A Dark And Atmospheric Romantic Thriller | “Buried Deception” by Amanda McKinney (2022) Book Review

Amanda McKinney is a well-known writer of romantic suspense/thrillers with quite a large number of books of this genre in her repertoire. And having read “Buried Deception,” the first book in her “On the Edge” series, I can say with total confidence, she is deserving of her reputation.

The new series showcases Dr. Mia Frost, a psychiatrist, who also works occasionally as the criminal profiler for the local police department when the situation warrants it. When a teenage girl goes missing in her hometown of Skull Hollow, a small corner of East Texas, Easton Crew, the CEO of a tactical tracking company, is enlisted to help the police department find the girl. Mia is pulled into the case by the police when the girl is found alive after having survived a sexual assault. The police suspect this might be the work of a man dubbed the Black Cat Stalker, who has been stalking women hikers in town.

Unexpectedly, this case reminds Mia of a similar incident, which had happened to her many years ago, in another town in Texas. As for Easton, he has recently gone through a personal crisis and is still struggling with the aftermath of it. Mia and Easton’s paths cross during the course of this case and sparks begin to fly immediately. What happens when these two damaged people become a part of each other’s lives? How will the pieces fall together? Will they be able to find the culprit and overcome their personal trauma?

I absolutely loved the way Mia’s character has been written. Mia may be a trained psychiatrist but she is a victim of her own circumstances when it comes to her personal life. As for Easton, though his character isn’t explored much (the story has been centered around Mia), he has been used expertly as the crutch that Mia needs to face her demons head-on.

I love the way McKinney writes. Her narration is descriptive enough to capture the reader’s imagination and the pacing is on point. In fact, I can’t wait to read more of her work and am looking forward to it.

This book gets 5 out of 5 stars.