The Hidden Girl (Agent Tori Hunter #3) by Roger Stelljes
Genre: Crime thriller, Crime fiction
Audible
Published: 7th October 2021
DESCRIPTION:
The lights of her parents’ cabin just visible through the woods, the girl carefully curls up amongst the reeds, her knees pulled tight to her chest. Terrified, the only sound she makes is the pounding of her heart, but she hears the stranger searching… if she keeps silent, will she be safe?
When Agent Tori Hunter is urgently called to the murder scene of Dan and Heidi Newman, she finds their throats slit, and Dan tied up: forced to watch his wife lose her life. Tori’s first thought is for their seventeen-year-old daughter Cara who is nowhere to be found. Will this popular young girl be the next victim?
A broken bracelet is the one clue left at the scene, but the team are running in circles until Tori finally tracks down Cara hiding in the woods. Sobbing, the devastated girl says all she remembers is a flash of a man’s face as she was chased through the forest…
Desperate to find the monster behind this crime, Tori pieces together the broken chain: and it leads her to an elderly lady living alone nearby. When the woman won’t speak to police, Tori senses that although it means breaking all the rules, introducing Cara will show this lonely soul what’s at stake. And once inside her house, Cara gasps when she sees a framed photo on display. It’s the man who chased her…
But then another local couple is murdered in their isolated home, another husband forced to watch his worst nightmare unfold. As more couples lose their lives, can Tori keep Cara, her one witness, safe from this vicious killer? And can she track him down before more innocent families are torn apart?
An absolutely addictive and mind-blowing crime thriller that will have you glued to the pages through each and every twist, until the final shocking conclusion. Fans of Kendra Elliot, Robert Dugoni and Lisa Jackson won’t be able to put this down.
EXTRACT:
Chapter One
“Out here, nobody can hear you”
“That was a fun game to watch,” Heidi said to her husband as they drove along Highway 6. “I haven’t seen you guys get into the game that much in a long, long time.”
Dan Newman laughed. “Well, those young flat-belly boys thought they were all that and then some.” He was referring to their softball opponents for the night, a collection of twenty-year-old students from Central Minnesota State University in Manchester Bay. “They thought coming over here was like playing intramurals. Us middle-aged guys have a trick or two left up our sleeves on a Friday night.”
“What was funny was watching them get frustrated as you guys hit single after single while all they did was try to hit it over the fence.”
“They succeeded a few times.” “Sure, that one guy hit two of them into the pine trees in left field, but there was nobody on base. Then you guys would get those little soft hits, the rollers between their players, and the little fly balls that dropped in—”
“They call those bloops, dear.”
“Oh, right, bloops, those little bloop hits over their infielders’ heads. They died the death of a thousand cuts, and they got so… pissed. Ha!”
“Yeah, they figured they’d handle us old guys. What they didn’t realize is we’ve played thousands of games. We know a few things,” Dan replied, stifling a burp. “Oof, that sausage and pepperoni pizza tonight.” He patted his stomach. “I think I shook a hair too much cracked red pepper on it. It’s kind of getting to me.”
Heidi had already reached into her purse and handed over two antacid tablets.
“Thanks, honey.” He turned right onto the dirt road and headed into the woods. “It’ll be a great night for sleeping. Nice and cool.”
“What time is Cara coming home?”
“I told her one a.m.”
“That’s a late curfew.”
“Her mom has been giving her that one, so I feel like I should too, so we’re consistent.”
The woods cleared on the right and the bright white rail fence that defined the front of their property appeared. Dan slowed, turned right and pulled up the driveway into the garage.
“Tomorrow we need to weed the flower beds in the front yard before you go off and play golf,” Heidi said as they reached the back door.
“Again?”
“Yes. It shouldn’t take long.”
“I should hope not,” he replied as he unlocked the door and pushed it open. “We did it just a few weeks ago.”
“Hey, we have to keep up to keep it all looking sharp,” she replied as she stepped into the kitchen. Dan quickly locked the door and followed.
He sensed sudden movement from his left.
Thump!
The blow hit him high in his back and sent him crashing face first into a kitchen cabinet, then down to the floor.
Heidi spun around to see a huge man swinging a crowbar.
“Dan! Dan!”
Thump! Thump! Thump!
“Da—” She was slammed to the floor from behind. “No! No! Get off me!”
If this extract has intrigued you, you can grab a copy of The Hidden Girl by Roger Stelljes here:
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Roger started his first novel in July 2002 while on vacation in Minnesota’s Brainerd Lakes area and has been writing ever since. His debut book, The St. Paul Conspiracy, was nominated in genre fiction for the Minnesota Book Awards along with finalists Brian Freeman and William Kent Krueger. With his follow-up, Deadly Stillwater, where Vince Flynn hailed Roger as a “powerful new thriller voice”, he won the Midwest Independent Book Publishers award for commercial fiction.
Born and raised in Minnesota, Roger still lives there with his family. In addition to his work as an author, Roger is a partner in his law firm. Roger is an avid sports enthusiast and enjoys spending time outdoors boating, attending hockey games, and honing his golf game.
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