4 Wine Glass #Review of The Devil's Daughter by Katee Robert

Title: The Devil's Daughter
Series: Hidden Sins #1
Author: Katee Robert
Format: eBook/Paperback, 316 pages
Expected publication: January 24th 2017 by Montlake Romance
ISBN: 1503940918
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Source:NetGalley
Reviewer: Crystal
Rating: 4 out of 5 Wine Glasses

Growing up in a small town isn’t easy, especially when you’re the daughter of a local cult leader. Ten years ago, Eden Collins left Clear Springs, Montana, and never once looked back. But when the bodies of murdered young women surface, their corpses violated and marked with tattoos worn by her mother’s followers, Eden, now an FBI agent, can’t turn a blind eye. To catch the killer, she’s going to have to return to the fold.

Sheriff Zach Owens isn’t comfortable putting Eden in danger, even if she is an elite agent. And he certainly wasn’t expecting to be so attracted to her. As calm and cool as she appears, he knows this can’t be a happy homecoming. Zach wants to protect her—from her mother, the cult, and the evil that lurks behind its locked gates. But Eden is his only key to the tight-lipped group, and she may just be closer to the killer than either one of them suspects…

Crystal's Thoughts:
Katee Robert's foray into the thrilling world of mystery and suspense with The Devil's Daughter is a fiendishly good, unforgettable read!

Eden Collins grew up under her mother Martha, who led Elysia, a religious cult in Clear Springs, Montana. Disgusted by the cult's practice's and devastated by the acts that were performed on her at the hands of her own mother, Eden escaped as soon as she was able and never looked back. Until someone sent her a picture of a young woman, baring an uncanny resemblance to her, murdered in her home town. Eden knows that her mother is somehow involved, and as an F.B.I. Behavioral Analyst Agent, she sees it as her job to take down the killer. Even if it means taking down her own mother...
Zach Owens returned from the desert to his peaceful home town picking up the reigns of sheriff, hoping to escape the nightmare of war. When a body of a local girl is found with marks of a ritualistic death though, Zach knows that his peaceful existence has come to an end. With one girl dead, and another missing, the clock is ticking before a second body inevitably turns ups. The only way to catch the killer though, is to put Eden at risk. He might not trust her, but that doesn't stop him from wanting her. Can Eden and Zach unravel this mystery before the killer sets his sights on someone else, maybe someone he has been targeting all along?

The Devil's Daughter was a spine-tingling thriller that held me captivated with each new page, and guessing 'till the end! With the controversial subject matter of religious cults, Robert delves deep into the perturbing and oft-times inconceivable rules and rituals of one in the fictional town of Clear Springs, Montana...which, eerily, could be any small town across the country. Elysia's followers worship Persephone, and those stories of her that cult-leader Martha can use to her benefit. So there was an interesting mix Greek mythology that I wasn't expecting but added an intriguing facet. Especially as young women are found murdered in what appears to be one of the Elysia's Persephone rituals.

Robert has never been afraid to sprinkle her stories with a good dose of darkness, but The Devil's Daughter is dark, gritty, and realistic in ways that her other contemporary romance novels are not. The pulse-pounding intrigue that you will find in her latest literary work of art, will keep you on the edge of your seat. I have to admit that one of my guilty pleasures is watching documentaries on cult's and cult-like religions; and Eden's upbringing, Elysia's beliefs, and the fanatical way that Martha's followers worship her and her words in The Devil's Daughter fascinated me as much as those documentaries do. The plot was well paced, full of twists and turns. Towards the end, I thought that I had a good guess on who the villains of the story were...but I ended up being only half-right! The big reveal was quite a surprise!

This is Katee Robert we're talking about, so you can bet your favorite bookmark that there will be some toe-curling romance in the story. From the start there is sizzling tension between tough-talking Eden Collins and straight-shooting Zach Owens. Eden escaped her mother's cult as soon as she could but has been drawn back against her will my a mysterious messenger. For Zach, the town's sheriff, her timely arrival is too coincidental for him to trust her but he can't deny the fact that he needs help in this case. Zach has demons of his own though from his time in the military, and he refuses to let anyone else die on his watch. When it seems that the killer is circling Eden, her and Zach are thrown in even closer confines and that sexual tensity finally snaps! Robert perfectly balances the suspense and sensuality.

My only complaint is, I would have liked the main character's backgrounds expanded on more so that I could have gotten a better feel for them. Especially Zach, I just felt like there was an element to his character that was still missing by the end. However, this is coming from the romantic inside of me who needs to delve deep into each character, and I think if the author would have done this, it might have unbalanced the suspense side of the story. Bottom line; The Devil's Daughter was a scintillating thriller that kept me turning the pages. I'm looking forward to more from the Hidden Sins series in the future. If you like a good mystery with a dark edge that quite possible will keep you up at night, and a healthy dose of swoony romance, then I recommend you picking up this tale today!