Cover Image: The Girl on Wildfire Ridge (Detective Kay Sharp Book 4)

The Girl on Wildfire Ridge (Detective Kay Sharp Book 4)

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Right from the start this crime thriller had me
Enthralled, intrigued, turning pages, you'll see.
I didn't want anything to interrupt or make me put it down
Any queries and calls were definitely met with a frown!

In Mount Chester a seventeen year old girl disappears
Her parents are dreading news, the worst of their fears.
When her body is found, from a cliff she fell
Did she jump, was she pushed, who can tell?

Detective Kay Sharp is there at the scene
Its clear she was murdered, what could the clues mean?
Get ready for shocking revelations and discoveries, too,
Making you worried about more victims and guessing just who.

It is such a dramatic story with great characters, too,
With threads from Kay's past also coming through.
Along with cyberbullying, parents, secrets and more
As the detectives decipher the clues with twists to explore.

It truly is a very gripping crime thriller read
If you enjoy this genre, this is one book you'll need.
For my complementary copy, I say thank you,
As I share with you this, my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

This is book four in the Detective Kay Sharp series and the second one that I have read and I enjoyed this was just as I did the last.

This case centres around the discovery of a teenage girls body at Wildfire Ridge.

This book covers some key areas "triggers" that today's teens face in the real world and exposes the risks associated with them, and the potential consequences.

A twisted tale that had me gripped from the beginning to the end.

Was this review helpful?

I am so glad I am not a teenager in these current times! Cyberbullying and online grooming are big challenges nowadays that clearly the authorities are facing more and more often.
In this 4th book in the Kay Sharp's series, Leslie Wolfe explores this major social issues with much talent.
I simply love this series which is getting better and better in my view. The characters are very likable and well developed, the backdrop of the fictional town of Mount Chester beautifully written and the mystery is fact faced and thrilling. What is there to dislike?
So delighted that there is hope for a romantic interest between Kay and Elliot as I find romantic backdrops softens the blow of murder and violence.
I look forward to the next book in the series.

Was this review helpful?

“Wildfire Ridge, the last hues of orange, crimson, and red that had earned the peak its name fading quickly with the setting sun. The deep, menacing red vanished last, a blood-smeared reminder of the day that had ended, an unspoken threat of the day to come.” This is a prime example of why I love this series. Even a sunset appears menacing in Leslie’s accomplished hands.

This is book four in the Kay Sharp series although it can be read as a standalone I would recommend reading them all to get the full and bigger picture. Especially as this one does focus a lot on Kay’s past, who her father was and the secret she and her brother have been keeping.

When the body of a missing girl is found and it seems she had been bullied online and groomed by an older man, Kay is yet again having a battle with both personal and work crises. Then another girl vanishes and the hunt is on.

I love the relationships between Kay and her brother Jacob and her partner Elliot. This one had so much more depth as I felt I knew them better whereas previously they were holding things back. The kitchen repair scene was heartbreaking.

The storyline was current, gripping and well paced. It was also quite difficult to read as a mother of a young girl roughly the same age, the shaming was horrendous. Linking the crime to Kay’s own past tied the two stories together beautifully and gave me quite a surprise at the end.

Was this review helpful?

An entertaining, well paced and twisty read. The investigation leads to uncovering cyber bullying and online grooming, things that unfortunately are becoming prevalent in our society. Many of the supporting characters are quite unlikable but I was invested in finding out what happened to Jenna.
I look forward to the next book in this series but I am also hoping the cliché of partners falling in love does not happen.
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC .

Was this review helpful?

Kay Sharps 4th outing and the series just gets better, more back story for some of the main characters. Well plotted with plenty of twists.
I received this book from Bookouture and Netgalley for a review.

Was this review helpful?

Kay and her work partner Elliot work hard to solve the case of Jenna, who ends up dead at the bottom of a mountain. How did she get here, what happened to her beforehand? Who was involved, and why?

This book was very well crafted. There were some quite triggering themes here: rape, sl*t shaming, toxic masculinity and abuse. Some interesting twists, and a cautionary tale about social media and how it can all too easily lead to the ruin of someone's life. Kay and her brother Jacob also have to deal with a spectre of their past and since their past was very traumatic, this is a bit of a shock too.

I really liked this book. There is a little bit of a "will they, won't they" attraction between Kay and Elliot, which is quite cute, and it is needed as this novel deals with some very heavy topics.

4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily. Detective Kay Sharp is on the case again in book #4 of the Detective Kay Sharp series. A young woman's body is found battered and bruised off the side of Wildfire Ridge. After further examination, it is determined she was also brutally assaulted before her death. Once the investigation begins, Detective Sharp learns that the young woman was just a shell of the woman she was three months before her death. Something happened to Jenna to completely upend her life and turned her from a happy, well-adjusted teenage girl to a depressed, socially distant young lady. Detective Sharp will stop at nothing to find out why because she believes this will be the key to finding out what actually happened on that ridge the night Jenna died. If you have read any of the books in this series, you know that Detective Sharp is like a dog with a bone when she starts working on a case. She always looks out for the victim and will stop at nothing to solve the mystery. This book deals with the very real issue of cyberbullying and the tough times that teenagers in today's world have to abide in. This story could have been snatched from the headlines of a local news story. The author is a master at pulling you into her stories to the point where you will actually live in the book with the characters. The twists in the story just keep coming, and even though you may suspect the culprits, you will be shocked at the actual reasoning behind the vile acts outlined in the story. This one packs quite the punch between the front and back cover. You may as well forget sleep once you start this one because you will not want stop reading until you finish it!

Was this review helpful?

Book 4 in the Kay Sharp series. I loved the previous 3 but this didn't grab me as much.

My heart was breaking for Jenna and I carried on reading as I wanted to find out what had happened to her.

My main problem was all the characters were just so unlikeable.

The plot had some good twists with one leaving Kay reeling.

Thank you Bookouture for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

What a fantastic series, Kay is such a strong character who has that something extra that makes the series so unputdownable. 📖📖👏👏

Was this review helpful?

Can Kay put her deadly secret to rest once and for all? She processes a lot of emotions while working a case that involves two teenage girls, one dead and one missing. What is it with this particular group of high school friends? I loved the deep dive into,the psyche of the killer.
I discerned one key part of the mystery before it was revealed, but I was guessing about the rest.
There is a lot of development with Kay and Elliott, excise me while I continued to swoon over the hot Texan and his hat!
Being on the next murder because I’m eager to see Elliott again 😀

Was this review helpful?

The Girl on Wildfire Ridge is book four of the Detective Kay Sharpe series. Detective Kay Sharp has for the most part gotten used being a detective back in her home town. She returned home previously when her brother Jacob was in trouble, she ended up staying and joined the local police force. Now she and her brother are refurbishing the old family home. Unfortunately, Kay and Jacob did not have a happy childhood and the house holds too many bad memories including a big secret. Kay gets a call that a teenage girl is missing, so off she goes to investigate. While chatting with the mom, they get a call that the body of a young girl has been found.

Shortly after finding Jenna's body, another girl has gone missing. The clues will bring up the past where her father's name becomes a suspect. Kay knows this can't be because he is in fact dead, but the world believes he is considered missing. Kate becomes secretive and Elliot confronts her about what she is hiding. After disclosing her father's name has come up they work together to solve mysteries of the death of Jenna and still missing girl.

There are many twists and turns as you may well expect, but it is a wonderful storyline to include Kay's history and traumas she is dealing with. Leslie Wolfe is one of my favorite authors. Her writing style is easy to read and leads us all on an adventure to find the truth. This story starts off with a huge mystery that is the main focus until the very end.

Was this review helpful?

My favourite book in the series! We learn about Kay's past, what happened to her father, and who he really was. It felt really personal, and I especially enjoyed this part of the story. The main storyline is about a teenage girl who is murdered. Her whole personality changed in a blink of an eye. She stayed at home in her room, and had nothing to do with her friends. The police needs to figure out what happened, but no one wants to tell them.

An enjoyable read that I could not put down. The story hooked me from the beginning, and it had a good flow. Highly recommended!

Was this review helpful?

When Detective Kay Hunter is on the case, you know she will solve it and bring the perpetrators to justice or die trying. A young woman is found at the bottom of Wildfire Ridge, but the fall is not the cause of death. Forensics reveal that she was raped and probably pushed off the cliff. Kay and her partner, Elliot, discover that the deceased had exhibited a change in appearance and demeanor, after a spring trip. More investigation shows that she was a victim of cyber bullying, The twists keep coming, and the ending is a great surprise and leaves you wondering if Kay and Elliot will get together anytime soon.

Was this review helpful?

The Girl on Wildfire Ridge is a cracking story. That had me gripped from the moment I picked it up.

As former FBI profiler now detective Kay Sharp and her partner Elliott Young hunt for a missing seventeen-year-old girl.

But within hours of learning of Jenna's disappearance her body is found and it soon becomes clear she suffered not just on the night she died but in the months leading up to her death.

And as Kay and Elliott uncover a campaign of hate, cyberbullying, teenage jealousy and online grooming a breakthrough is made. But it's one that sends Kay reeling and has the potential to upend her and her brothers lives forever.

But why is the evidence so conflicting if this person really is responsible for Jenna's death?

And when a second teenager disappears, Kay realises they've been looking at this case all wrong, and a race against time ensues to find answers, save a girl and catch a killer.

And with fantastic pacing, twists galore and a killer I did not see coming. This was a fantastic read. That I'd definitely recommend to others and it's made me more determined than ever to read the two books I've missed out on.

Was this review helpful?

Another gripping crime thriller from Leslie Wolfe.
Detective Kay Sharp and her partner Elliot are investigating the death of a seventeen year old girl at Wildfire Ridge.
They find out that she’s been sexually assaulted and looks like she was pushed to her death.
On investigating her life leading up to her death it seems she was the target of cyber bullies who had made her life a misery.
Soon another teenager goes missing and Kay and Elliot know they have a limited amount of time before she’s killed as well.
There’s lots of characters in this book who you suspect but I didn’t see the ending coming. It was a great twist that took me completely by surprise.
A great crime thriller.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Was this review helpful?

First let me say that I LOVE this series! A big thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy. This starts with a murder of a teenage girl, as Kay and Elliot investigate, it becomes much more. It's about cyber bullying, name calling and spreading of rumors and that is the "mild" stuff. this was a pretty intense book and had more than one twist and turn. Kay Sharp had a lot to deal with as well, involving a discovery about her dad. The subject matter of the book is not "enjoyable" but the writing of the book was well done. I look forward to more in this series.

Was this review helpful?

I love this series and these characters! At times I'd like to smack Kay and Elliot's heads together. This one gave us some interesting answers about Kay's past. Wow! Didn't see that coming. The mystery in this one is action packed and full of suspense. There are definitely some surprises. I figured out the who's to different points pretty early but it didn't take away from the enjoyment of the book. I'm looking forward to the next one.

Was this review helpful?

Fast paced thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat and reading through the night!
Another great book in the Detective Kay Sharp series. I do recommend reading the complete series to know the backstory of Detective Kay Sharp but you can certainly read this as a stand alone.
A solid mystery with cyber and teenager bullying playing a big role.
Highly recommended series to any mystery/thriller lover!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions and thoughts expressed are my own.

Was this review helpful?

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of The Girl on Wildfire Ridge, the fourth novel to feature Detective Kay Sharp, set in the fictional North Californian town of Mount Chester.

17 year old Jenna Jerrell is reported missing and not much later her body is found at the bottom of a ravine. Kay and her partner, Elliot, soon realise that Jenna was brutally attacked and murdered. There is little in the way of clues but they find a hair clip that doesn’t belong to Jenna and discover that Jenna had secrets, secrets that include a link to Kay’s troubled past.

I enjoyed The Girl on Wildfire Ridge, which is a fast moving, eventful read with a few twists in the solution. Initially I didn’t find the novel holding my attention as there are so many switches between points of view and nothing obviously linking these characters to the murder investigation. Once it gets going and I started to see these links I couldn’t get enough of the read.

The plot is interesting once it establishes itself. There is the mystery of why Jenna cut herself off from her friends - the answer to that is shocking, but not beyond the realms of credibility - and, of course, who would want to harm her and, again, the answer is shocking in its banality. The novel mostly revolves around teenage hormones and emotions and covers some brutal topics sensitively but it also takes a poke at some adults who don’t seem to have grown up.

The novel never seems to stop with Kay running at 100 miles an hour, whether on the investigation or trying to sort out her past. It’s all about getting answers from the conflicting evidence and information they are given. Then there’s the growing attraction between her and Elliot which has been hanging about since the start of the series. It’s past time to put up or shut up.

The Girl on Wildfire Ridge is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Was this review helpful?