Member Review

Cougar Point, the fifth in the terrific Megan Carpenter series by Greg Olsen, finds Megan and her partner, Ronnie Marsh, working on a case personal to Ronnie. Victoria Marsh, Ronnie’s mother, has disappeared from a resort owned by Ronnie’s father in a neighbouring county, and the local detective in charge of the case, Sergeant Michael Lucas, doesn’t seem to be doing much to find her. Sheriff Gray – Megan and Ronnie’s boss – calls in a favour and gets the duo involved in the investigation, which Lucas obviously resents. With Lucas unwilling to share information, it takes all of the pair’s doggedness to make any progress, while the kidnappers come up with a huge ransom demand and vow to kill the hostage if the investigators do not back off. When various leads fizzle out, a passing reference to a case Lucas worked on a couple of years ago catches the fancy of Megan and Ronnie. Meanwhile, the kidnappers begin to escalate, and the probability of seeing Victoria alive starts falling by the minute. Amidst the all-consuming investigation, Wallace – Megan's stalker with the knowledge of her shady past – gets in touch, promising to catch up with her soon.

It is a pleasure to return to the exploits of the abrasive, unorthodox Megan Carpenter. The vivacious Ronnie, however, is somewhat more intense in this outing, understandably. Olsen has developed his lead characters terrifically, with Ronnie growing tougher and Megan getting more human as the series progresses. The plot moves fast as always, and Olsen’s descriptions are vivid. I was expecting Megan’s face-off with her personal demon to happen in this episode, but it is all about Victoria’s disappearance this time. However, Olsen provides a glimpse of Megan’s nemesis, suggesting that the coming volume may feature the much-anticipated showdown. Recurring characters from the previous books, like Sheriff Gray and his secretary, Nan, get less space in Cougar Point, and a few others are absent entirely, which made me miss them a bit. Though adequately intense, the investigation, and especially Megan and Ronnie's roles in it, feels somewhat tamer compared to the previous novels. Barring these, and a few other minor things, Cougar Point is another gripping addition to this excellent series, and I enjoyed it a lot!

Thank you, Bookouture, for the digital review copy of Cougar Point through NetGalley, in exchange for my unbiased review.