Thank you to the publisher for the eARC. Will Trent is my favourite crime/thriller series so I had to start this one as soon as I was sent a copy. I devoured it in one sitting and couldn't put it down.

In an isolated mountain retreat owned by the McAlpine family, Mercy McAlpine is brutally murdered and her family don't seem to care. Every character is hiding something and no one can be trusted to tell the truth. Fortunately, Will and Sara are staying at the resort for their honeymoon and Will vows to discover who killed Mercy and ensure she gets justice.

As is usual with Karin Slaughter, this book deals with some very dark and disturbing issues. The McAlpine Lodge is a harrowing pit of corruption, depravity, and horror. The isolated location leads to a locked-room mystery with a palpable sense of urgency enabled by the lack of vehicular access and blocked roads. As Will and Sara dig deeper into Mercy's life, a sickening web of abuse, addiction, and trauma is revealed. Every time the mystery seems solved, another secret is revealed and another suspect enters the picture.

The author explores the cycle of abuse through the character of Mercy as well as Dave, a boy who was at the same orphanage as Will and who cruelly nicknamed him "Trashcan". It's sensitively portrayed and the nuances are never glossed over. It's a tragic tale and Mercy is a complex character who will stay with me. I honestly hated some of the characters - they are some of the most despicable people you will ever read about.

Faith hits the nail on the head when comparing the case to Agatha Christie crossed with VC Andrews. Highly recommended but beware of numerous content warnings.