Dead Girl Running by Christina Dodd

Author: Christina Dodd
Publisher: Harlequin
Date of publication: April 2018

I have three confessions to make:
1. I've got the scar of gunshot on my forehead.
2. I don't remember an entire year of my life.
3. My name is Kellen Adams...and that's half a lie.

Girl running...from a year she can't remember, from a husband she prays is dead, from homelessness and fear. Tough, capable Kellen Adams takes a job as assistant manager of a remote vacation resort on the North Pacific Coast. There amid the towering storms and the lashing waves, she hopes to find sanctuary. But when she discovers a woman's dead and mutilated body, she's soon trying to keep her own secrets while investigating first one murder...then another. 

Now every guest and employee is a suspect. Every friendly face a mask. Every kind word a lie. Kellen's driven to defend her job, her friends and the place she's come to call home. Yet she wonders--with the scar of a gunshot on her forehead and amnesia that leaves her unsure of her own past--could the killer be staring her in the face?

Dead Girl Running is the first in a spin-off series from the Virtue Falls series.  This one takes place on Cape Charade at a resort hotel.  Kellen Adams has recently been made assistant manager of the resort.  It's off-season and she is working with a skeleton crew.  She is former military and also lost a year of her life a few years before.  When the owners of the resort leave for the holidays all hell breaks loose.

I had to take a day or two to think about this book.  While I did like it, I didn't love it.  I did enjoy the twists.  There were a coupe of surprises in the book.  One big one in the end was shocking.  So, I was left guessing throughout most of the book.  I really liked Kellen's character.  I thought it was kind of cool how she cataloged everyone she came in contact with.  It was kind of like one of those cyborg's who pull up an inner eye scan with stats about the person.  This was just how her brain worked and helped her to keep thing in order.

What I didn't love was the amount of stuff that happened in the book.  It was a bit chaotic and almost too much.  I also wasn't sure at times if the story was supposed to be serious or not.  There were times when things got a bit campy and almost keystone cop-like.   There was humor thrown in at odd times. That threw me off.  The book ended in an unsatisfying way, so I was happy to see that there is a second book featuring Kellan Adams.  After that ending, I need better closure.  What Doesn't Kill Me comes out winter 2019.   I do recommend checking this one out. I think fans will enjoy it.