Monster in the Closet (The Baltimore Series, Book 5) by Karen Rose
Karen Rose returns to Baltimore with a dark, suspense-heavy story centered on long-buried secrets, fractured family ties, and a relentless killer. Private investigator Clay Maynard has spent his career finding missing children, yet he was never able to solve the disappearance of his own daughter—taken years ago by his ex-wife and lost without a trace. When that daughter suddenly reappears in his orbit, Clay is forced to confront the past he never stopped searching for.
Taylor Dawson grew up believing her father was a monster, a lie carefully shaped by her mother. Now an adult, she’s given the chance to uncover the truth for herself while working as an equine therapist helping two traumatized girls whose mother was brutally murdered. As Taylor begins to build real connections—with her father, her work, and Ford Elkhart, her boss’s brooding and haunted son—she finally starts to feel hope. But as her life opens up, danger closes in, and a ruthless killer threatens to destroy everything she’s begun to trust.
While the premise and character groundwork are strong, the execution ultimately fell short for me. This is my second Karen Rose novel, and in both cases the story was undermined by an extremely unrealistic—and frankly excessive—death toll. Nearly every new character introduced seemed destined to be killed off, which shifted the experience from tense to distracting.
It’s a shame, because the core story and emotional stakes were compelling. Instead of letting suspense and character development build naturally, the novel leans heavily on shock-value deaths, making the plot feel padded and overstuffed. Monster in the Closet has a solid foundation, but the overwhelming body count dulled its impact rather than enhancing it.
★★★☆☆
