First in a new series of the troubled Detective Freya Sinclair series I think she's a character like marmite. All I know if she was my boss and spoke to me the way she spoke to her team I'd not have much respect for her as she's rude and entitled!

I think that if we had a better understanding of the history of Freya we may understand and connect with her better as to me she has a constant chip in her shoulder.

It's clear she's suffered past trauma and this is weighing heavily on her current choices and reactions, some of which are skewed to say the least and she using avoidance and work as a tactic to run from her demons.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. It didn't disappoint! Must read!!

Three Drowned Girls is book 1 in the Detective Freya Sinclair series. I enjoyed this first installment but found it to be a little slow paced for my taste. It also didn't have the major plot twists I would expect from this type of book. Having said that it did keep my attention and I would read further books in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC,

In "Three Drowned Girls," Emily Shiner crafts a narrative that, while not outright terrible, struggles to maintain engagement. Despite a promising premise and adequate character development, the story lacks the substance needed to captivate readers. While the characters aren't objectionable, they fail to elevate the narrative beyond its shallow depths. Overall, despite receiving an early copy through NetGalley, this novel earns a modest 2-star rating for its missed potential and lackluster execution.

Emily Shiner is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! The twists and turns are perfection! I love when I can be kept guessing until the very end.

Another amazing book by Emily Shiner, although I did struggle to get into this book at the beginning it did pick up pace and really started to enjoy it.

I didn’t love this book but it was okay. The main character was impulsive and reckless which made me annoyed when reading. I also found the plot to be unbelievable and I had a hard time pushing through. I did enjoy the writing style and the cover is gorgeous. I would maybe give the next book in the series a read but it won’t be at the top of my tbr list.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC copy I realized.

Three Drowned Girls by Emily Shiner is the first book in her new Detective Freya Sinclair series, and both books 1 and 2 are out now!

Freya Sinclair has returned to Fawn Lake as Captain of Detectives, and she doesn't even get to sit down in her office before a call comes in that a young girl's body has been found in the river. Knowing that most of the town isn't happy that she's back, she's determined to prove herself. Then the school calls saying there's a little girl whose been out for a few days with no notice from her parents. Then a dad calls because his wife took their daughter on a short trip and he hasn't heard from them in days. A dead little girl with no identification, a missing girls, and zero leads. How is Freya going to solve this before more girls go missing or are found dead?

With mothers and daughters missing with no way to find out where they are, and the principal and janitor of the school on the lamb, Freya thinks she's onto what happened. But the two men had nothing to do with the disappearing daughters, although they aren't in the clear for other things. And to top it off, someone vandalizes the bakery of Esther, the woman who took Freya in when her parents were taken away. The story immediately jumps into the case, and it quickly looks like there may be a serial killer on the loose, so the townspeople immediately look at Freya as the culprit because there were no major crimes until she came back to town. Being the daughter of a married serial killer couple, everyone thinks that Freya is just following in her parents footsteps. Can she solve it before the town turns on her?

All in all, it's a relatively fast-paced mystery with a lot of missing puzzle pieces. I did wonder at times why Freya and her team weren't trying to find the missing mothers who were supposed to be with their daughters, or checking emails or phone records, but I guess if they had it would have been a lot shorter book.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @Bookouture for a digital copy of books 1 and 2 for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.

What a dark gritty twisted plot. So scary and heart wrenching at times. Well written and told in a way that kept this suspenseful and creepy as hell. The characters are well done and this story keeps you reading until the last page.
Heart wrenching and heart pounding

Emily is a favorite author of mine - great stand alone suspense books so I was excited to see her coming out with a series.

This first novel sets up the detective Freya Sinclair - she had left home for 5 years after the crime of her parents and is now returned to come home and solve crimes. Throughout this book there is foreshadowing of what her parents did but not the full story so I am excited to see the second book.

This story sets up the murder of a 6 year old girl being drowned in a lake and quickly Freya uncovers something even more sinister with a serial killer being protected by a cult. Great set-up here.

The novel moves pretty quickly and is concise.

Emily Shiner brings suspense and great characterization to Three Drowned Girls, the first book in the Detective Freya Sinclair series. Freya returns to her hometown of Fawn Lake, North Carolina after leaving five years ago. Her roots are a sub-plot in this story. The body of a young girl is found in the river on her first day back as captain of the detectives in the small police department. Soon another girl is reported missing by her father, and a third girl is found drowned. What is going on in this small town?

Freya is loyal, dedicated, driven, and honest. However, she’s not great at letting new people into her life and she doesn’t let those in power intimidate her. She’s a strong protagonist with a strong sense of justice and determination that made it easy to support her. Candy Ellinger is her only detective for now. She and Freya communicate well. She’s also not afraid to tell Freya what she thinks. Brad Williams is a patrol officer who wants to be a detective. He’s the one she can call on for extra help when cases require it. Chief Callahan knows Freya’s background and rehired her, but he doesn’t fully trust her judgment yet.

A chilling prologue is the start to this dark and disturbing series. Freya’s background is sprinkled throughout the novel so readers gradually understand why the town may not be welcoming her back with open arms. While this is a crime thriller and a police procedural, the police procedural part had a few misses for me. The lack of evidence bags and gloves when searching for clues was one glaring error. Additionally, the pacing was a little uneven in places. Despite this, the twisty plot had me fully engaged in finding the killer and determining what was going to happen next.

The storyline is gripping, grabbing readers attention immediately and transporting them to the world of the victims and the investigators. There are several sub-plots that keep the investigators and readers wondering how or if they are interrelated. The tension was high as the detectives try to understand the events and race to solve the case.

Overall, this exciting, intense, and disturbing novel is a powerful page-turner with great characterization and tension that feels alive. This book demanded my attention and was a fast read. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Those who enjoy dark crime thrillers may enjoy this series.

Bookouture and Emily Shiner provided a digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently expected to be April 22, 2024. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

I'm so glad that I gave this ebook format a chance after DNFing the Audiobook version. I did end up enjoying it. Normally I'm not a huge fan of detective mystery/thrillers but I liked this one. I liked it enough to read the next book "One Liar Left" in this series!

Here's what I did loved:
- Short Chapters
- Easy to follow
- The ebook format version was great
- Plot that I haven't read before
- I liked how the culprit was not who I predicted and the whole scenario was different than what I had expected.

Here's what I didn't love:
- I made the victim connection very early on in the book but it took the Freya a while to make the same connection.
- The explanation of Freya's past seemed to really drag out. I feel like it wouldn't have been an issue to disclose the information earlier on. It almost made it seem like it was going to be way bigger and more of a twist than what it ended up being, just because it was drawn out like a massive secret.
- I hated the audiobook format version (the different accents were unbelievable and distracting)
-Without spoiling things, I would've like to learn more about the "group" and how they came to be in the first place.

Thank you to NetGalley, Emily Shiner and Bookouture for this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I had really enjoyed Emily Shiner's "The Hotel" so I was excited when I was approved to get an ARC of her new release. The “Three Drowned Girls” is the first book in Emily Shiner’s new Detective Freya Sinclair series.

As the book begins, the reader is introduced to the circumstances involving one of the three girls in the title. We are also introduced to Freya Sinclair. As the investigation unfolds, the reader comes to better understand the complicated history Freya has with her hometown. I found the motive behind the murders to be a little unrealistic when it was finally revealed. I guess I would feel that way with most murders of small children, though.

Overall, I felt this was a solid entry in a new series by the author. I would read the next installment to check in with Freya Sinclair and determine if this was a series I want to continue following. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Bookouture for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
Female detective Freya Sinclair returns to her hometown, Fawn Lake , North Carolina, she knew returning would be difficult, she knew she would have to prove herself and earn the trust of her Chief, her colleagues and that of the town. She carries guilt as she made a vital mistake in the past, arrested the wrong people and lives were lost. Freya was unaware of what her parents were hiding in their basement and how evil thy were.
No time to settle into her new role as Captain Sinclair, first day back and the body of a little girl has been found in the river near the woods. Was it an accident, was she murdered, why has no worried parent reported their child missing? The there is vandalism at Esther’s bakery, Esther is the woman who took her in and gave her a home when her parents were arrested. Before long they have a report of a missing girl and then another drowned girl, all around the same age, 5 to six years old, what is happening, what ties these girls together, are there more missing girls?
This author is very skilled at drawing the reader into this fast paced haunting thriller which is full of secrets and a twisted chilling horrifying evilness. There is tension and mystery as the case comes together for Freya’s team.
This is a five star read, I will most definitely be readingbook 2 with Detective F Sinclair - One Liar Left.

This was a new author for me , but I will definitely read more of her books. Three Drowned Girls by Emily Shiner was a very good book that kept me interested and couldn’t read fast enough. Lots of twists and interesting characters. Thanks Netgalley and Bookouture for my arc.

I went into this thinking it was going to be more of a story about Freya with her parents being serial killers. I got the feeling this might be explored later in the series, and while this was at its core, a police procedural, it was an entertaining mystery that followed Freya Sinclair and her team as they race to find who drowned the girl, and where the missing child is.
I would definitely read the next in the series.

Freya was an interesting character with a past that made her determinate to solve the case more admirable. She wasn't perfect and in a lot of ways looking for redemption for past mistakes.

The other characters added to the flavor of the story, and this is a series, so more Freya to come!

This was a new author for me and I look forward to reading more of their work 😊

Thank you Netgalley, Emily Shiner, and Bookouture for the ebook! I've read a lot of Emily Shiner books and this was a bit different from the others I've read. A detective Freya novel with many more to come. I absolutely loved it. It was so fast paced and detective Freya was just so likeable I can't wait to read more of her journey any see what she gets into next!

So many mothers want the perfect daughter, the girl that's seen and not heard, clean at all times, polite, graceful, obedient... you get the gist. Unfortunately for Detective Freya Sinclair, way too many mothers believe that purity may result in the ultimate cost, death. After officially being back in Fawn Lake for more than one day - following a catastrophic scenario with her serial killer parents - little girls start to appear in the water, and many others haven't been seen in far too long. As her team assists her in uncovering the sinister doings of a cult-like mothers-only society, Freya must face criticism from the community where her parents committed unfathomable crimes.

Although this book was mentally difficult to process due to the truly evil acts involving children, it wasn't too graphic, and I loved it and highly recommend it.

Thank you, NetGalley and Emma Shiner for providing me with an opportunity to give an unbiased review of this attention-holding thriller!

I was a little concerned I was getting burned out on crime procedurals, so I was nervous to start this one. But I need not be as I was invested in this one from the start. Freya is introduced in this first in a new series. And while the reader is a little slow to learn about her, we know she is the daughter of serial killer parents. If that isn’t a heck of a stigma to live with. We know she was injured on her last job and there was some sort of incident that brought her back to her hometown even with it being haunted by her parents’ actions. I like this slow burn of information. Freya is interesting enough that I want to know more and like that anticipation.

In addition to being a fan of Freya, I also like the team she has and how their characters are also slowly being established. They are there from the start, but slowly become more fleshed out as we learn little bits of information about them.

This case is a little bit dark as it involves missing children. Well, it starts with the death of one and moves on to missing children that everyone fears may also have been killed. This could be a trigger for some, but I felt it was tactfully done without any gruesome details.

Amelia Sciandra does a good job narrating the audiobook and the various characters. While I wasn’t a huge fan of her male voices, there isn’t a lot of male dialogue. But she did a great job with the story itself and the female voices.

It’s a good start to an intriguing series.

I enjoyed this book so much! I loved Freya’s character and her team & how well they worked together. I’m a big fan of books with lots of dialogue and this one is on point! Great plot (dark), great character development. I liked how Freya’s background was pieced in throughout the book instead of a big information dump at the beginning. This allows the action to start right away from page one. Great thriller! I’ve already downloaded book 2. No, book 1 is not left with cliffhangers. Also, we need a book on Freya’s parents! 😋