Review Detail

Paradise, WV is perfect for YA mystery and thriller fans. Rob Rufus has set up an engaging setting in the small town of Paradise overrun by opioid addiction. There are enough main characters to make the events believable and fully fleshed out. There is a cop new to town, Lt. Elena Garcia, so she isn’t as biased about events of the past and is willing to consider new evidence. Henry and Jane Lusher are the children trying to survive being the kids of a famous serial killer in a small town, especially since they believe their father was falsely accused. Then there is Otis Perkins who is smart beyond his years and is friendless in this new town after his dad’s pill addiction ruined their lives. Otis believes in his new friends and is willing to help sift through the internet and see what he can find to help Jane and Henry.
After a new high school girl is kidnapped events speed up in the search to rescue her. The investigation into what happened six years ago becomes relevant again. Henry and Jane finally have people willing to listen and to help and they both put themselves in danger to try and find justice for their father. Add in a snake-handling drugged-out cult with gun-toting members and you have the making for a read that is hard to put down.
Overall, this book was exciting, and the plot flowed well through believable developments. With themes of opioid addiction and bullying mixed with the threat of a serial killer still on the loose this book packs a punch and makes it hard to put down until you know the truth.