The Names of the Dead Girls: Canaan Crime    by Eric Rickstad Order:  USA  Can William Morrow, 2017 (2017) Softcover, e-Book      Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth The Names of the Dead Girls follows The Silent Girls as the second in Eric Rickstad's Canaan Crime series. Readers are reintroduced to detectives Frank Rath and Sonja Test. While The Names of Dead Girls is a sequel, it can be read as a standalone with Rath and Test tracking a monstrous killer through rural Vermont and up into the strip clubs of Montreal. Rath is now a retired private investigator and no longer a spring chicken, getting up in years. But when he hears that his nemesis, Ned Preacher, has been released early from prison, he fears for his niece Rachel's life. The monster had brutally murdered Rath's sister and brother-in-law while their baby daughter Rachel slept in her crib. Rath adopted the baby, quit his job, straightened up his lifestyle and devoted his life to raising Rachel. Rachel is now sixteen and Rath is horrified to think of The Preacher loose on the streets. Rath fears he will come back to finish the job he started. As Rachel learns the truth of her parents' deaths, local girls begin to go missing in crimes that mimic the past. The Names of the Dead Girls is a true thriller – one that will keep you up reading late, while you also listen to every small sound a house can make in the middle of the night. Author Rickstad sets our hair on end while also delighting us with his descriptions of surroundings. I do so hope that a third thriller will follow soon. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Mystery books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews