Book Review: Killman Creek by Rachel Caine
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Thriller, Suspense
Series: Book 2 of Gwen Proctor/Stillhouse Lake
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (December 12, 2017)
Length: 348 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Not as good as the first book, if I’m to be honest, but still a very fun read. When we last saw Gwen Proctor at the end of Stillhouse Lake, she’d just barely managed to keep her children out of the vengeful reach of her ex-husband, the infamous serial killer Melvin Royal. But that was before the prison break. Now Melvin is on the loose, and with no shortage of help from his network of psychotic fans, he’s also many times more dangerous and resourceful enough to evade the cops.
Tired of running, Gwen knows that as long as her ex-husband is still out there, she and her family will never be safe. Their house at the peaceful lakeside has become a target, prompting Gwen to hide her daughter Lanny and son Connor away with a neighbor so that they will be protected. With her kids out of harm’s way, there’s only one thing left to do. Not content to sit around waiting for news, Gwen and her friend Sam Cade, the brother of one of Melvin’s victims, decide to team up and go hunting for Melvin by themselves.
There’s no denying Killman Creek was an exciting read. Having enjoyed the first book immensely though, there were several areas where I felt this sequel was weaker, not to mention a few plot developments that were just plain infuriating. There was also a decreased sense of urgency, with the story taking a long time to build. At first, I thought we would be getting a lot more thrills by following Gwen and Sam as they go hunting, but turns out, they just end up being played for fools at every turn. This portrayal made them seem unprepared, gullible, and incompetent—a disappointing contrast from the confidence they instilled in Stillhouse Lake.
I did, however, enjoy getting perspective chapters from Gwen’s children, Lanny and Connor. That said, the new POVs came with their own issues, namely the way Caine milked the “naïve child” trope. Yes, we’ve all seen how young children in these kinds of stories are often manipulated because they don’t know any better, but it still irked to see how quickly and unquestioningly Gwen’s kids quickly turned on her, especially after everything she’s done for them and knowing the evil and deception their father was capable of.
But perhaps the biggest gut-punch was what happened to Sam’s character. Pretty much any chemistry that was established between him and Gwen was nullified by the events in this book, and I am still mystified as to why the author decided to take their relationship in this direction, in essence throwing all her hard work out the window. If Sam had any reason to still distrust Gwen, it should have been resolved in the first book, and I would have liked to see them move on to a new and different conflict. Instead, we retread old ground, using an unrealistic and far-fetched scenario to force a wedge between them. Again, after everything Gwen has done to prove herself, it just didn’t feel right for all that goodwill to be swept aside like it meant nothing to the people who supposedly loved her and had her back after all this time.
Still, while it may seem like this review is full of nothing but complaints, I do want to make it clear that I did enjoy this—just not as much as the first book. As a sequel though, I thought it was decent, and if you were a fan of Stillhouse Lake, there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t read this next chapter of Gwen’s hair-raising battle against the monstrous Melvin Royal. Despite my criticisms of Killman Creek, I also really loved how it ended. In fact, given the tidy way it ended, I was actually quite surprised when I discovered there will be at least one more novel, disproving my initial thought that this series would be a duology. I’m curious to see how Rachel Caine will continue the story, so there is no doubt in my mind I’ll be picking up the next installment.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of Stillhouse Lake (Book 1)
The BiblioSanctum 
I still need to read the first one but I’m not sure if I’ll get to it this year…
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It’s quite different from her paranormal/fantasy. I hope you get a chance to check it out at some point 🙂
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sometimes it’s easier to say what bothered us in a story. I heard about this series and I confess that I was curious to try but well not in a hurry
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Maybe wait for the next book to come out before making the decision 🙂
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Stillhouse Lake was one of my most recent reads (I finished it around Christmas) and it was an amazing journey, so much that I intend to get to the sequel as soon as possible. Still, the way you describe the characterization here does not encourage me to follow on that determination at top speed: just as Caine’s first book in the Great Library series was amazing, while the second did disappoint a little, so here she seems to follow on the same path. Yet I *need* to know what happens, so I will follow through nonetheless..
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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Yeah, it wasn’t bad but…after the incredible thrill ride that was Stillhouse Lake, this sequel had some issues that really irked me. Your comparison to her Great Library is actually quite apt! That’s another series that has had its ups and downs, but I still really enjoyed the books.
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I really wanted to read Stillhouse Lake (that really atmospheric cover didn’t hurt) but I’ve seen mixed reviews for this one, so it cooled my enthusiasm a little bit. Still the fact that you liked it, even with the flaws, is a good sign. I may still have to get these…
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Yeah, like I wrote in an above comment, perhaps it would be good idea to wait until the next book comes out to decide.
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Interesting. I’m going to have to read this – I simply have to – but I’m not going to deny that it’s a tiny bit disappointing that you didn’t enjoy it as much as the first. Still – that does frequently happen with second books – although, like you, I hadn’t realised there would be three books.
Lynn 😀
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I know how you mean! The ending of Stillhouse Lake was just too intense to not read this! You definitely still need to check out Killman Creek, though just brace yourself for some issues 🙂
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People really seem to love this series. I admit I was a tad afraid it wouldn’t measure up to the first because it came out so quickly but it still seems to pull in strong ratings. Glad you enjoyed this one.
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Yeah, one thing I forgot to mention is that many others who enjoyed Stillhouse Lake seemed to love this as well. I might just be the lone voice in thinking that it’s not as good 🙂
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Sigh. It’s good to know going in that Killman Creek isn’t as good as Stillhouse Lake (which was almost note-perfect for me), especially with the portrayal of Gwen. I am definitely excited about the POV chapters from her kids, though!
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The kids’ perspectives were the best part! Though the son might make you want to facepalm though 😛
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I agree. This book took a lot of unexpected turns. I was more than happy to go along with the ride, but I didn’t like how the relationships changed in this one. Still a fun series, though!
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Yeah, what happened with the relationships disappointed me the most. I wonder how they will fare in the next one?
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Don’t believe I’ve ever told you this before, but I do enjoy how you do genres outside of the SF/F/H. Thrillers/Mystery is a genre I do love second, but know many authors or titles to read – nor do I believe I follow any blogs that specializes in them. So, it’s nice to see some of those titles pop up everyonce in a while 🙂
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I’m resolving to read more Thrillers and Mysteries this year! I agree, it’s a fun genre which I would like to explore further!
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Oh no! I liked Stillhouse Lake, but a couple of things really irritated me with Sam, and I chose to ignore them because Gwen and the kids were just sooooo good! But these issues you had with Killman Creek would bother me tremendously I think. Thank you for such an honest review, you’ve give me much to think about.
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I wanted to punch Sam in this one 😀 But the good news is, the kids’ perspectives make up for a lot of it!
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