I was unusually tense as I read the latest Maggie Riley mystery. Hollinger left me hanging in limbo with book #4 and I eagerly dove in.
But as Maggie has a horrible foreboding feeling throughout the book so did I. Anxiety gnawed at my gut, mostly over the status of Steve and Maggie’s relationship and whether they’d make it down the aisle or not,
I used to be Team Steve and I hate to be a turncoat, but Hot Fire Guy Larsen grew on me in the chapters.
I also wanted to give Kal a hug as finally we get a little snippet of his background and what brought him to Coyote Cove.
Hollinger also did it again at the end of the book because I’m asking myself will they or won’t they?? To be continued…

This latest installment in the series is a gripping, fast-paced read packed with twists and turns that keep you guessing until the very end. Serious issues—both personal and professional—are woven skillfully throughout, adding depth and urgency to Chief Riley’s already demanding life. The pressure never lets up, and that’s exactly what makes it so hard to put down.

One of the real joys of returning to this series is the chance to dig deeper into the pasts of Maggie and Steve. Each new detail adds richness to their characters and strengthens the emotional core of the story. As always, it's a pleasure to revisit this world and see how the threads of mystery, tension, and human connection continue to evolve.

Highly recommended for fans of tightly plotted crime fiction with heart.

This is a great crime thriller.
Maggie attends a call out and is in for a huge shock as the trailer in front of her explodes just as she arrives.
Her car is severely damaged but luckily Maggie is unhurt. Though she is shaken by the experience and with Steve away, Maggie struggles on her own.
When she finds out that one of the bodies in the trailer is a woman who was recorded as dying 20 years ago, Maggie is confused.
There’s lots of layers to this case and I did get a bit confused with all the different characters at times.
We also have chapters from Steve, who is trying to work out what happened in the past with Wesley.
This is a great crime thriller that I really enjoyed.
Thanks to Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book.

Book 5 in the Chief Maggie Riley series starts out with a huge explosion at a trailer. A trailer that Maggie is pulled up in front of. Maggie has a flash of a face and then, the explosion. What is going on????
Okay, I have to say this….I did enjoy the back and forth chapters between Maggie and her fiancé Steve. But…..oh my gosh, the pacing was so slow at times! And, repetitive. I sure hope everything gets resolved with both their personal issues. And, resolved soon please!
And, the situation with the fire Marshall? A bit confusing to say the least.
So, the story itself is compelling and intriguing. Maggie is one tough lady….can she handle all that is being thrown her way????
The question we are left pondering…will there be a wedding?????
All in all….a must read series for me!
I very much encourage reading the books in order. There is way too much back story you need to know about Maggie, Steve and her team of investigators.

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Secrets, lies, and deception are the name of the game in [book:The Day She Died|222784528]! This is the 5th book in the Chief Maggie Riley series and would work nicely as a stand-alone if you have not read the previous books in the series. But the previous books are fast, gripping and thrilling so I do recommend reading them first! As with the previous books, [book:The Day She Died|222784528] instantly grabbed my attention and held a firm grasp on it throughout the book! I enjoyed the pacing, the investigative work, the twists, the tension, the danger, and the shocking moments in this book!

Ruby Anderson died over twenty years ago - at least that is what everyone thought! Imagine the surprise and complete and utter shock everyone felt when Ruby Anderson's body was found in a burned trailer. How can this be? She died on a kayaking trip all those years ago, didn't she? There were whispers about how she was pulled under by the river rapids. But Ruby did not drown. Her autopsy shows a different story...

I enjoy this thrilling series and those who work with Maggie. I enjoyed the tension, the suspense, the twists, the reveals, and the interactions between the characters. I have always enjoyed the balance between Maggie's personal life and her professional life. She and her fiancé, Steve, have been planning their wedding but Steve is out of town handling what he has been keeping secret for the entire series.

As I mentioned, secrets are the name of the game in this book and everyone has one. Solving this case will not be easy - are they ever easy?????? I enjoyed the tension, the dread, the dark secrets, the feeling of unease and mounting danger that occurred during this book. Maggie is one tough cookie who does not back down, and I admire her tenacity, courage, drive, and spunk.

Gripping, mysterious, well written, well thought out, and dripping with secrets!

I look forward to reading more books in this series!

An explosion at a local home, that was suspected to be a meth lab, sets forth an avalanche of buried secrets. Secrets that have been buried for decades are now coming to light. Chief Maggie Riley is already very shaken up because she arrived at the home literally seconds before the explosion. Now she is even more shocked to learn that the woman who died in the explosion died 20 years ago. Say what? The scene is set and you know this is going to be a gravity defying ride of suspense and intrigue.

If you know anything about Chief Maggie Riley, you know there has never been a mystery or investigation that she did not want to solve. The more complex the puzzle, the harder she works. In this particular book, Maggie is going through some personal issues. I loved that the author includes her issues outside of her being chief of police. This makes the character more real to me. On top of all of these troubles, her soon to be husband, Steve, is dealing with his own personal issues from his past. He is struggling mightily about a tragic night all of those years ago.

Deceit, betrayal and past shoddy police work make this mystery even more intriguing with its twisty turns and danger around every corner. Coyote Cove will not be safe until this mystery is solved.

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

Another great case for Maggie Riley love this series and can’t wait to see what she gets up to next with Steve.Plenty of twists and turns and suspense to keep me hooked. Well rounded characters. Great writing style. Eagerly awaiting the next adventure. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

It is brilliant to catch up with Chief of Police Maggie Riley in Coyote Cove, along with her fiancé Steve, their dogs - Tempest and Sullivan, Lieutenant Kal Kilshore, Coyote Cover PD receptionist Sue Bailey. We start with Steve going home to follow up something from his past with his old friend Wesley Banks. Meanwhile back in Coyote Cover, Maggie goes out to investigate a trailer, when she arrives, there is an explosion! This takes Maggie on a journey involving discovering past happenings! I love how all the characters interact with other and how they work well together especially Maggie and Steve! We learn more about their individual pasts and they help to be the people they are now. All the subplots lead to a surprising ending.

Two gripping mysteries in one book!

To start, I hope you are reading this series in order to get the full impact and understanding of what is going on.

Book 5 and Steve has headed home, seeking answers to the death of a college girl, his memories of the time foggy as he suspects having been drugged. He is on a mission to unearth the hidden flashes, to really know what happened that night, to get closure for himself and her family.

Maggie is thrown into an unbelievable case after responding to a call about a rotten egg smell, only to arrive on scene right as a trailer explodes. When the identity of one of the victims is identified as a women declared dead in a drowning accident 20 years before, she and Kal need to find out what really happened all those years ago and is it tied to the deaths that start to pile up.

As in book 4, the book skates the line of right/wrong/gray areas, and I think everyone will react in their own way to these moments.

But let's not forget there is a wedding coming up and Maggie finally lets her hair down for a hen’s night, but with the time that she and Steve have apart, the communication diminishing, a sense of foreboding for them both, will they make it to the alter…

This book brings more of the background characters to the forefront, learning more about them, and we have the introduction of a new character, a fire inspector who I’m intrigued to know more about.

I’m looking forward to what comes next!

Although I haven’t read the previous novels in this series, I had no issues reading this as a standalone. This book is a pacy novel filled with plenty of drama after quite literally an explosive start. I enjoyed how the plot unfolded and Maggie is a great female lead character. I look forward to reading the other novels in the series. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

Relies heavily on what went before😕

3.5🌟 stars
I've loved the plots and execution of the stories in this series but The Day She Died was a bit of a miss for me. I did not feel I got to know any of the victims and the story relied so heavily on me having read the immediately preceding book in the series to understand almost anything about Wesley, the principal bane in Maggie's fiance Steven's existence, and how Wesley has affected their relationship. And, tell me again because I didn't see one mention here: exactly what kind of work does Steven do when he's not wallowing in his past?

I felt Steven's subplot really slowed the story down (forward three steps and back two) and Maggie is so caught up in introspection and doubting herself that it made for a slower paced read and not what I was hoping for. The main mood I got from the book was sadness, not thrills, despite the racking up of multiple murders to investigate and the mystery of a dead woman seemingly resurrected from the grave. Guess I've been spoiled by how much I liked the previous in the series.

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Review shared on 4/4/25 on Waterstones, Goodreads and Bookbub, and with Barnes & Noble and BAM.

4 1/2 STARS!

Non-stop action and suspense! I really enjoy revisiting Maggie and her team time and time again in Shannon Hollinger's Chief Maggie Riley series which takes place in the Maine countryside. We get answers to a few unanswered questions from the past in this book, but uncover a few more. I really would like a little better refresher of what has happened previously to keep newcomers to the series up to date and even to refresh a fan's memory. In particular Steve's sis wasn't detailed in catching up the drama that put her in the state she's currently in enough. I'm looking forward to whatever comes next in the Steve/Maggie saga and I will enjoy seeing Kal come into the forefront in a story soon. Great characters, intense drama and always intense another mystery to solve.

I loved this! I haven't read any of the other Maggie Riley books but I can't wait to start more! Will definitely be buying more from this author.

This is another steady read in the Maggie Riley series. The developing characterisation is good, especially Steve as he strives to uncover a secret from his past. My only complaint is that the pace was just a bit too slow at times but there was plenty of suspense to counteract this. It is a good read with a few twists along the way to keep the reader interested. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I haven't read the other Maggie Riley book so I was worried but this can be read as a stand alone because I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. This was a fast paced book that kept me entertained and engaged. I read it in one sitting because I could not put it down. I will be checking out the rest of the series.

I DNF at 25% not sure if it is because this is the 5th book in the series and I have not read the others. I just could not engage with the chatacters.

The Day She Died by Shannon Hollinger
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I was very engaged with this exciting and thrilling crime story! This book starts off with a giant bang and doesn’t let up! 💣
A mysterious trailer explosion involving 3 deaths causes Chief Maggie Riley to jump into action.
What looked like a meth cooking explosion, isn’t so cut and dry and Maggie isn’t going to give up without answers!!
This is my first story from this author, but it won’t be the last!! Her writing and character development were excellent. I really felt like I was enjoying an intense movie! It was very exciting and entertaining with lots of twists and turns!

Thank you to NetGalley for an arc of this excellent book!!
*It comes out April 14th, so keep your eye out!! *

This is #5 in the Chief Maggie Riley series.
I’ll be checking out the others too!!

1.) The Girl Who Lied
2.) Their Angel’s Cry
3.) The Shadow Girl
4.) One Little Sigh

I have been so excited to get a copy of the newest installment of the Maggie Riley series. Last year, I pretty much became addicted to this series from the get-go. From the beginning, it just really checked off all of the boxes of what I love in a great series. I am a dedicated fan of series with strong FMC’s, preferably in law enforcement, and the higher the rank the more likely they’re going to be a fearless bad@$$!!! My fave kind of MC’s! Furthermore, I love stories about small town crime where the crime rate is just as high as any big urban city. Add in an overall creep factor to the town and its residents and all of their secrets, and I’m absolutely hooked!!!

The gangs all back for this installment with Chief Maggie nearly getting killed when she pulls up to a suspected meth lab and the lab is blown up and a charred body lands on the windshield just as Maggie starts to get out of her truck. This is not a spoiler since it’s how the story started. Yeah, that’s the way to grab a reader’s attention from the get-go. It’s not long before Maggie discovers something among the ruins that she needs to keep secret. Then there is all the drama surrounding who was in the lab when it blew up and the subsequent investigation that uncovers a lot more secrets. Then there is the secret surrounding dispatcher, Sue, who has been acting strangely and is determined to keep an eye and tabs on Maggie at all times. Yeah, that’s not suspicious at all – NOT!!! Deputy Kal is back and still holding onto his secret of what happened to him at his last job as well as his engagement and fiancé.

Steve is back too but is spending most of his time in MA because he has decided to get closure from a secret that he has been holding onto the entire series. He came clean with Maggie in the last installment because he didn’t want this secret hanging over him when they got married in less than a month. He didn’t want to start their marriage with this deadly secret from his past. All of this is going on while Maggie’s friends start planning her bachelorette party, that Maggie doesn’t want and is totally dreading.

The story flips back and forth between Maggie and Steve and all the secrets they are still keeping from each other. The investigation of the meth lab explosion and the victims dredges up a 20yr cold case that the former Sheriff, who’s a real scumbag and got voted out making way for Maggie, obviously was covering up a boatload of even more secrets that he didn’t want to get out. It’s deep into the second half that all the storylines and their secrets start to combust ending in a boatload of intense and scary scenes for Maggie and those that she cares about.

The continuing character development of Maggie’s relationships with the people in her life (Steve, Kal, Sue, Dr Ricky) were some pretty big steps for her. I can’t wait until Hollinger gets around to developing more of Maggie’s friends as well as the Coyote Cove townspeople. The pacing was steady to fast, just the way I like it and the storylines interesting. The writing was good, even if I found the Maggie chapters a little more interesting than the Steve chapters. I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.3 that I will be rounding down to a 4star review. I want to thank NetGalley, Bookouture for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #Bookouture #TheDaySheDied

Oh my stars!! Shannon Hollinger knocks another one right out of the park! It’s so great to sink right into a book and feel like I am literally a part of the story. The characters were absolutely fantastic and hooked me from the very start. I had no idea who to trust, this was one wild ride. I love the storyline and brilliant storytelling.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this gem of a book.

fast-paced, addictive read will keep you on the edge of your seat which each turn of the page as well so make you ask questions like who's telling the truth and why did others lie , and can people who you think are friends, do we really know them. Plus this one shows just how much the characters have grown and came into themselves.