The Altar Girls

Detective Lottie Parker, Book 13

By: Patricia Gibney

Narrated by: Michele Moran

Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

The little girl looked like an angel in her thin white robe, her long black hair spread around her head like a dark halo on the snow. Her hands rested on her chest, fingers interlaced as if she had fallen asleep while praying. But she would never wake up again....

When Detective Lottie Parker receives news that a child’s body has been found in the frozen grounds of the cathedral, a shiver runs down her spine. She’s terrified it will be eight-year-old Willow Devine, reported missing that morning.

But when she arrives at the cathedral, holding a photo of Willow with her blonde ponytail and gap-toothed smile, she gets a terrible shock. The body is a young girl, wrapped in a white shroud, a rosary clutched in her frozen fingers. But her hair is dark, not fair. This girl isn’t Willow but another eight-year-old, Naomi.

Desperate to find a connection between the two girls and to find Willow before it is too late, Lottie speaks to the girls’ families and discovers that both girls were altar servers at the cathedral. The charismatic priest Father Maguire has a watertight alibi for the time the girls went missing, but Lottie suspects the confused old lady traumatized by the discovery of Naomi’s body is hiding something....

A day later, Willow’s little body is found wrapped in a white robe in the snowy grounds of a church across town. Lottie is devastated, convinced now that she can’t trust anyone, least of all the girls’ parents. Why did Willow’s mother claim the girls didn’t know each other? And why are there no photos of Naomi in her mother’s shabby house?

But when a little boy from the choir goes missing, too, Lottie realizes she must spread her net wider. Can she stop this twisted killer before another precious life is stolen?

If you like Rachel Caine, Kendra Elliott, and Robert Dugoni, The Altar Girls will have you hooked.

©2023 Patricia Gibney (P)2023 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

Excellent!

Excellent! Sad but really good. I had no idea of the killer until the end. Also very captivating was the secondary story of Boyd and the search for his son.

I’m so glad that, with this thirteenth book in the Lottie Parker series, Patricia Gibney’s writing gets better and better. Michele Moran’s narration adds another dimension to the story. Brava, ladies!

Excellent story

I have read a lot of her stories but her characters have really developed into their own people. She and Boyd are wonderful and also nice to see Kirby with his new gal, he deserves it,

The best Lottie

Parker book yet! Wasn’t quite sure who it was until the very end. Excellent narration and can’t wait for the next one. Please could Boyd and Lottie get it together? This dragging out too long!

I thought I'd figured this one out...

This is, yet another, excellent book by Patricia Gibney. I was so smug towards the end because I thought I'd picked out the killer from the beginning. Of course, as always, I was wrong. I love Lottie Parker and can't wait to catch up with her soon!

Always a cut above the usual mystery

Been with Lottie since the first book, and always find these books a breath of fresh air in the category, which seems rife with panicky women and cliched phrases. Gibney’s leading female is sturdy, a no-nonsense professional who takes no guff. Looking forward to the entry. Always well read by Michele Moran.

Lottie's uncanny persistence for justice to the victims.

I would like to see Boyd and Lottie haven't tied the knot and started a blend family.

Solid plot

I really enjoy this series, but, 13 books in I do have a few annoyances: 1. Overused phrases like “her sadness threatened to consume her”. Cue eye roll. 2. Lottie’s selfishness/hypocrisy. a. Her mother clearly needs full-time health care, and Lottie depends on her children, who are certainly not equipped to deal with an elderly woman with dementia, to pause their lives to care for the woman. b. If anyone else on her team other than Boyd had just left in the middle of an investigation and repeatedly ignored her calls, even in a family emergency, she would have had a holy fit. c. Her treatment of witnesses/suspects when she still has no idea whodunnit. It’s the priest. It’s the mom. It’s the other mom. It’s a third mom. It’s the funeral director. It’s the kid. It’s the social worker. It’s the journalist. It’s Colonel Mustard with an ax in the conservatory. She has no idea and totally alienates them all - and then gets self-righteous when no one wants to cooperate. Annoying. With all that being said, the book was good. The subject matter - child abuse and murder - is sad and dark, but it kept me interested throughout. Moran is a great narrator, as always.

Excellent

Another Lottie Parker story with a dysfunctional family. Absolutley love the fact that she touches on everyday struggles especially with dementia. Excellent story line in the drama. I can't wait for the next installment.

Brilliant

Brilliant ending I never would have guessed , might listen to it again
Absolutely love this author

One of the very best crime series

I love a series that you can depend on…to challenge you, to engage you and to entertain you. This book did not let me down. Consistently great writing and perfect narration. A cracking listen.

Excellent

Excellent in every way. Well written. Interesting characters. Excellent narration. Look forward to the next book!

Another fantastic story

Listened to all the Lottie Parker series, love the characters and narrator. Looking forward to the next one

Another fantastic book

I couldn’t put it down I was gripped again by another Lottie Parker story. I am almost disappointed that I read it in one day.

Fantastic as always

I love all the Lottie Parker books and the Alter Girls did not disappoint, sad now I have finished it, but wait with anticipation for the next book.

Great series

Have listened to all the books in this series. Characters are great , twisty plot and excellent narration.

Fabulous book

I totally love all the Lotty Parker books and was thrilled when I heard there was a new one. As always it was wonderful and beautifully read by Michele Moran, she is so much part of Lotty and all the charictors.
All hail Patricia Gibney and all hail Michele Moran!