Ghosted Buried Gone by Angela Gray and Paige Peterson is the third book in the Dakota Killer Thriller series. The Black Hills are popular with tourists, but it’s a completely different place for the locals. Laci O’Neill has only just met her sister, Willow Harrison, but now Willow has disappeared. Laci won’t allow the locals to brush it off as just another lost person, and she sets off with a hand-drawn map, preparing to search the town and surrounding hills until she finds Willow. As she draws closer to the truth, everything seems to come back to one man, and once-buried secrets are starting to come to light. What everyone tried to hide has now started to unravel, forcing a reckoning no one saw coming.

Ghosted Buried Gone by Angela Gray and Paige Peterson is part of a series, but I read it as a standalone. This is an incredibly suspenseful story, one that will have chills running down your spine as you’re drawn into a dark tale. The twists will definitely keep you on your toes, and you’ll struggle to put this book down. It’s an emotional story, possibly triggering for anyone affected by a loved one gone missing. The characters are developed into real people, and the main protagonist is a layered, complex character who brings depth to the story, making you feel you are walking on the path beside her as she searches for the truth. This isn’t a fluffy story; it’s a no-holds-barred tale that creates tension superbly, keeping a tight hold on you and immersing you in a story that leaves more questions than answers. An enjoyable, thrilling tale, but I would urge anyone to read the series in order to have a full understanding of the main character.

Ghosted Buried Gone by Angela Grey and Paige Peterson is the third book in the Dakota Killer Thriller series, but it can be read as a stand-alone. In the storied, haunted landscapes of the Black Hills, as winter closes in, Laci O’Neill is searching for her separated-at-birth and recently-discovered triplet Willow. When Willow fails to keep their appointment, Laci is convinced that something is wrong and starts a desperate search. The sheriff and forest ranger join her in a race against time to track a killer who moves unseen and leaves a trail of bodies of young women. Can they use their knowledge of the land to find Willow in time, before she shares the fate of the other victims? 

In Ghosted, Buried, Gone, Angela Grey and Paige Peterson have used the unusual premise that a killer’s identity can be read from the landscape in which he operates. This, combined with the sense of urgency as time is running out for the victims, creates a fast-paced, atmospheric plot in which the Black Hills and the small towns in the area take on a life of their own. Underlying the story is the deep sadness of the reality of missing persons, especially young women, in the area. There is a list of resources at the end of the book for people struggling with their own losses. This is a story that gets under your skin and doesn’t let go. Highly recommended for fans of psychological thrillers and winter-in-the-wilds mysteries.