The prologue gripped me. I instantly wanted to keep reading.
Although I couldnt stop reading and ended up finishing it in one sitting this felt slow majority of the time.
I would recommend this if you're new to crime/thriller.

Thanks Netgalley for this book.

Sometimes you find, amidst all the 'new and wonderful series' a book that marks the start of a series you think you will really like. This is such a book. Elsa Meyers is a complex person with a complex background, and the story is sometimes quite complex too.
It is very well written in a clear style, and besides the fact that it is a good book, it gives you food for thought.
Sometimes it even brought a tear to my eyes. And it is not every day that I read a book that has this effect on me.

First of all I would like to say I love how the author describes the places and views in this book. The words jump off the page and you can really picture the scene. It’s beautiful written and catches a well thought out plot. Unfortunately for me I struggled a little with how the plot was put together. I felt the story was more about Elsa’s Life, than it was the case they were trying to solve. The pages jumped from her past to present and then back to the kidnapping storyline. For this reason this book just wasn’t for me. That said I really want to read more by this author because I loved her style, the way she described some words were beautiful. I just didn’t enjoy this story line.

This book to me is a really strong 3 star read. FBI agent Elsa Myers is trying to find Ruby who has gone missing. The story is about her search for Ruby, Elsa's own childhood and Elsa's love for her dying father. It is is a difficult read in places and on the whole a well written book. I like thrillers where the person trying to solve the crime has their own story. It makes everything seem more real. I hope that there will be more books about Elsa.

My thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton, Mulholland Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Is this the first in a new series perhaps? It bears all the hallmarks and the notes do say a thrilling new FBI series…

A Map of The Dark introduces FBI agent Elsa Myers. An agent with a troubled past, a past riven by physical abuse from her mother. Elsa specialises in finding people. Detective Lex Cole asks specifically for Elsa to help find a missing seventeen-year-old girl. He knows of her reputation. Their investigation indicates the work of a ‘repeater’; other girls are known to have gone missing.

This is a slow starter; indeed the first seventeen chapters or so look back on Elsa’s early years and that of her sister - an abusive mother and a hapless father, Roy. The mother is now dead and Roy is dying from cancer. Perhaps rather too much of the story is spent on providing this background. (A protagonist with a similar past to that of DI Helen Grace…) But then, Chapter eighteen onward and suddenly the brakes are off…

A Map of The Dark becomes a helter-skelter ride, the chapters shorten, the pace quickens - often no time to catch ones breath. The plot becomes dark and disturbing as the investigating team race to find the missing girls before it’s too late.

And there is a twist in the tale that is not entirely unforeseen but completes a darned good thriller.

If you don’t like reading about domestic violence, child abduction and self harm then this book is not for you. If you like a character driven police procedural rather than one centered around a mystery, then it is.

Elsa Myers is one of the darkest characters I’ve come across in recent times -there’s abuse and more in her own childhood, so when she hears about a missing teenager, her mode to help and protect comes into play. The story is told partly in the present day and partly in the past although the flashbacks can be a bit confusing especially when the missing teenager is given a voice. Elsa is a good character in theory but must the lead investigator be so dark and damaged? Even if so, I think the book would have benefited from more mystery and less Elsa’s background.

This is a dark and slow read which won’t be for everyone and I did find it a bit too dark and disturbing

I didn't realise who the author was when I first got this book. Enjoyed it and will look out for more. If you like detective series then this book will tick all your boxes. Elsa is a likeable character and I'm hoping to see more from her! Well written.

Well written novel with complex characters and a more-ish storyline that drew me in and kept me absorbed until the end. I am looking forward to finding out what happens next for Elsa and Lex.

A fabulous start to a new series featuring the FBI agent Elsa Myers. She is teamed up with the NYPD Lex, and their's is a working relationship that I hope continues in subsequent books in the series.

Elsa's character is well developed, and whilst she fits the trope that is so typical to this genre (troubled FBI agent with a past that means she becomes emotionally involved in her work) her past is intriguing and definitely defines her in the present day.

This is a multi-layered story that kept me up reading long past my bedtime and thanks go to the publishers and net galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

A great plot line with interweaving emotions throughout. Worth a read

This is a debut novel introducing you to flawed FBI agent Elsa Myers.
A teenage girl has gone missing and Elsa is called in as she has a high success rate. At the same time Elsa’s Father is dying, her sister and niece are dealing with their issues.
As the investigation progresses you are also shown Elsa’s family in the past and the relationship she had with her mother who was killed in a home invasion.
This was an excellent introduction to FBI Elsa Myers and I look forward to reading the next instalment.

I've read stronger similar titles. Ok, but not sure I'd contonue with a series.

FBI Special Agent Elsa Myers is spending her day off at her father's hospital beside, knowing he doesn't have long to live. Then she receives a phone call to say a teenager has gone missing. Knowing that the first few hours of any missing person investigation are vital, she has no choice but to leave him there.
She joins Detective Lex Cole in the hunt to find the young girl. After some digging they realise she's not the only one to have vanished. Their friends don't disclose everything to the police making it harder as the hours pass. Can they find them in time? Who's behind the kidnapping and why?
I really enjoyed this thriller, finding it hard to put down, urging them on to find the clues in the hope they would be alive and safe. A thriller that I would certainly recommend and gets five stars from me.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

There are few things quite as good as reading the first, great, book introducing a new detective or special agent in this case.
The characters all come over as real people. They don't only do a job. Elsa's father is seriously ill in hospital, her sister starts out as needy and ends up being unlikable (to me), her niece has that bullet proof feel that all 16 year old girls seem to have. The bad stuff happens to other people.
I read this book in one sitting. There was nowhere it felt safe to leave off for a while. Something was always happening or about to happen.
A very worthwhile read for fans of crime and police procedural books.

Elsa is an FBI agent who searches for missing children and she is called in to look for Ruby, a 17 year old who has disappeared on her way home from work. Elsa's life is complicated as her father is dying in hospital and she has to help look after her teenage niece.
Teamed up with Lex, a NYPD detective the pair start to search for Ruby and in the course of their investigation Elsa has to confront a difficult situation from her past which the current search and her father's condition serve to emphasize. Elsa cannot escape her previous life as a lot of what she does for her job is tied up with her own childhood.
As well as being an interesting case study of how one's past has a profound effect on one's present this is also a very exciting kidnap story which was so compelling that I raced through it in 24 hours.
I liked the way Elsa gradually learns to trust her new partner, Lex and also how the author portrays her as a damaged personality who finds it very difficult to let people into her life and really get to know her for fear of revealing too much of herself.
There are many twists and turns in this book but it was the revelation in the final pages that had me gasping.
This is a great read and perfect for fans of dark and exciting thrillers, ideal for readers of Tess Gerritsen and Karin Slaughter with a strong female lead character. I get the feeling that this could be the first in a series and I certainly will look out for the next one.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

A map of the dark by karen ellis.
FBI Agent Elsa Myers finds missing people.
She knows how it feels to be lost...
Though her father lies dying in a hospital north of New York City, Elsa cannot refuse a call for help. A teenage girl has gone missing from Forest Hills, Queens, and during the critical first hours of the case, a series of false leads hides the fact that she did not go willingly.
A very good read although I found it slow. 4*. Netgalley and hodder and stoughton.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy of A Map of the Dark, the first in a series to feature Special Agent Elsa Myers of the FBI's New York Child Abduction Rapid Deployment unit.

Elsa is sitting with her dying father when she gets a call to assist detective Lex Cole of NYPD in investigating the disappearance of teenager Ruby Haverstock who never made it home from her part time job in a coffee shop.The investigation is intense and takes Ruby to places she has no wish to visit.

I enjoyed A Map of the Dark which has several interesting twists and turns. It is not, however, a straightforward missing person novel as it spends more time excavating Elsa's past and character than looking for Ruby. It has therefore several points of view and timelines. Mostly it is Elsa's narrative both present and past but there are interjections from the missing teenager. It gets confusing occasionally as it jumps from one to the other.

I can't say that majorly damaged investigators are my favourite reading matter and I feel that Elsa's problems are fairly stereotypical so the big twist at the end is fairly well signposted and not much of a surprise. Of course I read a lot so I may be unfair in this assessment. It would be interesting to read about Elsa without all the baggage as she is a smart and dedicated, if emotionally involved, investigator.

With the focus on Elsa and her problems the investigation is rather perfunctory - everything falls into place rather easily and in double quick time so there is little of the despondency and frustration detectives normally experience.

A Map of the Dark is a solid read.