Dead Girl Running is the story of a woman escaping from her past, a past which she only partially remembers and has reason to fear. She ends up on the other side of the country from where she grew up, at a remote but exclusive resort in rainy coastal Washington State, working as the assistant to the owner. There, in the January "monsoon season," with few guests and much of the staff on vacation, Kellen finds a dead body and mayhem ensues. (I am trying not to give any spoilers, not be flippant.) It seems obvious that there is a connection between the resort and the murder, but who and how? I was surprised to find out who the villain was. In the course of resolving the murder, of course, various romances begin to develop, and Kellen even learns some things about her past that had been hidden from her until then.
If you've read any of Christina's books, you know that in addition to tight plotting and sizzling romance, you will find snarky and whimsical humor. Characters like the Shivering Sherlocks (a group of women who enjoy murder mystery weekends) and the dueling brother chefs (think the Property Brothers but with knives instead of hammers) all lend a welcome note of levity to what is otherwise a resort filled with high tension. And although the ending isn't a cliffhanger, you know that there is more to Kellen's story and I hope the next book fills us in. I can't wait.
I received a free copy of the book in return for my review.
