Thursday, January 19, 2017

Little Girl Lost: DI Robyn Carter Novel


Thank you for visiting.  Menna van Praag is one of my favorite writers. Her books are just magical. Menna will have a new book out on February 16 entitled The Lost Art of Letter Writing.  Some of Menna van Praag's other novels are The House at the End of Hope Street, The Dress Shop of Dreams, and The Witches of Cambridge.  If you enjoy Sarah Addison Allen's novels, you will like reading Menna van Praag's books.

Little Girl Lost by Carol Wyer is the first book in the DI Robyn Carter series.  Robyn Carter has been on compassionate leave from the Staffordshire police since the death of her fiancé which resulted in Robyn suffering a miscarriage.  To keep busy until she is ready to return to her job, Robyn has been working with cousin, Ross Cunningham at his private detective firm.  Ross needs Robyn to handle their latest case of the missing hubby.  Mary Matthews (who is twenty years older than her husband) is looking for her husband, Lucas.  He disappeared two weeks ago, and Mary has not heard from him since then.  Lucas had told Mary that he was going to Thailand, but then she discovered his passport.  Mary does not want to involve the police because of photos she discovered on her husband’s computer in a folder labeled “Sugar and Spice”(I am sure you can guess what type of photos are in this file).  As Robyn finds out more about the victim, she discovers that there is something far more sinister going on.  Robyn takes the case to her supervisor at the Staffordshire police, DCI Louisa Mulholland.  Robyn returns to her job as detective inspector and dives into the case.  The clues lead Robyn to a serial killer who is intent on getting revenge for a childhood atrocity.  Will Robyn be able to stop this killer before she takes her final victim?


I was very careful summarizing Little Girl Lost because I did not want to reveal any spoilers.  Little Girl Lost is a good mystery novel.  The book contains good writing, and I was immediately drawn into the story.  The mystery is a convoluted (which I like), but it can be hard to keep track of all the various details.   The mystery is twisty and the reader can easily jump to the wrong conclusion.  If you pay very close attention, you will be able to solve the mystery before the author reveals the solution.  There are some slow sections (such as when Robyn is exercising and the readers are given too much detail), but overall the book has a good pace.  Little Girl Lost is told from three viewpoints:  Robyn, Abigail, and Alice.  Robyn and Abigail’s parts are in the third person and Alice’s story is told in the first person.  We get to find out what happened to Alice and how her story connects to Robyn’s investigation.  I give Little Girl Lost 4.25 out of 5 stars (I liked it).  I was not fond of Robyn in the beginning, but she grew on me.   Robyn’s story is slowly revealed to the reader over the course of the novel.  The DI Robyn Carter series has the potential (with a little fine tuning) to be as good as the D.I. Helen Grace and the Detective Kim Stone series (by M.J. Arlidge and Angela Marsons respectively).  Little Girl Lost is currently $.99 on Amazon.  Please be aware that the book contains violence, sexual situation, and child pornography (fair warning).

I am off to cook dinner and then settle down for the evening with a good book.  I am currently reading Two Suitors for Anna by Molly Jebber.  I will return tomorrow to review Deep Shadows by Vannetta Chapman (which is currently $.99 on Amazon).  May all of you have a charming evening.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris
The Avid Reader

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