The Hunted Girls by Jenna Kernan (best book club books for discussion txt) 📕

Now her heart raced for different reasons.

The sheriff stepped forward. Tina followed looking apologetic.

“I’m sorry. He said it was urgent.”

“Sheriff Douglas,” said Demko, obviously recognizing the man on sight. “This is a surprise.”

He stood, drawing Nadine up beside him.

She tried to convince herself that Sheriff Douglas was here about some detail that needed attention and could not quite manage it.

“Dr. Finch, I wanted to alert you of a private matter.” He glanced to Tina and to Demko.

“It’s all right. You can speak before them.”

“I just received a call from the correctional facility in Lawtey. We have been contacted as the arresting law enforcement agency of record.”

Nadine’s heart began pounding, anticipating the subject of this private matter.

“As a courtesy, we wanted to inform you in person that your brother, Arlo Howler, has just been released from federal prison.”

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Books by Jenna Kernan

Agent Nadine Finch

A Killer’s Daughter

The Hunted Girls

Available in Audio

Agent Nadine Finch

A Killer’s Daughter (Available in the UK and the US)

A Letter from Jenna

Dear Reader,

A great big thank-you for choosing to read The Hunted Girls. I appreciate you joining me on Nadine Finch’s second exciting case! To be the first to know about all my latest releases, sign up at the following link. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Going home again can be difficult. I was obsessed with the idea of sending the daughter of a serial killer back to her childhood home, which is also her mother’s old killing ground.

I grew up in my father’s hometown, which was his father’s hometown, and his father’s as well. My family has people tucked under sod on the ancestral land in Upstate New York with sturdy Vermont marble to mark the year, day and, on some, the exact hour of their deaths stretching back to the late 1700s. Nadine and I both share the sense of the strange superimposing the familiar, as past and present occupy the same geography.

In addition to bringing you along on Nadine’s homecoming, I am so pleased to present to you a bit of Central Florida. This is one of the most beautiful parts of our state and also the wildest, least visited and most underappreciated. The natural springs throughout Florida have clear turquoise-blue water that averages a constant 75°F/23℃, making the springs cool in summer and warm in winter. In the heat of summer, these springs are cool, refreshing swimming spots for locals and visitors alike. The springs close from November to March to allow space for the manatee to raise their young. The Ocala National Forest is immense with hundreds of lakes. As part of my research, I rented a houseboat and traveled upriver on the St. Johns, from DeLand to Silver Glen Springs. I’ve never seen so many eagles. We camped on the boat, moored to a small island, and watched a flock of turkeys arrive to eat acorns. Guess what animal arrived next? If you picked alligators, you are correct. If you ever get an opportunity to visit one of the natural springs or travel down the St. Johns River, jump at the chance. But definitely don’t jump in the river water. It really is full of gators. ;)

I hope you enjoyed The Hunted Girls and would be so kind as to leave a brief review on Amazon or the reader’s site of your choosing. Your review helps new readers discover a story you enjoyed. Even a line or two can make an enormous difference in the success of this book.

I’d love to learn what you thought about Nadine’s stormy return to her childhood home. Please get in touch on social media, Goodreads, in an Amazon review or on my website.

Be safe. Stay Well.

Happy Reading!

Jenna Kernan

www.jennakernan.com

A Killer’s Daughter

Get it here!

The girl’s long black hair clings to her face like seaweed. Her beautiful eyes are open, unseeing. And a thin line of flesh circling the base of her ring finger has been removed. It’s just like the others…

When Agent Nadine Finch gets the call about the broken body of a young woman found drifting in Sarasota Bay, Florida, she pretends it’s just another case: but deep down, she’s lying to herself. Even though she changed her name, Nadine has always known her family’s dark past would catch up with her eventually.

Examining the wound around the victim’s finger, a cruel imitation of a wedding ring, she knows for sure: someone has started killing young women in exactly the same way Nadine’s serial-killer mother did 20 years ago.

There’s only one place she’ll find answers. And until she does, every woman in this close-knit community is in danger. At the prison, Nadine flinches as she hears her mother’s soft voice—such a contrast to those cold, cruel eyes—for the first time in decades.

‘Hi baby. I’ve been expecting you…’

An unputdownable thriller that will have you racing through the pages until the final, jaw-dropping twist. Perfect for fans of Rachel Caine, Lisa Gardner and Mary Burton.

Get it here!

Acknowledgments

Working with a UK editor has been fab! I’m learning to use new expressions, like chuffed, keen and brilliant! In return, I’ve taught my Bookouture editor, Ellen Gleeson, how to make gator bites and what to expect in a mangrove tunnel. A true collaboration! And once again, Ellen has elevated this story through excellent editing and advice. She flagged issues and offered insightful suggestions to make this story shine. I’m so grateful for her hard work on this series!

Special thanks to my longtime friend and literary agent, Ann Leslie Tuttle, of Dystel, Goderich &