Maidens of the Cave

Author: Lloyd Devereux Richards

Publisher: HQ Stories/Harper Collins

Available: 1^st August 2023 in Paperback, eBook & Audiobook

Thank you to HQ Stories/Harper Collins for my gifted copy. My review is based on my experience of the book and any thoughts expressed here are solely mine alone.

Book Details:

From Lloyd Devereux Richards comes the next pulse-pounding thriller in which FBI agent Christine Prusik races to track down a serial killer who leaves a peculiar mark on his victims.

Forensic anthropologist Christine Prusik has a knack for solving the most unusual cases – and for bending the rules in the process.

When the bodies of young women start appearing in the caves of Indiana and Illinois, Christine immediately jumps into action. But her Chicago field office is undergoing a reorganization, and the boys’ club at the top seem more interested in getting all the paperwork in order than solving the murders.

Christine isn’t going to let a little red tape stop her, and when she discovers that all the bodies contain the same mysterious pin-sized bruise on the back of their necks, she realizes she’ll have to confront her own inner demons to find the killer.

My Thoughts:

I am huge fan of crime fiction, so you can imagine my enthusiasm at discovering Lloyd Devereux Richards books. Today I am sharing my thoughts with you on Lloyd’s novel Maidens of the Cave, his second book in the Christine Prusik series. Which, I confess that I devoured in a day as it is an enticing, exciting and engaging read and now I can’t wait for book three! If you enjoy crime novels as much as I do, then you definitely should add Lloyd’s books to your collection, they more than deserve their place in your crime collections.

Let me give you a taste of the story; Christine Prusik is a dedicated, diligent, demanding and determined woman, she is self-contained and ultra focused on her work as an FBI special agent and Forensic anthropologist. She sees details and patterns in evidence that others around her miss when involved in case, her one deviation from work is her swimming, which is where she does her best thinking.

I love the character of Christine, she is very serious and professional in many ways but these character traits are really just the hard shell that she has developed, due to the constant, dismissal of her abilities starting with her father’s behaviour towards her swimming competitively as a child/teenager. Her shell strengthening further over the years, with her having to deal with constant challenging behaviour of sub-par men, whose ego and professional insecurity make her a target, especially as their abilities don’t come close to matching hers! I also admire her gumption, when she knows she’s right about an issue, she doesn’t back down, even when her job is under threat and all around her can’t see the wood for the trees. There is also a softer core to Christine, she suffers with debilitating panic attacks, brought on by a near fatal incident that occurred when she was a young student undertaking research and left significant psychological scars but also provides her with remarkable insight and instinct, when hunting down serial killers!

This novel begins a year on from Christine’s successful resolution of the Stone Maidens case (that’s book one in the series) there has been changes in the management hierarchy of the FBI Bureau office in Chicago, the new Director is obsessive about her profile admin project, demanding that Christine and her team, complete detailed descriptions of their roles. Her lead henchman is Christine’s new boss, he is obedient, obliging and laser focused on bringing Christine to heel, trying to tie her up in endless utterly pointless meetings about the Director’s pet project (although unbeknownst to Christine) there is another reason for this project, but you’ll find out what this is, when you read the novel, no spoilers here!

Christine meanwhile has turned her attention to the discovery of the body of a young woman in a cave, with seemingly no significant injuries. Christine ignores all orders that she should remain in the office and heads out on the road to investigate and then another young woman’s body is discovered in another cave and pieces of a forensic puzzle come to light, both women have the same tiny mark on their neck and what with a Pharma giant and a University battling for funding and both using the toxicology of a rare golden skinned frog, how do these elements fit together? That’s for me to know and you to find out!

Once again Christine is hot on the heels of what she believes is a serial killer, her investigations, lead her back into the company of Sheriff Joe, who she met in her last case and formed a loose romantic attachment with but their liaison got put on a back burner with her return to Chicago. However, the flames of attraction are still just smouldering and in this book, we get a taste there could be more to come for the pair and we see, Christine’s realisation that Joe, isn’t like any of the other men she’s been involved with previously, as they say his actions speak louder than words and I confess I have more than a little soft spot for him as well!

I have been fully immersed in the multi-faceted plotline that Lloyd has created and developed, and I admire the bravery that he brings to Christine’s character, when like a blood hound on a scent, she refuses to stop investigating, just because management try to force her back into what they perceive as her place/role. The inclusion of the killer’s perspective is an element that adds to this book, as it brings such taut atmosphere to the novel, their sinister presence, has a voice and as a reader, you have an inkling what might happen before Christine does but of course you can’t do anything about it, which certainly makes for compelling reading in my book!

I love this series and as I said at the beginning, I can’t wait to see what Christine tackles next, there is so much potential in what might occur for her personally and professionally. Lloyd’s books are immersive, intelligent, and imaginative and if you love crime novels, especially series then you certainly should read them. Personally, I think these books are better read in order, as there are elements in the first book, that cross over into this one but ultimately how you choose to read them is entirely yours, as long as you do read them. As in my opinion they are the perfect way to spend a Saturday at home!

Happy Reading Bookophiles…

About the Author:

Born in New York City, Richards worked as an attorney in Vermont and raised three children. Previously, he served as a Senior Law Clerk for an Indiana Court of Appeals judge, researching and writing drafts for dozens of published opinions, including the appeal of a serial killer sentenced to death and subsequently electrocuted.

Before practicing law, Richards travelled extensively through Europe, Africa, and Central America, journal writing and bird watching. He enjoys hiking, writing poetry and sketching pen and ink drawings. He lives with his wife Cameron O’Connor and their two dogs in Montpelier, Vermont.