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Nearly 25 years ago, a teen girl was raped and brutally killed, her body found in the water beneath Devil’s Bridge. A young school counselor confessed and was locked away in prison. Now, true crime podcaster Trinity Scott has scored a series of interviews with prisoner Clayton Jay Pelley, the first he’s spoken to anyone. And he tells her that he didn’t do it.
It seems obvious he’s lying. But it was always a mystery why Pelley committed the crime — and why he confessed so readily.
Residents of small Twin Falls, north of Vancouver, are not too happy about Trinity and her podcast opening up this old wound. Particularly displeased is Rachel Walczak, the local detective who investigated the case. The case put her through the wringer emotionally and she’s not interested in revisiting those feelings. But as the podcast gets more attention, old questions resurface. She knows there were some things that just didn’t add up. Before she knows it, Rachel is back down the rabbit hole of the case, investigating yet again. This time, she wants to be sure she gets to the truth.
But the truth could be far uglier and upsetting than she imagined, affecting everyone in town.
Beneath Devil’s Bridge is a riveting tale of suspense. I would think I had it solved, and then new information was revealed to make me question it. Up until the very end, I wondered “who?” and “why?” The author says she was inspired to write this book by true events that occurred near her hometown. Luckily, I looked up that story after finishing the book; if I had done so beforehand, I would have known too much and the mystery would have been mostly spoiled. Even so, there is a lot of depth to the book as various characters’ stories are explored.
Rated: High. Profanity includes about a dozen uses of strong language, 15 instances of moderate profanity, around 40 uses of mild language, and about 15 instances of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content includes references to two people having sex in the woods, with only mention made about noises they’re making. Both the husband and wife in a couple have affairs. A married woman and a colleague have a sexual liaison; they kiss and make out and there are some strong details, though it’s just a few sentences of description until it is just referred to. Violence includes the victim of the crime being severely beaten, drowned and raped. A man in his 20s in a position of authority has sex with a teen. There are several references to teen drinking and some drug use. A man has a large collection of child porn and talks about his dark urges. A man is stabbed to death.
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