Stone Cold Killing by D.E. White

Stone Cold Killing is the fourth book in D.E. White’s Detective Dove Milson series.

Detective Dove Milson and her partner Detective Steve Parker are on their way home when Dove sees a baby’s car seat in the middle of the road. She swerves her car to avoid hitting the baby seat. Ten meters up the road, a car has crashed in a ditch. Steve rushes to the car while Dove attends to the baby.

But the baby is just a doll. There’s lots of blood around the car and a trail leading into the woods. As they start to search for the survivor, shots are fired. Steve is hit. Paramedics and police officers arrive at the scene of shooting soon after.

Dove learns there’s been a murder just miles away from the accident. An elderly woman is murdered and a carved stone is placed in her mouth. But she’s not the first victim…

Soon, another person is murdered in a similar manner. And it all connects to one particular case… But the perp related to that case claims his innocence.

Another fantastic addition to my favorite police procedural series. I cannot choose a favorite scene from the story – the investigation or finding the missing piece of the puzzle or the killer’s obsession with revenge. Phew! This was one heck of a roller coaster ride.

There are two PoVs here: One deals with the killer and their plan to target their next victim. The second deals with Dove and Steve’s investigation. We also get a sneak peak into the police officer’s personal lives – their daily routine, heartbreaks, love, and everything else.

Speaking of love, there is some development in Dove’s love life. Her fiancé Quinn is once again on night shift and they hardly get to spend time together. But both are still very much in love with each other. Halfway through the story… hmm, no spoilers. 😉

I loved the mystery behind the murders. It has something to do an old case. The car found at the accident scene is registered to a criminal who was imprisoned for abusing his children. He’s now out of jail. But what connection did he have with the victim? She was just an ordinary midwife.

When another person is murdered in a similar manner (with a heart shaped stone in their mouth), it becomes clear to the detectives that this is no coincidence. Are the two victims connected in more than one way? (They were friends.) As Dove and Steve start to investigate, there is one question that bothers them. Something to do with a baby that was never there. The mother had claimed her partner killed her baby. But others said there was no baby…

Plenty of red herrings and the list of suspects is long. Some of them won’t think twice before telling lies or even putting others under harm’s way. The only way out of this is to solve the case and arrest the killer before it is too late.

The twists and turns kept me guessing till the end. The story is filled with suspense – from start to end. Stone Cold Killing by D.E. White is a completely engrossing and compelling page turner. Though fourth in the series, this book can be read as a standalone.

---

I received an ARC from Joffe Books in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.

Follow The Book Decoder on:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Goodreads