The Silent Girls by Eric Rickstad

Frank Rath lives a quiet life in rural Vermont, and that's fine with him.  Years ago he was a police inspector.  That life ended when his sister and brother-in-law were killed by a serial killer, leaving him to raise his infant niece.  He gave up the police force and became a private investigator with its better hours and safer daily work.

But seventeen years later, things are changing.  His daughter, Rachel, is now grown and off at college, where he can't provide a daily shield of protection.  His days now are lonely as he lives by himself and adjusts to a new way of living.  He gets word that the killer, Preacher as he is known in the press, is unimaginably up for parole despite the crimes he committed.  And girls are starting to disappear.

The local police chief comes to Rath when a beautiful girl disappears after her shift at work, her car found abandoned on the side of the road.  He needs Rath's expertise as his officers don't have the knowledge or experience to handle a case that quickly grows larger.  As the investigation proceeds, other lost girls in this small area come to light.  Is there another serial killer among them?

Eric Rickstad has penned a haunting crime fiction, one that proves that gritty crime writing doesn't only belong in a city setting.  Rath is a man tied to the past and one who tries fruitlessly to protect his daughter from the dangerous world as she fights to stand alone.  What is the line between protecting someone and scaring them needlessly?  His expertise and determination move the investigation forward so that the people of rural Vermont can know the truth about their daughters and what has happened.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.