The First Death

Columbia River, Book 4

By: Kendra Elliot

Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt, Michael Crouch

A Wall Street Journal bestselling series.

For a search and rescue expert, the buried remains of her past are a dangerous obsession in a twisting novel of suspense by a Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author.

Rowan Wolff was five years old when she, her brother, and their babysitter were kidnapped by a serial killer in the Pacific Northwest. The babysitter was murdered. Rowan was saved. Her brother was killed and buried in the forest, his remains never found. The convicted killer refuses to say where he buried the boy. Twenty-five years later, Rowan is committed to search and rescue with her faithful canine and is obsessed with finding her brother’s grave—and closure.

Detective Evan Bolton thrives on unraveling tough cases, but his latest is disturbing. There’s another serial killer hunting in Deschutes County, Oregon, and the crimes are identical to those committed by the sociopath languishing in prison. Each victim is linked to Rowan. When skeletal remains of several bodies are exhumed in the forest, Rowan’s connection becomes more entwined and impossible to ignore.

Rowan and Evan are determined to solve the case before someone else dies. And someone else will, as the truth about the past is unearthed.

©2023 Oceanfront Press LLC. (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“The First Death was certainly hard to put down. I’m confident that finding Malcolm will become an obsession with readers, as it did for me.”—Bookreporter

Love Kendra Elliot!

I think I’ve love every Kendra Elliot story I’ve ever read or listened to and this one was no exception. I was really rooting for Rowan and Evan they are so cute together! My favorite thing about her books is that she has a strong female lead but the males are also strong and sweet. I love Rowan’s family dynamic and the bond she has with her siblings. The ending was perfect! I can’t wait to read the others in the series!

WOW

The author has again amazed me with her storytelling. I really enjoy listening to her books.

Edge of my seat thriller

The children go through so much in this storyline and it leaves me waiting for the next shoe to drop. The narrator is spot on!

Haunting

This book was sad, painful, emotional, and frightening at minimum. Two small children aged 5 & 7 trying to survive with a serial killer.

I think I spent almost the entire book holding my breath for the next thing that was going to happen. The way Rowan and Malcolm were treated by people who were pure evil was horrendous.

There were a few things that were very obvious to me at the beginning of this book. I needed the how and why to be explained. Knowing certain things did not take away from the suspense and sense of danger I got from the book.

The romance was very mild. Tbh, if Rowan and Evan want to really begin or continue their agreement to have a relationship, they need another book.

The ending did not give me the one thing I was expecting, and I was very surprised. There were points where the story dragged a bit because it seemed like it took the characters forever to ask the most obvious questions.

There was no SA in this book, which I was very glad to discover. I think the author did an excellent job conveying the emotions and fears of the characters.

The family ties

Many characters and many twists keeping you guessing who did it. Good that characters from former books were mentioned.