Little Girl Vanished

Little Girl Vanished is a quick, hard to put down mystery. I LOVE when a mystery keeps me on my toes with good writing, realistic characters and a crime that isn't easily figured out within the first few chapters. It has been hit or miss with these lately but man oh man was this one a hit.

Harper is such a great character. She is a hot mess, but with reason and you can't help but root for her. Pair her with Malcolm, who feels like he's on the morally gray side, and it's an interesting combination. One I really enjoyed. I need to find book 2 quick.

I also love when I find new authors. I haven't read anything by this author before, but now I want to go through the blacklist and catch up.

This is available now so mystery fans, go grab this one! Thank you, thank you to the author for the review copy and the signature plate! While I was provided a review copy, my opinions are my own.

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.