The gruesome discovery of three bodies deep inside New Mexico's majestic Gila National Forest in the '80s sets the gripping premise for Sara Herchenroether's unforgettable debut, The Night Flowers. Seasoned with supernatural suspense, including a killer who stalks the ghosts of his dead victims, The Night Flowers is an entertaining crime thriller enhanced with the engaging personal dramas of the two women investigating the triple homicide.
Thirty years have passed since the bodies were found, and the victims, a woman and two girls, were never identified. Detective Sergeant Jean Martinez, a tough-talking veteran of the Sierra County police force, reopens the cold case on this solemn anniversary, insisting that the victims deserve the dignity of being known by their names.
Meanwhile, in Connecticut, a young librarian, Laura MacDonald, is transfixed by the case, eager to deploy her amateur genealogy skills to identify the victims. Recovering from a bilateral mastectomy after treatment for breast cancer, she flies to New Mexico, hoping to put the medical ordeal behind her.
Narrated by Laura, Jean, and the murdered woman herself, The Night Flowers features bewitching descriptions of eerie pine-scented forests animated by birdsong. As Laura and Jean's increasingly dangerous investigation takes them deeper into the killer's past, the victims claim space to share their own harrowing story.
Herchenroether, a true-crime aficionado, is a skilled storyteller. Laura's agonizing wait to see if her cancer returns, and Jean's refusal to follow her husband into retirement are real-life dilemmas underpinning their blossoming friendship as they unearth the complex layers of a horrific crime. --Shahina Piyarali, reviewer