From Lloyd Devereux Richards comes the next pulse-pounding thriller in which FBI agent Christine Prusik races to track down a serial killer who leaves a peculiar mark on his victims.

Forensic anthropologist Christine Prusik has a knack for solving the most unusual cases – and for bending the rules in the process.

When the bodies of young women start appearing in the caves of Indiana and Illinois, Christine immediately jumps into action. But her Chicago field office is undergoing a reorganization, and the boys’ club at the top seem more interested in getting all the paperwork in order than solving the murders.

Christine isn’t going to let a little red tape stop her, and when she discovers that all the bodies contain the same mysterious pin-sized bruise on the back of their necks, she realizes she’ll have to confront her own inner demons to find the killer.

Maidens of the Cave is the second book in the Stone Maidens series by Lloyd Devereux Richards. I haven’t read the first book, however, I found no difficulties understanding the plot or characters, though some of the wording got a little technical.

In this sequel, we meet FBI Agent and Chief Forensic Anthropologist Christine Prusik. Christine works at the Chicago office where the powers higher up are concentrating their efforts on finding the person who is leaking private information and as such the team has been told that for the next two weeks, they are to stay at their office.

When Christine learns that a young college student may have been murdered nearby she heads out to check on the body defying her bosses. It soon becomes clear after a second college student is found dead that there is a serial killer on the loose. Going against everyone, including the college who wants to keep the matter quiet, Christine is determined to catch the murderer.

Maidens of the Cave is an edgy, raw, action-packed novel featuring one feisty, woman who doesn’t play well with others nor take orders that would mean she can’t do her job properly.

I loved the chase and the unusualness of the case, including the murder weapon. I also loved the rural setting and the harsh lands that Christine had to work in.

Overall, this forensic thriller is a sure page-turner. I was gripped the whole way through and raced through it needing to know the who and why. I wasn’t disappointed.

Lloyd Devereux Richards was born in New York City and traveled extensively in Europe, Africa, and Central America before attending law school. He previously served as a senior law clerk for an Indiana Court of Appeals judge, researching and writing drafts for dozens of published opinions, including the appeal of a serial killer sentenced to death. A father of three, he lives with his wife, Cameron O’Connor, and their two dogs in Montpelier, Vermont.