Countdown

Rachel Ryder, Book 4

By: Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

Narrated by: Anne Marie Damman

Dark family secrets and blood-chilling suspense converge in this riveting thriller, by USA Today best-selling author Carolyn Ridder Aspenson.

When a prominent surgeon and his wife are found dead in small-town Georgia, Detective Rachel Ryder and her partner, Rob Bishop, are first on the scene. But, while the detectives have solved many tough cases in the past, they’ve never seen anything like this one.

Because the dead woman lying at the surgeon’s side isn’t actually his wife - it’s her twin sister.

And now, both the wife and her son are nowhere to be found.

As Rachel and Rob dig deeper into the case, they’re confronted with a series of dead ends and complications that threaten to derail the entire investigation. With the same face, the same DNA, and the same ambitions in life, the two women are nearly impossible to distinguish - and every clue comes with a sinister mirror image.

With the clock ticking on the missing boy and his mother, Rachel and Rob will chase every lead until they crack the case - if only they can untangle the web of dark family secrets, double lives, and deadly betrayals.

©2022 Carolyn Ridder Aspenson (P)2025 Severn River Publishing

Critic reviews

"Tight writing, unexpected twists, and the tough but vulnerable lead, Detective Rachel Ryder, will leave you eager to read the next book...." (Susan Hunter, author of Dangerous Habits)

Great Story!

Do you want a book that you can't predict the ending? THIS is it! Twists and turns. Suspenseful story line. A real thinker!

Rollercoaster Ride!

Book 4 in the Rachel Ryder series was the best one date! The twisting plot involving stolen identity of a twin with a double homicide and missing kid kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I am a fan of the Detective Ryder character who is tough and yet compassionate and super smart.

Action-packed Rachel Ryder installment

This review of the audiobook is an update to my original review of the eBook.
This latest Rachel Ryder episode is just as action-packed and thrill laden as its predecessors. Additionally, more personal interactions occur for Rachel, Savanah, and Bishop – however that’s all I’ll mention about this so as not to provide any spoilers. The case Rachel and Bishop work in this episode is quite different from any of the previous cases and it is filled with numerous unforeseen twists as they work to solve it. If you have read the three Rachel Ryder stories leading up to Countdown, this is a must read, if you are new to these stories, while this could be read as a standalone episode, having the character’s backgrounds form the previous stories would make the story a fuller experience. Anne Marie Damman’s excellent narration of this story gives each character a life that I only imagined as I rea the original book. I received an Advance Reader Copy and a review copy of the audiobook from the publisher and chose to provide this review.