What I'm reading now: Cardinal Virtue

I finished this book last night almost in one sitting, so I knew I just had to tell you about it. Behold and happy pub day to Cardinal Virtue!

A beloved schoolteacher, her gruesome death, and a series of cryptic symbols left behind by the killer are just the beginning…

Police legacy Lara Nadeau never thought she would find herself anywhere but her beloved Boston. However, after the death of her father and one too many missteps on the job, she is transferred to Eastfall: a small, charming city near Salem. Wracked with grief and haunted by a hostage situation gone horribly wrong, Lara spirals into a toxic mire of anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. She hoped the slow pace of small town policing might be a calm retreat to help set her back on the straight and narrow. Unfortunately, not long after her arrival to idyllic Eastfall, a brutal, ritualistic murder of a beloved educator sends the community reeling. To make matters worse, the prime suspect is the police chief’s son, Police Sergeant Zachariah Braddock. Charming and handsome, Zach has a few demons of his own, but is he capable of such atrocities?

Lara’s only wish is to return to Boston and prove she is not her past mistakes, but one death was only the beginning. A sequence of peculiar murders of local women, a house with a mind of its own, and the return of an old flame, threatens to derail her. If Lara can’t overcome her own personal demons to help find the killer in time, her chances of clearing her name and saving her own life, will be dead in the water.

I have the immense pleasure of being friends with JR Lesperance and have eagerly been awaiting her debut novel for years now. I am delighted to tell you I could not put it down. If you love the paranormal and police procedurals, you’re going to adore this story.

The autumn New England setting sucked me in, and the research portion made me miss my undergraduate days, but the characters sold this book. Lt. Lara Nadeau is the epitome of a strong female lead with a complicated past. Watching her try to catch a serial killer, figure out what is going on her house, and better herself, all had me on the edge of my seat. You’re seriously going to love it.

Got another recommendation? Let me know in the comments!

Kathryn