The Girl Buried in the Woods

In a remote park on top of a hill overlooking Los Angeles—in the dead of night—Detective Matt Jones finds himself at a crossroads.

Haunted by the specters of past cases, Jones is called back to the labyrinth of crime by a discovery so chilling it might freeze a lighted match.

A fifteen-year-old girl has been savagely murdered and buried in a shallow grave beneath a tree in the woods.

Driven by the horror of the crime—the outrage—Jones and his partner, Denny Cabrera, burn through the evidence like wildfire.

But each new clue reveals another layer of deceit. A turf war between an infamous mob figure and three fat-cat Wall Street traders. Greedy city officials cloaked in suits and secrets hiding in the shadows with a band of dirty cops ready to strike.

Worse still, the number of murder victims soon matches the number of suspects, and a treacherous plot comes to light.

Get Matt Jones.

Editorial Reviews

“More thriller than mystery. The author works this to great effect. An impressive amount of suspense. A swift pace. Solid entertainment.”
—Kirkus Reviews, The Girl Buried in the Woods

“Awesome. Stunning emotional force. Ellis keeps everything in focus while building a staggering momentum.”
—Booklist Starred Review, City of Echoes

“City of Echoes is a Best-Book-of-the-Month.”
—Amazon

“Only really good writers can make you feel so strongly. City of Echoes is another bravura effort from the talented Robert Ellis.”
—Mystery Scene

“A gleefully tense sequel. A persistently gripping thriller.”
—Kirkus Reviews, The Love Killings

“Riveting. A moody, white-knuckle murder tale.”

—Kirkus Reviews, City of Stones

Author's Note

The Girl Buried in the Woods was inspired by a true story—the murder of Connie Evans on her fifteenth birthday in the suburbs outside Philadelphia. Her body was found in a shallow grave beneath a grove of pine trees on a country road about a mile from my home. I used to ride my bicycle on that road just about every day. At the time of the murder, I was only ten years old. It took me a year to muster the courage to get off my bike and step beneath those pine trees for a look at her grave. In my imagination, I can still see her hair strewn through the soil, just as it was described by the man who discovered her body with his dog.

Connie Evans Crime Scene 1964

Berkley Road, Devon, PA