Little Girl Vanished
Ratings2
Average rating4.5
15
Ratings2
Average rating4.5
The first book in a new small-town mystery series by New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Denise Grover Swank. Disgraced, ex-detective Harper Adams is perfectly content wallowing at rock bottom. She’s lost her job, house, and reputation, and it only gets worse when she’s forced to move back home to Jackson Creek, Arkansas, the one place she swore she’d never return. But everything changes when she gets chilling news. A childhood friend’s daughter is missing…and it’s eerily reminiscent of Harper’s sister’s kidnapping and murder two decades ago. Not her business. Except with the police fumbling the case at every turn, Harper realizes she might be the only one who can save the girl. And she might need the help of James Malcolm, a former crime boss, to do it.
Reviews with the most likes.
Bad Detective? Bad Private Investigator? This is absolutely one of those tales that brings the "Bad Teacher" / "Bad Judge" trope into criminal investigations, and it also uses a seemingly currently common approach (I literally read two different books using it back to back) of having the investigator have a similar unresolved crime in their past as a "hook". And yes, it actually all does combine quite well. Even for those who are, like me, more prone to protest police shootings than support them, this tale actually shows a bit of a human side to police who shoot people. Though in this case, even the way *that* is portrayed is perhaps the most singular unrealistic thing about this book. Still, Swank uses even that to help build her overall lore here, as in any series starter building in hints of a bigger lore is absolutely essential in keeping readers wanting the next book. So overall, the book does both of its jobs quite well - it both establishes the character and world, and provides readers enough motivation to come back for Book 2. Very much recommended.
Originally posted at bookanon.com.