Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I have a weakness for books that have a Florida setting, especially in the Everglades. It’s not just the people that can be dangerous, so can your surroundings. So, that being said, welcome to Gator Glade and FBI Agent Cassidy Knox’s nightmare.

Cassidy had left Gator Glade in the dust, but when her grandfather dies, she returns to her home town. She is recovering from her confrontation with a serial killer. and she is the only one left to take care of her grandfather’s affairs. Will she stay? Will she be able to conquer the demons that drove her away?

Things are not as they first appear. Danger surrounds the animal sanctuary, which puts Cassidy in danger too. There is a subtle hint of menace that mounts with each page I turn and I anticipate something bad happening. We have a romance slowly developing, but characters that have baggage tend to make for complicated relationships. Will there be a happy ever after? I’m not telling.

I want to thank Shannon Hollinger for the opportunity to read and review for the first book in the Cassidy Knox series, Deadly Sanctuary.

GOODREADS BLURB

She’s no stranger to trouble…

Deep in the heart of the untamed Florida Everglades lies a web of secrets, danger, and deceit. For FBI Agent Cassidy Knox, it’s the only home she’s ever known—one she vowed never to set foot in again. But after a harrowing confrontation with a serial killer, Cassidy finds herself with no choice but to return to the animal sanctuary of her youth. Grieving the recent death of her beloved grandfather, Butch, on top of her own trauma, she hopes for a brief respite to heal her wounds.

Only the swamp, where the past lurks just beneath the surface, has other plans. When a neighbor is found murdered, the suspicion surrounding her grandfather’s death intensifies, drawing Cassidy into a chilling investigation that threatens everything she holds dear. With old friendships rekindling and new betrayals surfacing, the lines between ally and enemy blur.

As Cassidy races against time to uncover the truth, she clashes against her inner demons—and the boy who once stole her heart. With danger lurking around every corner, the only thing she knows for sure is that she can’t trust anyone. Because the killer’s taking aim… and they have her in their sights.

Get ready to dive into a heart-pounding mystery where trust is a luxury and survival is a game of wits. A gripping, heart-racing thriller that will leave you breathless.

• Genre: Fiction, Suspense, Thriller
• 256 pages, Kindle Edition
• Expected publication September 8, 2025 by Scene Of The Crime Publications

ABOUT SHANNON HOLLINGER

With degrees in Crime Scene Technology and Physical Anthropology, Florida writer Shannon Hollinger hasn’t just seen the dark side of humanity—she’s been elbow deep inside of it! She’s an avid animal lover, reader, and hiker, and has been known to use her forensic skills to figure out who ate the last cookie in the house.

A multi-genre, Amazon charts top 20 best-selling author, Shannon writes psychological thrillers filled with jaw-dropping twists and shocking endings, the police procedural Chief Maggie Riley mysteries, where the darkness of the Maine wilderness is rivaled only by the deadly secrets it conceals, and the romantic suspense Cassidy Knox mystery thrillers, where the animals will steal your heart and the nights are as hot as the days.

Her novels have been translated into multiple languages, and her short fiction has appeared in Suspense Magazine, Mystery Weekly, and The Saturday Evening Post, among many other magazines and anthologies.

Shannon is a member of the International Thriller Writers and the Short Mystery Fiction Society.

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