Little Falls
by Elizabeth Lewes
Tour September 1Â - October 31, 2020
She tried to forget the horrors of war–but her quiet hometown conceals a litany of new evils.
Sergeant Camille Waresch did everything she could to forget Iraq. She went home to Eastern Washington and got a quiet job. She connected with her daughter, Sophie, whom she had left as a baby. She got sober. But the ghosts of her past were never far behind.
While conducting a routine property tax inspection on an isolated ranch, Camille discovers a teenager’s tortured corpse hanging in a dilapidated outbuilding. In a flash, her combat-related PTSD resurges–and in her dreams, the hanging boy merges with a young soldier whose eerily similar death still haunts her. The case hits home when Sophie reveals that the victim was her ex-boyfriend–and as Camille investigates, she uncovers a tangled trail that leads to his jealous younger brother and her own daughter, wild, defiant, and ensnared.
The closer Camille gets to the truth, the closer she is driven to the edge. Her home is broken into. Her truck is blown up. Evidence and witnesses she remembers clearly are erased. And when Sophie disappears, Camille’s hunt for justice becomes a hunt for her child. At a remote compound where the terrifying truth is finally revealed, Camille has one last chance to save her daughter–and redeem her own shattered soul.
"A dark, dangerous read populated by distinct, well-drawn characters. The tormented heroine is a woman on the edge and fascinating in her unpredictability. You’re rooting for her, afraid for her, but never fully confident that she won’t succumb to her multiple demons. There is a desperate sense of urgency right up until the very end." —P. J. Tracy, New York Times bestselling author of the Monkeewrench series
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Elizabeth Lewes has astounded me with her debut novel. It's one of those books that your hands end up hurting because you're gripping it so hard as you focus. We get to experience the PTSD that Camille is living with by viewing the story from her POV. It doesn't take long to question if what she's experiencing is real or a part of her condition.
Her return to civilian life is challenging and often frustrating. Adding a teenager to the mix really ups the stakes of day-to-day survival for Camille. Her job as a tax accessor should be cut and dry and far from her military career as a frontline medic; but then she discovers a gruesome scene.
The discovery of the body hanging in a barn pulls her mind back to events that occurred in Iraq. This is where I began to feel my breathing uptick and heart pound a little harder as it was more difficult to determine reality from false memories caused by the PTSD. Questioning the actions and events made my mind go in multiple directions as possibilities for what was going on.
When Sophie disappears, I felt a big shift in emotion. Camille already has a lot on her plate. Sophie's running crowd isn't who I'd want my kids hanging with; but that added to the story.
Although I wasn't overly happy about where the book left us at the end, I feel like it's a raw depiction of just how deep PTSD goes in people's lives. As a reader, we often want to see improvement, happy endings, and redemption. But I think Lewes leaves us with open, raw wounds that may not ever heal. We simply have to accept that these are the facts. It's not pretty and often quite dark. I would have liked to have given this 5 stars, but I felt some secondary characters needed to be slightly more developed.
I received a complimentary copy of the book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.
About the Author
Elizabeth Lewes is a veteran of the United States Navy who served during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. An analyst and linguist by training, she now practices law in Seattle. Little Falls is her debut novel.
Catch Up With Elizabeth Lewes: ElizabethLewes.com! , Goodreads, BookBub, Instagram, & Twitter!
This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Elizabeth Lewes. There will be five (5) winners total. Three (3) winners will each receive one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card. Two (2) winners will each receive LITTLE FALLS by Elizabeth Lewes (eBook). The giveaway begins on September 1, 2020 and runs through November 2, 2020. Void where prohibited.