Review: Killman Creek by Rachel Caine

Killman Creek (Stillhouse Lake #2) by Rachel Caine
Publication date: December 12th 2017
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
My rating: 2.5 Stars
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Every time Gwen closed her eyes, she saw him in her nightmares. Now her eyes are open, and he’s not going away.

Gwen Proctor won the battle to save her kids from her ex-husband, serial killer Melvin Royal, and his league of psychotic accomplices. But the war isn’t over. Not since Melvin broke out of prison. Not since she received a chilling text…

You’re not safe anywhere now.

Her refuge at Stillhouse Lake has become a trap. Gwen leaves her children in the protective custody of a fortified, well-armed neighbor. Now, with the help of Sam Cade, brother of one of Melvin’s victims, Gwen is going hunting. She’s learned how from one of the sickest killers alive.

But what she’s up against is beyond anything she feared—a sophisticated and savage mind game calculated to destroy her. As trust beyond her small circle of friends begins to vanish, Gwen has only fury and vengeance to believe in as she closes in on her prey. And sure as the night, one of them will die. 

My Thoughts:

Melvin Royal is out and on the hunt for Gwen and the kids.  Keeping safe and hidden is almost impossible with Absalom assisting Melvin at every turn.  So, Gwen and Sam decide to go on the offensive, while leaving her kids, Lanny and Connor with Javier and Kenzia to keep safe.

There’s no doubt that Killman Creek was an exciting, on-the-edge-of-your-seat kind of read, I read this in one day because I couldn’t put it down.  I can’t really say I enjoyed it, though, because it was gruesome in parts and pretty intense.  Also, I wasn’t happy with the characters.  Evidence conveniently surfaces that again casts doubt on Gwen, was she Melvin’s Little Helper after all? Instead of waiting to see if it was fabricated, there was an immediate rush to judgement.  After all they’d been through in the last book, their quick loss of faith in Gwen was super disappointing. 

I don’t know if I could’ve forgiven Sam for what he did in the end.  It was a complete betrayal that was just swept under the rug in the end.  To me, there should’ve been a lot more talk on the subject and a lot more groveling, maybe I could’ve come to terms with it then, but the way it was quickly shoved aside and forgotten didn’t sit well with me.  Gwen was amazing, but I thought she accepted that crappy treatment way too easily. I suppose it was from the lingering guilt of feeling like she should’ve known what her ex-husband was up to when he was killing all those women, but still.

There’s a third book coming in the series, not sure what it’ll be about since things are wrapped up here, but I would like to see Sam, Gwen and the kids in the future. Maybe some of my lingering disappointment with the characters actions and reactions will be put to rest then.  It’s hard to rate this since I had big time issues with the characters, but I can’t ignore that it was a compelling thriller, one I didn’t want to put down.  I think it’s somewhere between 2-3 stars for me.