Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Lost In The Woods
SERIES: Polaris Mysteries,
AUTHOR: Crystal D Budy
PUBLISHER: Wicked Dreamer Press,
LENGTH: 293 Pages
RELEASE DATE: 15 November, 2024
BLURB:
The real danger is right in their backyard.
It’s nearly Christmas in Willow Haven, North Carolina. Garlands are hung, lights are twinkling, and carols are playing in shops and on street corners. But Max Talbot and Mike Carter aren’t feeling the holiday spirit.
Max is struggling with grief, guilt, and the desire for revenge. He’s good at pasting on a smile and pretending, but doing that is starting to choke him. A dark cloud has enveloped every corner of his life—including his relationship with Carter.
Carter is just trying to keep his head above water. All he wants is to help Max through his pain and get Joey back on steady ground, but everything he does seems to make matters worse. He’s sinking fast and doesn’t know how much more he can take.
When Flynn O’Malley is murdered, Joey Carter tops the police’s suspect list. Max and Carter enlist the help of Spade & Katz to prove the Appalachian Order is behind the murder.
But as they work to clear Joey’s name, the question continues to loom in the air: What if he did it?
Lost in the Woods is the third book in the Polaris Mysteries series. The series is best read in order as there is an overarching plot throughout the series.
REVIEW:
While the behind-the-scenes investigation into the illegal activities of the Appalachian Order continues, Max and Carter are fighting personal demons. Their struggles aren’t helped by the unknown quantity of Carter’s brother, Joey, who contains within himself a world of hurt and need alongside allegations of murder.
Lost In the Woods is the eagerly anticipated third of the four-book Polaris Mystery series. Apart from the overall arc concerning the militia-style cult on the hill, the focus is on exposing the characters’ true inner workings and thoughts, plus the associated coping mechanisms and fall-out. The tale was an expertly written story where feelings leaped off the page, reducing me to tears. It was so close to perfect. But, towards the end, my anticipation got the better of me, and I expected more action-action than I got to balance out the emotions. Nevertheless, there was a delicious OMG moment to make me salivate at the prospect of what could happen in the last book of the series.
The story is told in the third person from the viewpoints of Max and Carter. Worldbuilding has evolved over the series, so I won’t say too much, except the stage is a small town where a cult in the hills has wormed its way into more town life than anyone expected. A cult that began as an idealistic hippy commune was taken over and transformed into a militia-style crime factory of grooming, human trafficking, drugs, and more.
Max, Carter, and an expanding team of incorruptible people are working to weed out those working for the AO. And that investigation is making progress. There were delicious shenanigans there that skirt the law – but needs to an end and all that. Also, the times when extended cast members do their best to derail – anything they can -were a delight to read.
After turning up on Carter’s doorstep, bloodied and beaten, Joey is a superbly written brother whose loyalty is sketchy. He’s also a complicated man with hidden talents, and needs, who wants more than he believes his blood family can understand or give. Being accused of murder doesn’t help either.
Max – oh, the delightful Max, my heart went out to him. What a star. He’s been hiding behind the mask for so long that it’s second nature. But for his relationship with Carter to survive – he must make choices and reveal aspects of his life that he’d rather ignore. He skirts the law, and talents that he once used to survive now aid him in other ways. But Carter needs Max to be honest, at least to him. Max has come so far – he has to be one of my fav characters of 2024.
To read about the inner turmoil and the strength of character required, along with a good support network, mixed into a world of danger, conspiracy, and intrigue, was a delight. I can’t begin to explain everything I am looking forward to in book four – it would take up far too much page space. All I can say is – Crystal D Budy, please write quickly.
RATING: 
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