jbronderbookreviews

The Botanist by LK Hill

5 stars

(Excerpt from Goodreads) In the heat of the desert, Detective Cody Oliver inadvertently stumbles upon a strange garden adorned with exotic flowers. Upon closer inspection, he finds the garden is but a cover for the scores of bodies buried below. Soon, the small town of Mt. Dessicate plunges into chaos as journalists, reporters, and cameramen from across the nation descend upon the tiny, desert town to get a piece of the action.

Along with the media, a mysterious woman appears. She may be the only person who has come face to face with the killer, dubbed the Botanist, and lived to tell the tale. If Cody can’t piece together a timeline of the land the crime scene is located on, decipher how the woman’s mysterious past is connected to the killer, and bring the Botanist to justice, he may lose the people he values most.

Detective Cody is assigned to the mass grave that a hiker finds under a field of blue flowers. Because of the exotic blue flowers the killer is dubbed The Botanist. While investigating, Cody learns of a woman, Alex that filed a report years earlier that may be able to help find the serial killer. Cody is reluctant to let Alex help with the hunt since she is a civilian. But Alex is a strong woman and keeps pace with Cody easily. The real question is if they can catch The Botanist before he strikes again.

I don’t even know where to begin with this review. I was hesitant about Cody but instantly liked him in the story. I loved Alex. She has her own past she is working on but she is such a strong woman. The mystery was gruesome and chilling but so good. I had no clue who the killer was and loved how the book ended. It was so easy to get sucked into the book. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next and had to forcibly put it down or I was going to read through the night.

This is a great crime mystery/thriller. This was my first book by LK Hill but it won’t be my last.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

To purchase The Botanist or for more information make sure to check out Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, and LK Hill’s website.