and curious. Anticipation of the next scene, knowing hours are ticking by and the characters—and readers—are starving for more answers, is a crucial element to the storyline. Evident throughout is the power being the concept of hope – hope that the weather will shift, hope your partner is telling you the truth, hope that one lead will lead to the next breakthrough. And hope that the annoying reporter will respect the living, and the dead, as he tags along eager to sensualizing the misguided but common assumption that a serial killer is, once again, on the hunt. Only his victims could all be related…

With dashes of romance, sprinkles of history, and the folding in of the importance of library services, Carter-Giles does a fantastic job of thrilling, seeking and inviting the reader along with the characters.

With side plots, including the constant buzzing of reporter Travis Parker, or is it Parker Travis, on top of the constant buzzing of mosquitoes, the author reveals progress similar to Mother Nature and the lifting of the fog. With dashes of romance, sprinkles of history, and the folding in of the important of library services, Carter-Giles does a fantastic job of thrilling, seeking and inviting the reader along with the characters.

The only problem is, The Girl in the Cellar ended on a cliff hanger (fitting for where it took place) that works as a great marketing ploy to ensure one gets the next one as soon as possible. The difficulty is that it isn’t published yet!

Natalie Carter-Giles has an arts degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland in English and history (double major) and has also obtained a certificate in criminology. She is an avid reader of mysteries and suspense novels and loves to spend her free time working in her extensive garden and enjoying the beauty of the west coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Natalie was born and raised in the beautiful island community of Ramea and now resides in Deer Lake with her husband and one of their three kids.

Publisher: Flanker Press Ltd.
Paperback: 9″ x 6″ | 321 pages
ISBN: 9781774573150

Sarah Butland

Website

I am a struggling artist, a challenging and challenged mother who always thinks she is failing, an emerging freelance writer and reporter, an author with my name on several books crossing genres and always hoping to find more readers who enjoy them.

I am also a successful artist, a wonderful and thriving mother of one, a reacher towards both people and dreams despite all of the turned backs and obstacles in my way. I am a thriving freelance writer and reporter, an author loved by enough readers to make it worthwhile and a discombobulated conundrum who loves to hear new music, tell new tales and meet new authors. And I’m doing something I always dreamed of doing – reviewing books to support others as well as myself and my family.

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Sarah Butland