Cover Image: Grave Mountain (Detective Madison Harper Book 7)

Grave Mountain (Detective Madison Harper Book 7)

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

I know I can count on a good, chilling mystery with Detective Madison Harper as the star of the show. This is an addictive series whose characters will hook you into their story. Detective Madison Harper has overcome so much to be where she is today. She is a keen investigator who cares about justice.

It opens up with Madison attending a meeting with families who have loved ones who disappeared and have never been found. One story is especially chilling. Three friends leave for a hike and only one returns. Madison learns the survivor is sitting in the room now. The families are sure that he is responsible, but Madison wonders why he would put himself in this position if he was in fact guilty. Soon thereafter bodies are discovered on Grave Mountain and the body count is climbing. It is evident there is a predator in their midst, but the questions are still piling up as high as the bodies.

There were so many red herrings and twists to this story. It left me both thrilled and chilled as the conclusion starts really building to a crescendo with shocking answers to the questions that we have been seeking during this entire story.

Detective Madison Harper is one of my favorite fictional characters because of her past. She has risen out of the ashes to be a fine investigator, and she has been both sides of the coin, which means she understands things more fully than your average investigator.

It is impossible to put down because you will have to know what and why once you start it.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Was this review helpful?

I have now read quite a few of the book in this series and each one is just brilliant. It recaps throughout the book on what has happened in Madisons life but can also be read as a stand alone book.I can't wait to read the next instalment. Plenty of action throughout the book.

Was this review helpful?

This series gets better and better with every instalment and this the 7th is no different.
An excellent read. A very unusual type of murder is being committed, almost murder by proxy. The bodies mount up along with the tension and there are so many at one time you find yourself struggling to keep up!
Lots of possible culprits are presented and you’re led down many a false path until the real villain is uncovered. A villain I may add I never saw coming!
The subplot and the characters continue to develop nicely too.
This book would work perfectly well as a standalone but I urge you to read the series in order to get the most out of the character’s very unusual back stories, and I envy you the binge read

Was this review helpful?

Absolutely freaking phenomenal! Set aside some reading time if you are picking this one up because you will not want to put it down. This is a fast paced suspense filled wild ride. The characters are some we have grown to know and love. They take us on another dark, horror filled adventure. Break neck speed! This is a must read this season!

Was this review helpful?

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

when madison attend a meeting for missing people at vince cafe.... she never realised where it would all end ....

its whilst at this meeting that madison takes a call about a body being found on the mountain and so begins the investigation that will bring fear murder and devastation to a town...

what a thriller of a ride this book was... i couldnt put it down at all poor madison and nate.... so many murders and injuries

looking forward to the next thrilling book in this brilliant series

Was this review helpful?

Another brilliant book from Wendy Dranfield.
This is a great series and I’d recommend reading it from the beginning to get the full back story of Madison and Nate.
Madison is attending a local missing persons group and her heart breaks when she hears how these people are struggling by not knowing what happened to their loved ones.
The truth is that without new information, Madison and her team can’t look into the cases and she feels awful.
However she then gets a call to say some remains have been found up Grave Mountain, so immediately heads there to investigate.
One of the women at the support group told her that her daughter was last seen there so she’s keen to find out if it’s her.
This is only the beginning though as more remains are found and soon Madison and the team have their hands full.
This coupled with more killings makes this a fast paced action packed book that I really enjoyed.
This is a great crime thriller that I’d highly recommend.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Was this review helpful?

This book had a distinctly different feel as we were set on the trail of cold cases. We learn about a number of missing people, mostly late teenagers, who have vanished from Cold Creek. The residents are quick to point their collective finger at another local who is adamant that he is not involved in any disappearances.
This story builds steadily, and while the feelings of jeopardy are kept at bay for a little while, it’s not long before the pressure starts to mount. As remains are uncovered on Grave Mountain, the story moves with increasing speed, and it’s not immediately clear who is in danger.
Madison is still working with her partner, detective Marcus Adams, but she is concerned that he may be distracted by issues that lie closer to home.
Of course, Madison has the full and constant support of Nate Monroe, whose relationship status was upgraded in book 6. A development that I am very happy with. All references to their shifted status are handled in a matter-of-fact manner and there’s no danger of this becoming romantic fiction. In fact, it’s their relationship that adds to the final jeopardy. Of course, I can’t mention Nate without a nod to Brody, the cadaver dog who we met back in book one.
I did plenty of guessing as to what may happen, but Dranfield kept a tight rein on the story, and I found myself being pulled into the intrigue with each passing chapter. The story is whip-smart and full of twists and false turns. The pace is perfect, and I genuinely felt sympathy for the guilty.
Another fantastic instalment and I’m already excited for book 8.

Was this review helpful?

Madison Harper is back with another cold case!

Madison meets a group of parents, whose children have gone missing for more than a decade. Stuart Carpenter was the main suspect of the disappearances of two girls, Becky and Tasha although he was never arrested. When the skeletal remains were found in the Grave Mountrain, Stuart Carpenter commits suicide and Madison Harper finds Tasha's driver's license among his belongings. However, when more skeletal remains are found in the mountain, Madison believed that a serial killer might be on loose and Stuart Carpenter might not be responsible for Tasha's murder.

This was a fast paced thriller. I always loved reading Madison Harper series and always make sure to read them. The author's writing style was great and there were twists and turns along the way. There were many suspects that as a reader, you have no idea which one of the suspects could be responsible for the murders. The ending was great and I actually enjoyed reading this book. If you are looking for a detective series, I suggest choosing Madison Harper series. Worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Was this review helpful?

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of Grave Mountain, the seventh novel to feature Detective Madison Harper of Lost Creek, Colorado PD.

Bones are discovered off a hiking trail on Grave Mountain. Could they belong to two missing young women Madison has been learning about at a support group? When more bones are discovered she wonders if they are hunting a serial killer.

I thoroughly enjoyed Grave Mountain, which is an action packed read with plenty of twists and a few heart in the mouth moments. It is mostly told from Madison’s point of view with some interesting flashbacks to the victims’ final moments. I say interesting because I think the author has got it spot on with just enough detail to humanise them but no real hint of what actually happened to them to intrigue the reader.

The plot feels non stop. There are the bones to investigate, notably pressure to identify them, more murder and mayhem, personnel issues and a dispute between Madison and her newly minted boyfriend, PI Nate Monroe. Lurking in the background is the plight of missing persons and the lack of resources to fully investigate. Nate takes up one such case and highlights the other difficulties after such a long time. He discovers enough that it eventually links to Madison’s case, if in an extremely unusual way. The novel has an unexpected solution that seems to fit the novel. I would, however, caution that it’s all highly improbable, for a variety of reasons that I can’t mention without spoilers. Still, who really cares when it’s so absorbing and entertaining?

After a rocky start to the series, too much tumultuous backstory, Madison and Nate have become some of my favourite characters. They are refreshingly normal with all the usual worries and disputes. They have an argument in the novel about something very American, because only there could gun ownership or to be more precise lack of be seen as a deal breaker.

Grave Mountain is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Was this review helpful?

This book started out brilliantly and just kept getting better. My mind is BLOWN!

First of all, can we talk about Brody? That precious dog is practically human and he alone gets TEN STARS from me. This is book seven in the series and I started at book six, so I can comfortably say that these books do work well as standalone reads, but they are so brilliant that I will definitely be getting hold of the first five before too long. Even after just two books in the series, I am so totally invested in Madison and Nate’s lives, and even those of Adams, Steve, Lena, Alex and Mendes to some extent, but Brody is something else. If anything ever happens to that boy, I am going to be beyond devastated.

And so onto the plot. My jaw is still on the floor at the moment. It was intense and more than clever. Twists and red herrings in abundance and so well thought out, there is no way a reader could call this one. Even once I knew the majority of it, towards the end, there was still more. It was literally breathtakingly tense and I can’t recommend this book highly enough!

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Wendy Dranfield and Bookouture, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Fabulous instalment in this series. Madison and Nate are the best characters. Someone is burying murdered people on the mountain. Madison and Nate must find out who the killer is. Read the entire series for the back story. Thanks to NetGalley, Bookoutre and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.

Was this review helpful?

I love Madison and Nate have followed tgese from the beginning and their relationship just makes you smile i love how this one ended for them but it makes me hesidtant going into the next one.
I fealt this book was a bit slow in places though it became fast paced very quickly as everytging seemed too happen all at once there lots of characters who are suspicious but you dont know how they fit into the story or whats goinh on the murderer (if you can call him that without spoiling too much) was surprising especially the bit where it all clicked into place.

Was this review helpful?

A chilling read by a great author! I just love Madison and Nate. They are such flawed, complicated characters with the darkest of past (no fault of their own). These two characters are growing in front of my eyes when the words simply flow on the pages. This was such an astonishing book, and I absolutely loved every page of it.

The plot itself is grim, by Dranfield has a way or working around the grittiness so that it does not overpower the story. If the world was filled with detectives like Madison criminals would have to move to another planet. I love her dedication to her work. After all that she has been through I wonder how it is possible to trust the system and other people for that matter.

Oh, and the plot itself. Well, the book is called Grave Mountain, so stop digging your own grave, and read the book!

Was this review helpful?

Grave Mountain (Detective Madison Harper Book 7) by Wendy Dranfield
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Mystery & Thrillers
Expected Publication Date: April 5, 2024

Grave Mountain is the seventh book in the Detective Madison Harper series by Wendy Dranfield. This book can easily be ready as a standalone book or as part of the series. I have loved each book a little more than the previous book!

I absolutely loved this book! The story was incredible and the mystery was intense! I love the characters and they had me so emotional!

I highly recommend reading Grave Mountain if you enjoy crime dramas! 5 Stars! I can't wait for the next book to be released because I am hooked!!!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Was this review helpful?

We’re back in Lost Creek with Detective Madison Harper and PI Nate Monroe. On this occasion, it’s a tough case. Multiple bodies are discovered on Grave Mountain which overlooks the town. Each of these bodies has their own story to tell. As news of the first body is revealed, anxious parents, who had been gathering in the local diner for a support group meeting to discuss their missing family members, are now alerted to the fact this could be their loved one. Attending the meeting is a young man who was hiking with two young women when they disappeared. Although it could not be proved, locals have always suspected he had something to do with their disappearance. When the remains turn out to be one of the young women, and he runs off, Madison is unable to catch him before he turns a shotgun on himself.
Gradually, more bodies are discovered, each of the remains having laid undisturbed for up to six years. Madison and her team wait for the autopsies, and then because of the age of the remains, a forensic anthropologist. The results will give her information which hopefully will go some way to identifying each one. This is a complex and puzzling case, interspersed with back stories for each of the victims, which explains the how, but not the who.
The writer cleverly weaves an edge of the seat story, scattering red herrings and offering up possible suspects. She also manages to incorporate Madison and Nate’s on-going romance within the story, which I’m sure many readers like me enjoy.
All in all, another unputdownable read which ends in an explosive conclusion. Highly recommended.
I would like to thank Bookouture, the author and Netgalley for an ARC of Grave Mountain in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Detective Madison Harper is attending a local support group for families of missing people. She is not able to open up cold cases but she able to listen.
While there is called away as a body is found on Grave Mountain, and while there more are found, was this all the work of one killer, or is there more….
The twist and turns in this book keep you turning pages, and on the edge of your seat.

Was this review helpful?

Another great book in this series, a fast paced thriller full of twists and turns which kept me involved from the beginning until the end.

I just love these books with Madison and Nate and of course Brody, all good characters which are so well described, they are just fast paced thriller reads all the way and of course, brilliant endings.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Was this review helpful?

This book does a thing that I really like when it's done well, as it is here. What it is, though--what's up--is make the mystery just short of solvable. Like, there's a limited number of potential suspects, so it's probably one of them, but I just can't decide for sure. Add to that the fact that this is another solid entry in a series I really like and you've got a winner.

Was this review helpful?

A detective in Colorado attends a meeting of a support group for families who have a missing loved one. She wants to try and find new evidence, especially since the sole member of a group of three hiking friends who returned from the hike is at the meeting proclaiming his innocence in having anything to do with the two missing girls. Remains are discovered near the trail where the trio hiked, and then more remains, and yet more. Is there a serial killer, or is Grave Mountain just a convenient place to dump bodies?

This is a well-crafted mystery with more twists and turns than a Twizzler! It will keep a reader up into the wee hours trying to piece together the clues. Though I had not read any of the other titles in the series, I did not feel at a disadvantage, although some of the backstory between the detective and the local PI would have enhanced my enjoyment of the story, I'm sure.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my copy of Grave Mountain by Wendy Dranfield.
As I got closer to the end I knew I couldn’t sleep until I’d finished this book.
With a twisted plot and great characters, this book has it all.

Was this review helpful?