Dead Girl Running: A Novel

Christina Dodd

Apr 2018 · Cape Charade Book 1 · HQN Books

About this ebook

The New York Times–bestselling author “is at her most wildly entertaining, wickedly witty best” in this edgy novel of memory and murder (Booklist, starred review).

I have three confessions to make:

1. I’ve got the scar of a gunshot on my forehead.

2. I don’t remember an entire year of my life.

3. My name is Kellen Adams . . . and that’s half a lie.

Running—from a year she can’t remember, from a husband she prays is dead, from homelessness and fear—tough, capable Kellen Adams takes a job as assistant manager of a remote vacation resort on the North Pacific Coast. There amid the towering storms and the lashing waves, she hopes to find sanctuary. But when she discovers a woman’s dead and mutilated body, she’s soon trying to keep her own secrets while investigating first one murder . . . then another.

Now every guest and employee is a suspect. Every friendly face a mask. Every kind word a lie. Kellen’s driven to defend her job, her friends, and the place she’s come to call home. Yet she wonders: With a previous head injury and amnesia that leaves her unsure of her own past, could the killer be staring her in the face?

“A series of twists and turns lead to a surprise ending . . . Dodd does a masterly job of maintaining suspense.” —Publishers Weekly

“[Dodd] brings her typical intelligence and inventiveness to the plot . . . vivid, creative.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Her signature style—edgy, intense, twisty, emotional—leaves you breathless from first page to last. Readers who enjoy Nora Roberts will devour Dodd’s electrifying novels.” —Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times–bestselling author of Sleep No More

Ratings and reviews

I've heard great things about Christina Dodd but had never had the chance to read one of her books, so I was excited to dive into this one. The blurb alone was filled with mystery and certainly looked like something right up my alley. Unfortunately, the reality didn't quite match up to my expectations. There is mystery, but there were just too many things that pulled me out of the story. Not only do we get information by way of info dumps, but the descriptions of people in Kellen's life read like military or police records. Given Kellen's background, it is understandable to a degree that she would think this way, but it felt more like reading a vital statistics record than a story. The timeline moves back and forth between Kellen's past and present and in most cases, this doesn't bother me, but the jumps were so frequent that they became tedious and at times, confusing. These are things that I could've overlooked had the mystery drawn me in, but so many things were completely over the top and unbelievable that I found myself in a state of incredulity by the time I read the final page. I realize that with fiction we have to allow for some suspension of disbelief, but this one was just too much for this reader. I won't go into the details on those so as not to give spoilers, but suffice it to say that given my experience with this first in the Cape Charade series will be my last.

The story took long to get to the point. While the main character lost a year of memories, she sure spent a lot of time remembering everything else.

This is Book 1 in the Cape Charade series. Wow! It started out a little slow but by the end, I was pulling my hair out. It was so good! I thought I was right about who the bad guy was but no, I was wrong. Kellan is left in charge of the resort while the owners go spend the holidays with family. She’s expecting it to be an easy job since there’s not a lot of guests. She’s wrong. First, the man who’s in charge of security takes a vacation. Next, they find a dead body. There’s so much happening that you can’t help but stay interested in the story. Then Max shows up to help her out. I enjoyed watching Kellan as she coped with everything in her past and with everything that’s happening in her life now at the resort. She grows into such a strong woman and the way she’s interpreted in this book is awesome. Thank you, Christina Dodd, for this really good book. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

About the author

New York Times bestselling author Christina Dodd writes “edge-of-the-seat suspense” (Iris Johansen) with “brilliantly etched characters, polished writing, and unexpected flashes of sharp humor that are pure Dodd” (ALA Booklist). Her fifty-eight books have been called "scary, sexy, and smartly written" by Booklist and, much to her mother's delight, Dodd was once a clue in the Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle. Enter Christina’s worlds and join her mailing list at www.christinadodd.com.