Beneath The Grove by L.T. Ryan

Beneath The Grove by L.T. Ryan
Publisher: Liquid Mind Media
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

She walked away from her life…

But what did she walk into?

Maddie Castle is about to find out.

Maddie Castle has taken on plenty of tough cases as a private investigator, but nothing could prepare her for this. When a desperate mother begs Maddie to find her missing daughter, she expects to track down a runaway. Instead, she uncovers the dark heart of Willow Grove—a secluded community tucked deep in rural Pennsylvania.

Jasmine Armstrong had a bright future: a promising career, a loving family, and everything to live for. Then she vanished, leaving it all behind for Willow Grove, a place known for its self-sufficient lifestyle and promises of enlightenment. But Maddie quickly learns that Willow Grove’s surface charm hides chilling secrets. Beneath its idyllic facade lie whispers of disappearances, mysterious rituals, and a community bound by an unspoken allegiance to something—or someone—powerful.

The deeper Maddie digs, the more dangerous the search becomes. Jasmine isn’t missing, but she’s no longer the woman her family remembers. Something in Willow Grove has its claws in her, and getting her out might come at a deadly cost. With time running out, Maddie must decide how far she’s willing to go to uncover the truth—and if she’s prepared to face what she finds.

A desperate mother begs Maddie Castle to find her missing daughter Maddie expects the case to be fairly straightforward. When she realizes the young woman has willingly joined a small commune in rural Pennsylvania it quickly becomes apparent to Maddie that the tiny community is far more complicated than Maddie could ever have guessed. Can Maddie safely extract herself from her most dangerous case yet?

I have been enjoying this series and while there is an overall arc of Maddie and her friends and family this book is an interesting case and addition to the series. I really thought the author did a good job of explaining the main character movements of the previous few books without lessening the pace or impact of the current case. I strongly feel this book can be picked up by itself and thoroughly enjoyed by readers, but I have to admit I’m glad I’ve read the previous installments so I didn’t feel the need to catch up on the history between the characters.

This book is just a well paced and has the same sort of emotional plotline as the other books in the series. I feel this series – and Maddie’s character in particular – is very good at straddling the balance between a realistic and modern outlook but still showing the grey areas in day to day life. In this case, where do the boundaries begin between a young adult woman being able to make decisions for herself and her own life – like taking drugs or living in a commune/cult – verses where her mother or brother should be allowed to step in for her own safety. These are not clear cut or black and white issues to my mind – but riddled in grey and I feel this series deals with those sort of ambiguous and difficult decisions really well.

There are some grey or sensitive topics, like cults and drugs and violence, but I really feel they are tastefully handled and also very realistic on what the real world is currently like. This is a bit of a stretch for many mystery/suspense readers and a little outside the usual PI or police procedural style of book, but I found it gripping reading and the writing and characters kept me eagerly turning the pages. While not always a comfortable read, this was an excellent and well plotted book and I gobbled it right up. Recommended.