OUT OF THE WOODS by Kate Wiley

5* Everything the finale of this series needed. And it's not the end for Margot and Wes, professionally or personally. Yay on the first, kind of meh on the latter.

This series was a bit of a slow burner over the first couple of books, making me wonder if I'd missed seeing Margot in another book by the author. I hadn't, but she had so many issues and had been living with mistrust and fear for so long, that this book was slowly in the making even back then. I'm so grateful to Storm Publishing letting me know as soon as book after book was ready, and for the author being so prolific, and today I dropped everything to read this in under 2 hours. 

What. A. Book. A perfect ending to the Ed arc and the serial killer storyline, because of courage on Margot's part for the former and plain good detecting from a character introduced in this last book as a minor character and junior detective, which worked perfectly for the latter. Nothing planted, nothing out of place, just the perfect plum falling into their collective laps, plus a stroke of luck, plus a strong woman fighting back, to deny the killer the notoriety he sought. By the sounds of it, he was probably both MAGA and an incel, a disciple of that obnoxious Tate guy - I really liked how the author brought IRL stuff into the hook without sensationalism, just plausibility.

As for the Ed arc? A bit of a blinder on his part, though everyone should've expected something along the lines of what happened from him. Was it suicide by cop? Was it his crushed ego crushing him? Was it him releasing Margot from his prison? Maybe all of it?

The book ends in new life for Margot,  personally and professionally. The tiniest critique that I have is that her self-professed bisexuality was all mouth and no trousers, which niggled a little over the last couple of books. Still, the tale ends well for her and Wes, though I'm not sure their rush to 'those words' and talk of a future rang that true. But, onwards and to the FBI for her, which according to the author, should see the light of day shortly.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my reading pleasure. 

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