A great start to a series. A good storyline and some great characters. Hope there is more to come.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

4.5/5
Dead Woman Crossings by J.R Adler

Thank you to NetGalley and to Booksoture for this advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is written under the pen name of J.R. Adler but she also writes under her name Jeneva Rose. I already wrote a review for her debut novel: “The Perfect Marriage”. I highly anticipated this new release of hers so I preordered it but when I got my hands on an ARC I couldn’t wait another day to read it! 

Dead Woman Crossings is a fantastic beginning to a detective series! I cannot wait for the others to be released so I can know more about Kimberley! A theme that I’ve noticed in Jeneva’s books is a strong female character! What a woman Kimberley is! 🙌🏼 strong, heroic, intelligent, a wonderful and supportive single mom! 

Kimberley is a single mom that was an NYPD detective for homicide. After being haunted by a case that she never solved Kimberley decides to pack up and move to Dead Woman Crossings, Oklahoma to live with her mother. The town is named after a murder that was never solved. Kimberley became the new chief at their local police department that rarely sees anything other than traffic violations. When her first week on the force has a murder case that is a copy cat of the famous murder that was previously left unsolved Kimberley has to do everything she can to not let this case go unsolved. 

My husbands family is big on detective shows so I usually pick up on clues quickly and think I know who did it. But as Jeneva proves once again with a twist— I was wrong.  Jeneva did a fantastic job with the lead in of this story. Sometimes introducing characters and back stories can be tricky and leave a reader bored, but not in this one. From the very beginning I was hooked and anticipating what happens next.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Bookouture for the ARC.
This really took me some time to get into this book; it's very slow to start as the story concentrates on Kimberley's move from New York to Custer County in Oklahoma with her daughter Jessica, to live with her mother Nicole and stepfather David.  She's the new Chief Deputy at Dead Woman Crossing - and the unfolding story is based on true events surrounding the brutal murder of Katie James in 1905.
Kimberley charms her way into acceptance by her new small-town team and with Sheriff Sam Walker, as well as getting day-care sorted for her daughter.  At the nursery she becomes friendly with Hannah, another mother.

Then, the story becomes interesting, because Kimberley and her team are thrown into a murder investigation when Hannah's body is discovered by a fisherman at Deer Creek.  The crime scene recreated the murder of Katie James and Kimberley brings all her investigative homicide experience to bear on finding the killer.

In the small town everyone comes under suspicion, nearly everyone has a secret to hide and she's not afraid to make enemies - until her daughter is threatened.

A slow start but a good investigative story with several twists.

Detective Kimberley King #1

Haunted by the serial killer she never caught, Kimberley King leaves her job in New York and relocates in the sleepy town of Dead Woman Crossing, Oklahoma. Kimberley is called to the murder scene of a young mother but she can't help but compare it to the murder of another young woman who was murdered in 1905.

The pace is slow and there wasn't much depth to the story for the first third of the book, then the pace picked up around the middle. The first half seems to be more about family drama than police investigations. The second half is better. I found it to be more of a mystery  than a thriller. We get backstory on Kimberley and her partner, Lynn that's told in flashbacks. I will read the next book in this series when it becomes available. 

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #Bookouture and the author JPAlder for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to get this book, because The Perfect Marriage is one of my favorite books. And this book did not disappoint. It was very different from her debut, which was more of a psychological thriller, whereas Dead Woman Crossing was more of an atmospheric mystery.

Detective Kimberley King leaves her job in NYC, after being haunted by a serial killer that she was unable to catch, and moves to be near her mom in Dead Woman Crossing, Oklahoma. But within days of her arrival, there is a horrific murder that seems to be a copycat of an unsolved murder that took placed more than 100 years ago. Hooked yet? Murder mystery mixed with great banter, family drama, and creepy vibes. What more could you ask for in a perfect fall read?

I really enjoyed how Adler set up the story - her descriptions and writing style makes it so easy to visualizes each character and place. Within the first few pages, I was felt connected to Kimberley King and was really invested in her life. I loved her witty comebacks, strength, and fearless attitude. She gave me all the badass Olivia Benson vibes. I am so excited to see what’s next for Kimberley King.

And lastly, I thought it was so cool and interesting that this town is a real place and this murder is actually still unsolved. I love everything true crime - give me all the podcasts, Netflix shows and tv specials. In another life, I would be a homicide detective so this real-life aspect elevated this story even more for me!

If you love a strong female protagonist and a mystery with a twist you don’t see coming, then this book is for you. And you need to stop what you’re doing to go pre-order this book. Dead Woman Crossing comes out in just 10 days!

Can’t wait to see what Adler comes out with next. She is a must buy author for me – and honestly would read her grocery list.

If the first entry is an example, the Detective Kimberley King series should have a long run. For sure, I'll be waiting to get my hands on the next one.

Detective Kimberley King and her young daughter, Jessica, have relocated to Dead Woman Crossing in Custer County, Oklahoma. It's far a more remote, and presumably laid back, place compared to the NYPD she left behind (along with some not-so-good experiences). For a while, she'll be living with her mother and stepfather in what turns out to be a small cottage on the farm that her stepbrother and his wife operate.

The town got its name after an unsolved crime from 1905, when a young woman was murdered on the banks of a creek. Just as she's getting to know her way around - and to know the ways of Sheriff Sam Walker, her boss - another young woman is found murdered at the same place and in the same manner. Whoever killed the girl back then can't still be alive, so is someone trying to copy what happened back then?

Meantime, Kimberley works to find the murderer, but her family isn't as supportive as she'd like - especially when clues lead to the possibility that the killer is someone they all know. The outcome of that could lead to more than ruffled family feathers as Kimberley learns she and her daughter could be in the crosshairs of a very dangerous person.

All told, it's a solid start to a promising series. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review it.

I really wanted to like this book because Jeneva Rose, the author behind J.R. Adler, wrote my favorite book of the year, The Perfect Marriage (if you haven’t read it, do yourself a favor and add to your TBR list, it is so good), but I just could not get into this book. I’m sorry to say that at the 30% mark I had to stop and add it to my DNF list because I was not connecting to the story or the characters. I still think Jeneva is an amazing storyteller and will gladly try to read anything she writes, I really wish this wasn’t a miss for me.

A fantastic, slow to build crime thriller. @J.R.Adler remarkably depicts the characterization in this novel, allowing the reader to revel in every nuance and gritty detail. The plot is appropriately dismal and portrays a lingering darkness that enhances the entire experience. Bravo to Adler for allowing the story to play itself out and now rushing to a climatic ending. Loved it. 5 stars

Thank you to #NetGalley and @bookouture for the ARC of #DeadWomanCrossing which was read and reviewed voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#readmorebooks #crimefiction #policeprocedurals #dontloseyourhead #allmyfriendsaremakebelieve #bookblog #bookstagram #booktweets #kindlegoals #currentreads #bookreviews

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the chance to read an advanced copy of Dead Woman Crossing, the 1st Detective Kimberley King book by J.R. Adler. Detective Kimberley King leaves her job in New York and moves to the sleepy town of Dead Woman Crossing, where her Mother and Stepfather lives. Haunted by the serial killer that killed her mentor and partner and was never caught she vows to bring her daughter up in a much more peaceful place.  But within days that dream is shattered when a new friend is found brutally murdered, her one year old daughter the only witness, and the killing seemed to bear a striking resemblance to a crime from 1905 that the town is named after.  Kimberley, must fit into her new job as the Chief Deputy at the Sheriff department and along with Sherriff Sam Walker, must solve this crime quickly. 
While I enjoyed this book, the pace was somewhat slow. The only highlight was the backstory of Kimberley and her partner Lynn, told in flashbacks.  This is more of a mystery book, rather than a thriller.

Thank you to @netgalley and @bookouture for a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Escaping the big city, Detective Kimberley King moves with her daughter to Dead Woman Crossing, in small-town America. Expecting nothing more than breaking up some drunken bar brawls, her calm is quickly turned to frenzy when a woman is found decapitated, only feet away from her small child. Worse, this is not a new murder scene to Dead Woman Crossing. The town is named for an unsolved murder of the same fashion from 1905. The similarities are too eerie to ignore the possibility of a copy-cat killer in the sleepy town that Detective King now calls home.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
I am a sucker for a detective book. I want to sit around the conference table and contribute to my thoughts while drinking bad coffee and living on vending machine snacks. Alas, I did not go to the police academy, but I am the same way with my work. I love reviewing things with a fine toothcomb and finding inconsistencies. I even have a magnifying glass to review documents, which is likely highly unnecessary, but it seemed like a required expense at the time (story. of. my. life).⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
I had a hard time with this book because I loved The Perfect Marriage by @jenevaroseauthor so much (sidebar: @jenevaroseauthor / @jradlerauthor are the same talented woman). My expectations were high and this one took a bit longer for me to fall in love with. It was a different type of thriller / mystery, but the last quarter of the book really ramped up. Jeneva’s endings will be her legacy. I was once again taken by surprise, which rarely occurs (…I mean a girl who owns a magnifying glass is a mystery solver if nothing else).⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
If you are okay with thinking you know who the killer is and having to swallow your pride when you’re incorrect, the Detective King series is for you.⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
This book is released on September 23, 2020, but is available to pre-order. Do yourself a favour and nab a copy.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
 ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣#kimberlyking #jradler #bookouture #netgalley #detectivebooks #mystery #mysterybook #mysteryseries #thriller #thrillerseries #coffeeandcurrentlyreading #currentlyreading #booksofinstagram #coolgirlsread #bibliophile #bookish #fallreading #fallforbooks #indigo #womenauthors #booklover #booknerd #coffee #coffeeandbooks #bookreview #bookrecommendation #booksbooksbooks #bookishvibes #sloane_reads

If you have seen #theperfectmarriage on Bookstagram (and let’s be serious, who hasn’t?!?!) then you NEED to read this one!

Haunted by the serial killer she never caught, Detective Kimberley King leaves her job in New York and relocates to the sleepy town of Dead Woman Crossing, Oklahoma. Kimberley hopes to bring her daughter Jessica up close to her family, far from the bad memories the city holds. But her quiet new home is not the peaceful place she dreamed of. Within days of her arrival, Kimberley is called to the scene of a terrible crime: her friend, a single mother, has been brutally murdered, her one-year-old daughter the only witness. 

Kimberley can’t ignore the similarity of Hannah’s death to that of Katie James, a young woman who was murdered in 1905 on the banks of the same twisting creek. Dead Woman Crossing is named after her, and it seems someone is drawing inspiration from the crime. 

Ya’ll - that’s true!! There was really a woman named Katie James murdered in that town in 1905 and it has gone unsolved!  (I researched it 😉)

Kimberley is such a strong female lead. I loved her! I couldn’t put this book down! It held my attention the entire time. It was fast-paced and I didn’t see the ending coming!! I can’t wait for Detective Kimberley King’s next book!

I have mixed feelings about this book. I found Kimberley annoying and hard to care about. The rest of the characters were great, especially those in the sherriff's department. 
Then there are the mysteries. The flashbacks to the case in New York were intriguing and gripping. The current case was messy and I figured it out way too early in the story. I also felt like the fact Kimberley was a NYPD detective was overplayed. 
On the other hand I think the series has a lot of promise. I will read the next one because of that promise. Hopefully further character development of Kimberley will improve my opinion. I think the case in New York is going to play a further role and come into play at some point and that's what I'm most interested in.

This book was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  
Kimberley King, a NYC detective moves to the tiny town of Dead Woman crossing, Oklahoma to be the Chief Deputy.  She is trying to start over after a horrific serial murder case she investigated.  She wants to be closer to her mother who has remarried a man named David.  David has a daughter Emily, who is the same age as Kimberley and is married with two small children of her own.  
At daycare drop off for her daughter Jessica, she runs into Hannah, a single mother who is in need of a friend.  One day the decapitated body of Hannah is found and her 14-month old daughter is nearby in her stroller. Kimberley investigates the murder.  The Sherriff doesn't want to believe it is someone from his town, and looks into tourists.  
This is a very good mystery.  Most of the characters are likable, except the ones that aren't supposed to be.  This is the first in the Detective Kimberley King series and I look forward to more.  
Thank you netgalley, bookouture and J.R. Adler.  This book is set to be released on September 23rd.

This book is well written, and definitely a page turner; however, I did not find it to be a “heart-stopping thriller”. The author does a very good job of portraying the characters and their personalities, likable or not so much. The book was a bit slow at first, but I believe the author was providing backgrounds for the story. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery, and I’m looking forward to the next book in the series. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Bookouture. All opinions expressed are my own.

I loved the setting of this book, although I would not say it's a heart stopping crime thriller, more of a cosy mystery. The book starts off at a slow pace when Detective Kimberley King relocates from New York to Oklahoma with her infant daughter. A bit too much description of the family drama  but once the story actually got going, the pace picked up.The body of a young woman is discovered and King leads the investigation into her brutal murder.. I liked the characterisation and the setting and I would read a follow up to see how the characters develop. Overall, a good read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t love this one, and I hate saying that about a book because I know how much love and care the author put into it. However, it has a really slow start that made it difficult to get into. And then there was the star of the show, Kimberly King. She moves to Oklahoma from NYC where she was a detective in the NYPD and you are never allowed to forget it. You know how there are people you meet who are perfectly fine, but they just rub you the wrong way? That’s how I felt about Deputy Chief Kimberly and I kept hoping it would change, but it simply never did. Once the mystery actually kicked off it improved and grabbed my interest much more. I think it was one of those times where the book simply wasn’t for me, but will be great for other readers.

I just finished this and let me tell you! I can’t wait for the next book bc I am all sorts of curious about where these characters go next. If you read the fast paced and insanely good The Perfect Marriage, this book is the slower paced sister by the same author. I loved the atmosphere style writing!! I could clearly see the wheat fields, big country houses and inside the small town police office. There is a 2nd mystery inside the flash backs to a case from NYC so it’s like 2 for 1. Not a traditional cliffhanger, a few graphic scenes but nothing that bothered me and Barb is the best character ever written! Bravo!! Thank you @netgalley so much for the e-arc.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this brilliant book

oh my word you can read book after book after book but every so often a gem will emerge and this is one of them

totally blown away with how good the storyline is and the characters blended well together and a few red herrings and that conclusion...never saw it coming....

and the best bit its the beginning of a new series and i for one cant wait for the next one in this series, will be keeping an eye out for more of this authors work

Thank you netgalley for letting me review this book early! I was so excited for this book so of course i had to request it. So thank you for letting me do that. I wanna just start out saying this is a hard review for me to write. I really didn't care for this book, It needed more grit, more suspense. It fell flat in the thriller aspect for me. It felt like a family drama type read. It went on and on about the main character but the book didn't really go anywhere. I get author is trying to build up for a series but it needed more. Things I did love were all the F bombs dropped! And the characters were great. Other than her name had too many e's in it for me.  I absolutely loved the flashback parts where you got to hear more about her New York work.

True crime enthusiasts -- you won't want to miss J.R. Adler's debut novel Dead Woman Crossing. Based on a true story of a gruesome murder in Oklahoma, this story will grip you and won't let go until the end. 

The first half of this book is a slow burn. We are introduced to the cast of characters, the town of Dead Woman Crossing, and the traumatizing flashbacks to when Kimberley was chasing a serial killer in NYC. But once Hannah's body is found and the scene mirrors that of a gruesome unsolved murder of Kaie James, buckle-up because you won't be able to put it down. With a shortlist of possible suspects, Adler's writing will keep you guessing until the end. I love that Kimberley is a badass heroine and can put sleazy male coworkers in their place. I really enjoyed getting to know Kimberley and how her troubled past has shaped her. 

This is the first book in the Detective Kimberley King series. I can't wait to see where Adler takes us. And I'm hoping that Kimberley and Sheriff Walker get together. :)