Title: First Girl Gone
Author: L.T. Vargus, Tim McBain
Series: Charlotte Winters, #1
Published: September 2020, Bookouture
Format: ARC E-copy, 429 pages
Source: Netgalley via Publisher
Summary:
Down the beach, she can
just make out the rusting hulk of the Ferris wheel through the dawn
mist. The hairs prickle on her neck as she drags her focus back to the
chestnut hair fanned out in the shallow water at her feet. To the grains
of sand decorating the beautiful girl’s white cheeks like freckles.
Private
Detective Charlie Winters never thought she’d find herself back on
Salem Island, but she’s forced home re-open the wound that never healed:
her sister was abducted from the small town when they were teenagers.
For
Charlie, her sister’s voice in her head—pushing her to risk everything
to seek justice for the innocent—is a painful and constant reminder of
what she lost. And never has that voice been louder than when a family
friend comes to Charlie begging for help to find her missing daughter,
Kara.
Searching Kara’s messy, poster-covered bedroom, Charlie
finds more questions than answers. Did Kara run away, or was she
snatched? She’s clearly been keeping secrets from her family—but don’t
all teenagers?
A little black matchbook hidden in a jewellery box
is Charlie’s only lead, but the seedy nightclub it comes from proves to
be nothing but a dangerous dead end. Until Charlie is approached by a
second distraught mother whose daughter has also vanished.
Forced
at every turn to relive the trauma she ran away from, Charlie’s blood
runs cold when a girl’s body is discovered in the exact spot on the
water’s edge where the last trace of her sister was found. It’s clear
someone is taunting Charlie, but with other innocent girls’ lives at
risk, she has no choice but to take the bait…
My thoughts: This is the first book in L.T. Vargus and Tim McBain’s new series and I am all in! I love crime thriller series and I think this one is going to be a new favorite.
This was one fast-paced, suspense-filled read that kept me flipping the pages from start to finish. It is filled with an array of interesting characters that kept me intrigued and so many twists and turns that it was hard to put any solid guesses together. My favorite aspect of this book, however, was the voice that Charlie hears in her head throughout the book…I loved this unique part of the story and found it to be at times humorous as well as quite telling.
As far as intros to series, I think this was a great set-up and I am looking forward to really getting to know more about Charlie. She’s a strong, independent female character but she is a flawed character and I loved those types of characters. As someone who loved series, I am excited for the authors to dig into her backstory as the series progresses. This case she is working on, that of the missing girls is tough for her because it forces her to relive the disappearance of her sister, a case that has never been solved. I really felt for her and can see that this is what drives her. Will her sister’s case ever be solved?
I will for sure be continuing on with this series and already have the next book sitting in my kindle just waiting to be read. This was my first time reading this author duo and I loved their writing style. I can’t wait to see what awaits Charlie Winters!
Books in this series:
- First Girl Gone
- Girl Under Water – due out December 2020
