Review: When Death Draws Near

When Death Draws Near by Carrie Stuart Parks
My rating: 💛💛💛

Gwen Marcey is a character who slowly grew on me since book one, and now I fully enjoy and appreciate her quirky personality, her tendencies to talk to herself and even have arguments in her head with people in her life.

After the prologue which kept me with a "that was weird" feeling, I was a bit cautious continuing, but glad I did. I did not find the first 70% as action packed as book two, but I was never less invested, thanks to the author's ability to have me totally confused and guessing what exactly is going on and who is involved.

The last 30% was nail-biting suspenseful. The author also has a way to describe scenarios Gwen found herself in in a very descriptive way that made this reader experience every scraping scene along with Gwen.

Looking forward to the fourth and final story in the Gwen Marcey series.

Review Book 1 

Review book 2 

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About the book:

Death has always been part of Gwen Marcey’s job. But when faced with her own mortality, everything takes on a different hue.

Forensic artist Gwen Marcey is between jobs and homes when she accepts temporary work in Pikeville, Kentucky. The Eastern Kentucky town, located deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, has been plagued by a serial rapist and a series of unexplained deaths. Before Gwen can develop a composite drawing, the latest witness vanishes, just like all the previous victims.

Turning her attention to sketching the face of an unidentified body, she discovers a link between his death and a Pentecostal serpent-handling church. Serpent-handling is illegal in Kentucky, and the churches have gone underground to avoid the authorities and continue to worship as they believe. Gwen is offered a handsome reward to infiltrate the renegade members, a reward she desperately needs as it seems her breast cancer has returned.

Joined by her digitally-obsessed, Generation Z daughter, Gwen goes undercover to a nineteenth century revival, planning to draw the faces of the snake handlers so they can be identified and arrested. Instead she uncovers a murderous plot and a festering evil.

About the author:

Carrie Stuart Parks is Christy, Carol, and Inspy award-winning author, an award-winning fine artist, and

internationally known forensic artist. Along with her husband, Rick, she travels across the US and Canada teaching courses in forensic art to law enforcement as well as civilian participants. She has won numerous awards for career excellence. Carrie is a popular platform speaker, presenting a variety of topics from crime to creativity.