Watch Her Disappear

Can I give this twenty stars?! Seriously. I don't know how Lisa Regan does it, but each book in the series is better than the one before it.

Here, the story opens with the team trying to help plan a honeymoon for Josie and Noah. But a call comes in – a young girl has been found dead at a high school prom. And with that, we're off and running.

Josie and Noah aren't so much front and center here. Instead, we get to see Josie interact with Chief Chitwood. Not only are they investigating the current murder, they're also looking into the unsolved murder of the Chief's sister, Kelsey. The unsolved murder on which the Chief's father, Harlan Chitwood, was the lead investigator. Was the Chief's father a crooked cop?

In this storyline, Regan gives us some fascinating insight into why Chief Chitwood is the way he is. We learn a lot about how his sister's unsolved murder haunts him, and Josie begins to see why he's always kept her and the other officers at arm's length. We also see why he is so invested in solving this crime, knowing that doing so might finally bring justice for his sister.

And the twists and turns! At 68% of the book, I thought we knew who the killer was. But then he said, “I-nothing happened. Not before, and not this time.” Before?! Not this time?! And there's the twist. And the story bolts off like a horse with a burr stuck under its saddle, and all I could do was keep on reading.

I read waaaaaaay past my bedtime with this one.

Josie Quinn is one of my favorite protagonists. She's doing a hard job, but she doesn't let it make her a hard person. Watch Her Disappear is a thrilling read, another masterful work by Lisa Regan. Go get it. Right now. All the stars from me.

Listening recommendation: Dream Theater, Caught in a Web; Evanescence, Disappear

Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy from Bookouture and NetGalley. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.

All too often, in a series of books when a writer has found their cast of characters, their setting, etc. everything becomes routine and instalment after instalment gets chucked out but there's hardly ever anything new. Each new book is a variation of its predecessors.Thankfully, [a:Lisa Regan 6443334 Lisa Regan https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1589563239p2/6443334.jpg] miraculously doesn't fall prey to this effect in her long-running Josie Quinn series. Each new book presents us with interesting new aspects, engaging stories and empathic investigators.In “[b:Watch Her Disappear 60181686 Watch Her Disappear (Detective Josie Quinn #14) Lisa Regan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1645045404l/60181686.SY75.jpg 94918297]” Josie investigates the case of a formerly missing girl who's found dead at the prom of a school she didn't attend. While looking into the murder, Chief Chitwood is reminded of a similar (and very personal...) case from his distant past...As so often in Regan's books, there are major revelations about one of the police investigators involved in the current case. Fittingly, for this book Regan chose Chief Chitwood to take the centre stage.Since Regan has long-since found her own style of storytelling and language, there are no surprises in either department - the book is suspenseful and exciting as ever. You'll never find groundbreaking new thoughts in these books but if you like just one, you're likely to enjoy them all.You can read this as a stand-alone novel even though you will miss out on a few interactions between the investigators.The Josie Quinn mysteries have become a go-to for interesting, engaging, suspenseful mystery thrillers and I'm already looking forward to the next one! Five out of five stars.Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam