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

Dead Girl Running by Christina Dodd is the first novel in Cape Charade series. Kellen Adams does not remember a year of her life, and she has a gunshot wound on her forehead with no clue how she received it. Kellen is a United States Army veteran who is the assistant resort manager at Yearning Sands on the coast of Washington. Leo and Annie Di Luca, the owners of the resort, are going away for a holiday and leaving Kellen in charge. Kellen notices some bones in the yard as she arrives with guests and goes to inspect them believing they are that of a wild animal. She is shocked to discover that they are human bones. The victim is identified from her ring as Priscilla Carter, the previous assistant manager who left unexpectedly. Lloyd Magnuson is responsible for transporting the victim to the morgue, but he disappears along with the bones. Kellen uses her skills to investigate the crime. She does not know who she can trust and anyone on the estate could be guilty. Dead Girl Running is well-written and has a steady pace. The book captured my attention from the very first page, and I was captivated until the very end. The story is complex with many twists and turns (which I love). There are three major storylines in the book and, in the end, they all come together. There is the murder of Priscilla, smuggling, and Kellen’s missing year. The setting sounded beautiful yet haunting. It is the perfect locale for nefarious activities. The resort sounds like a lovely place to spend a relaxing few days (when they are not finding dead bodies). The mystery was well-crafted, and many readers will be surprised when the solution is revealed. I could feel the suspense as it built up and the tension as it increased. There is some romance sprinkled throughout the story and it blended nicely into the book. I discovered after reading Dead Girl Running that it ties into the Virtue Falls and Bella Terra series. I had no problem, though, with reading Dead Girl Running as a standalone. Dead Girl Running is a gripping tale that will have you on the edge of your seat (and hoping you will not fall off). Be prepared to stay up late to finish Dead Girl Running. My rating for Dead Girl Running is 5 out of 5 stars (I loved it). I am eager for the next book in the Cape Charade series to find out what happens next.

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.

Emotionally charged, edge of your seat, action packed romantic adventure filled with danger, passion, intrigue, betrayal, thrills and chills of the unexpected. Watch out for that cliff...... loved it! My goodness this story had me riveted and kept me guessing from one chapter to the next. Loved the world building and charter development, could not get enough of the drama and suspense. (was so upset every time I was interrupted by life) If you are looking for a spine tingling, brain teasing and thrilling read look no further. The cliff at the end just got me ... can't wait to read what happens next and eager for this series to continue.

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.