Back Cover Description:
Audrey Baker is a police officer in the mountain hamlet of Griffith Falls, Washington. Several years have passed since her sister went missing and she is still trying to nurse the painful wounds that have come with the unsolved disappearance. The tragedy inspired her to join the local police department as she seeks some sort of closure by investing her life in protecting others.
Ryan Darrow is a modestly successful novelist from Chicago. He has come to Griffith Falls for both the scenery and to gather research for his next book. He also has tragedy haunting him from the past as his wife had surrendered to cancer years before.
Audrey and Ryan find their paths crossing when Audrey fills in for the Chief, who is at a conference. In the midst of the normal routine of small-town police work, Audrey is called out to the home of Tonya Dorsey, whose brother-in-law died in a boating accident the night before.
What seems like an accident begins to grow more suspicious when a local child, Libby Henning, goes missing. Investigating the disappearance, Audrey can't help but feel that in some unexplainable way the two mysterious events are connected. When a local vagrant becomes a suspect in the investigation, it becomes apparent that not only are there little clues being left behind, but some of them seem intentional. Officer Baker must unravel the truth from the lies and find the little girl before it's too late.
Preview: “Castle” vibes as an officer and novelist are on the case of a murder and a missing child.
Review:
If Castle were set in small town and the two main characters were Christians…but having acknowledged those similarities, I did really enjoy this mystery action thriller. Audrey Baker is a smart, capable protagonist, and is determined to find the truth of what happened to William Dorsey, a drunk whose death initially looks like an accident. She refuses to take things at face value as the mystery develops and more clues are revealed. While initially the disappearance of seven-year-old Libby initially seems to be unrelated, the coincidence is too much for Audrey and Ryan, and they look into a connection.
Ryan Darrow comes to Griffith Falls to work on his next detective novel and is given permission to ride along with Audrey and soon assists in the case. Ryan and Audrey bond quickly over the case and shared trauma (Audrey has a missing sister, Ryan lost a wife to cancer). Both are Christians and both pray with and pray for each other on occasion. Their faith is presented as a central part of their lives, but not in a preachy way in order to teach the reader a lesson.
Initially, it seems that Clem, a homeless man who lives in a tent may be involved in the disappearance, but the evidence is presented in a way that seems almost too obvious, and Audrey has her suspicions. Meanwhile, Audrey meets with brother William’s Charles and sister in law Tonya are, who being wealthy and tired of dealing with William’s behavior, have mixed feelings about their brother’s death. And finally, Audrey has to deal with fellow Officer Langston Childress, who, unlike everyone else in the department, is arrogant, self-serving, and glory-seeking. All of these interesting supporting characters round out this mystery thriller.
While it may not be as realistic in real life for a novelist to get so much access to a police investigation, as a fan of Castle, I just accepted it and moved on. The second half of the book [spoiler] switches from mystery to action as big revelations begin happening, and I found all of it exciting.
Unfortunately, the biggest flaw is that the book could have used at least one major edit before publication. There are repeated words, and several times a character is referred to by the wrong name (the brothers, Charles and William, for example), and sometimes these errors are so glaring that they left me confused and detracted from my enjoyment of this novel. And that’s too bad, because I really enjoyed the plot line, the characters, and the faith portrayed in this story.
Overall Review: Overall, despite some grammatical errors, I recommend this exciting small-town thriller for fans of Castle and Christian mystery and action novels.
Content warning: Some intense action violence, including some blood, at about a PG-13 level.
