First and foremost, thank you to @netgalley and @bookoutore audio for the opportunity to listen to Patricia Rodriguez’s narration of “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘎𝘰” by B.R. Spangler, the first in the Casey White Detective series.

Starting with the narrator: she took some getting used to. Her voice is reminiscent of that of a news anchor or a plucky investigative reporter from times long gone. While not necessarily a dealbreaker, her voices for different characters, particularly those of the teenage girls and the “Big Bad” at the end of the read were grating. Thankfully, they were infrequently used throughout and really only made an appearance toward the end and only very briefly. I’m not sure I could have endured if they were peppered throughout.

As for the story: I wanted to love it, but I just didn’t. There was entirely too much going on plot-wise and I didn’t sympthize or connect with any of the characters, which made it hard for me to immerse myself in the story and really enjoy it. The author’s descriptions didn’t work for me a majority of the time, though I think the description early on of the detective “brushing” against a presumed dead girl’s “nipple” really turned me off the story. It didn’t help either when later on one of the victims was referred to as “coma girl.” I also don’t buy that Detective White came into town, essentially weaseled her way into a crime scene and was then invited to be the investigator without any sort of fact-checking of her credentials etc. The romance aspect between the two main characters was also unneeded and added nothing to the story as the connection did not feel authentic but more exploitative and toxic.

I may give this series and this author another chance, but as of now I’m undecided.

#bookstagram #books #audiobooks #mysterybooks #thrillerbooks #booksbooksbooks #netgalley #bookgirly #bookreviews #brspangler

Wow! What a roller coaster ride! This is not your cozy slow-paced mystery but a fast-paced suspense that will keep you head spinning. Protagonist Detective Casey White has been searching for her kidnapped daughter for 14 years as she goes about her job. She never expects to stumble across a mine field of mysterious deaths in sleepy Outer Banks, N.C. She is determined to solve what’s behind these mysterious deaths and the route that takes her there is a curvy one.
This series should be exciting and I can’t wait for the next installment to come out!
Note: please for trigger warnings before you read this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Patricia Rodriguez does a great job narrating this story.

Detective Casey White lost her young daughter at an early age when she was kidnapped right in front of her. The rest of her career is spent searching for her daughter while she investigates other crimes. Presently, while on leave from the department, she stumbles into a crime scene that she helps the local police along with Jericho Flynn of the Marine Patrol. Will this be the case that helps her find Hannah?

This was an okay book. I was more frustrated than engaged with this one. I liked the characters, the relationships and the plot. However, the writing is a bit clunky, verbose and some of the scenes felt contrived. When would a small town police force welcome an out of town detective's help on their case? There were two cases going on and while they did connect in the end, it just didn't read as well as I wanted it to. Her actually finding her daughter as well was unrealistic. This was just an okay read for me.

I enjoyed it! It’s a mix of a serial killer, kidnapped kids, a human trafficking ring, and a cop in desperate need of a vacation, all wrapped into one! Casey White is a seasoned detective, but she's haunted by her past. When her daughter was a toddler, she was kidnapped during a brief moment when the door was left open, and Hannah wandered into the yard where a car picked her up. Casey never saw her again. This event haunts Casey, and she sees her daughter everywhere. While working a case, she pulled a gun on a cop because she thought she saw the woman who took her daughter, leading her to be given a vacation to clear her head.

On this vacation, she stumbles upon a bleeding teenager who looks like she's been through a terrible incident. When Casey takes her to the hospital and waits for news, she's asked to aid the local department. She agrees, and while investigating, they find a deceased girl and then another girl on a yacht. Casey dives into the case headfirst. She then delves into the county's cold cases and finds several linked cases. But will she find the connection before it's too late? Will she ever find Hannah? Check this one out for the answers! The audiobook was compelling and brought the story to life, keeping me on the edge of my seat! This narrator was a perfect fit for the story and delivered it exceptionally well! She was not only compelling, but her tone also matched the story perfectly.
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen and review this one!

I was drawn into the story from the very beginning when Casey white encounters a half-naked, bleeding and pregnant young girl on the side of the road. Detective White is determined and driven, as she tries to find out the truth of her tragic past, and discovers it inextricably linked with the investigation she has been invited to join. Definitely a detective to follow.

A promising story-line and interesting set up. However this is where the positives end for me.

Firstly, I didn’t like the audio book narration. The intonation was samey and sometimes didn’t feel appropriate to what was happening.

In regards to the book itself, I felt the writing was an odd mix of overwritten/too much or long in parts, where in other aspects more information could have been given.
The plot seems to rely on a lot of coincidences, unbelievable at that. There is quite a lot going on at once as well which is a bit confusing. A fair few inconsistencies in the story as well, like a lack of police staff to investigate serious crimes in a small place but then police being called and arriving within minutes ready to get involved, including search dogs.

I feel there is potential but could do with a lot of editing.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.</i>

Audio

2.5 stars rounded up

I love a good detective book and this story had really good bones but I just felt like there was SO much going on but none of it actually helped to develop any of the characters. Also how many times in one book can the main character put herself in extreme damage before it gets old?

Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook. Good narration. Great storyline. Detective Casey White’s toddler daughter is kidnapped. Fast forward 14 years. On a forced vacation Casey is following up a lead to her daughter’s kidnap when she takes a wrong turn and finds a teenage girl who has just given birth in a filthy nightgown. So begins her working with the local police to look at the unsolved missing child cases in the area. What is the connection to the detention center? I loved the way the plot unfolded and revealed who was involved in the crimes.

Review to follow on Goodreads

Absolutely gripping! I had to know how everything was connected…. Definitely one of my top reads this year!!!

This review is going to be a bit harsh, but I see a lot of potential for this author and this series. All this is meant to be constructive.

Briefly: I have very mixed feelings about this book. Overall, I liked the premise for the most part, however there are issues. I do think this series has potential but editing and “trimming the fat/excess” should be done in future books (some examples below). If this wasn’t an ALC, I would have stopped listen, however i did like the story in general, it was the writing that needs a little work. I will read/listen to the next book to see if there are improvements.

The narrator was very emotional at times but didn’t really do different voices. Occasionally I wasn’t sure if a male or female was talking.

More details:
If this wasn’t an ALC, I would have stopped listening after the first 7 minutes; the first 10 minutes of the book could have been cut down to 5 minutes and I was getting pretty impatient. Not just that part either. There were several scenes that were just too much (if it’s possible to be too descriptive, this was it) i.e the kidnapping, the first girl’s death, repeating facts (yes, I understand you used to vacation with your family at the jersey shore, I got that the first 4 times. And please cut back on the similes). Many scenes, especially action scenes seemed just a little too unbelievable (and why did it take them forever to leave the crazy lady??) The villain is predictable and obvious (personally, I don’t mind this, but sometimes readers do). Also, she went on a fixed vacation but was allowed to work for another department?? It would have been more believable if she quit Phili PD and either went there for a new job or it could have been a vacation, I just really don’t understand the working for another dept when they told you to go on vacation.
Unfortunately, it appears the author does not know much about police investigations. A few quick Google searches could have fixed that. i.e toxicology results take weeks, not hours, even in a rush, it’s going to take more than a day.
I do have several issues with the FMC. Somewhere midway through, I decided she wasn’t very bright, which was her excuse for some very poor decisions and actions. Also, I don’t think she’s a very good cop. The kidnapping scene…I was kind of left speechless (it was too unreal). Going places by herself when she knew she shouldn’t?? Instead of rushing the first victim off to the hospital, she kept talking to her!!?? Kids are absolutely NOT fingerprinted in schools in case of Amber Alerts. A cop who is shot, even grazed but required stitches, would not be allowed in the field (and what happened to the injury, it kind of just disappeared). There is no way the yacht (aka evidence) would have been used in the sting (the FBI can get a ton of money to pay for sex traffic it can’t find a yacht to use??). Also, it seemed like it was a novel idea for the police to check missing person records to help ID some victims; that’s one of the first things police do.
Some of her actions could be explained by her obsession with her daughter’s kidnapping, but others are just bad, especially for a cop on the job for almost 20 years. (Some thoughts and action would have been forgivable for a new cop, but not her, especially since she was a cop in Philadelphia, not some backwater.)
Other details were strange. I.e. the computer guy was explaining metadata to the FMC, but that’s something she would have known. If the author was afraid readers might not know, some inner monologue in 1 sentence would have sufficed.
Something that really bothered me was when the 2 MCs got intimate. It kind of came out of nowhere: they got to sleep. End of chapter. Beginning of next chapter: “so we did it” (not literally the worlds but that’s what it translates to. There was no fade out (close the door) or even any indication they were going to do it. It was a strange way for it to have happened.
Above isn’t everything I noted down, but it’s the gist. One last thing: the book description is misleading: the MMC doesn’t come across a body, she comes across a living person.

I really enjoyed Where Lost Girls Go. I liked the storyline, characters, and especially the location - Outer Banks. The rollercoaster of a mystery kept me guessing.

It is the first book by B.R. Spangler in the Detective Casey White series and I have already downloaded the next book. Patricia Rodriguez did a great job with the narration.

Thank you to NetGalley & Bookouture Audio for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

PS - my favorite character name was Gladys as I have a cat name Gladys. And it made me smile everytime I heard her name.

It is so challenging for me to write reviews that aren't overwhelmingly in support of a book that isn't bad perse, but this book isn't something that gets me excited and ready to read the second in the series right away.

There isn't anything that makes this book stand out amongst a lot of the other books that I listen to and review. It was engaging in parts, and I didn't have to put the speed at x3 to quickly finish it. Which is always a bonus as well.

I liked the characters, and the plot development was decent; but I think what I felt was lacking was a real sense of mystery for me, and the killer was pretty obvious to me from the beginning.

But I will point out, like I like to do often, that I do read A LOT of mysteries/thrillers, and not everyone likes the same type of books. So, if you are a person that tends to lean towards series, and a detective series at that, this may be the one for you.

This was a 2.5 ⭐ for me, rounded up to 3.

I love a good female detective story, so I was thrilled when NetGalley provided me with a free advanced copy of “Where Lost Girls Go” by B.R. Spangler. Detective Casey White, on forced leave from her Philadelphia position, heads to the Outer Banks to pursue a lead in the case of her daughter, who has been missing for 14 years. Soon after arriving, she literally runs into an investigation of a kidnapped girl and immediately steps into the role of detective, as the small town is in need of her expertise. Working alongside former sheriff turned marine patrol officer Jericho Flynn, Casey becomes deeply involved in the case, and as they work closely together, they form a bond.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this series, which began in 2020, currently has 12 books. I’ve just finished book number six, and it’s been captivating to follow Casey and the other main characters in their ongoing search for her daughter, with plenty of gripping stories along the way.

Thank you to NetGalley for this free advanced copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook. Very interesting triller definitely not expected the ending. The small town the ending the characters are fantastic. I love my thriller this one was not on my spot on ones.

Thank you for the opportunity to listen to Where Lost Girls Go. A detective's child is kidnapped right in front of her eyes. She tries to stop it but is unable. Years later, while on vacation, she comes across a girl who is running from something and needs help. She joins the local law enforcement to find out what happened to this girl along with trying to discover what happened to her missing daughter. Are these 2 girls connected? I thought the narration was extremely slow at regular speed and had to speed it up quite a bit. Otherwise, I think the narrator did a decent job. The story ends with a cliffhanger which makes sense since it is a series. I enjoyed the developing relationship between Jericho and Casey. Overall, I thought the story was okay.

This is the first in the Detective Casey White series. I really enjoyed this one but did think it could have been a lot shorter as it felt very drawn out at times. There are 2 active cases running alongside each other that the detectives are investigating. I enjoyed both cases and how they played out. I really liked the main characters and could see myself becoming very fond of them. The narration was both engaging and easy to listen to. Looking forward to the next instalment.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen and review #WhereLostGirlsGo

Where Lost Girls Go by BR Spangler – this is the first book in a series about Detective Casey White. The book was originally released in 2020 and I listened to the audio which released recently.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio and to Patricia Rodriguez for the narration.

Detective Casey White goes on a supposed holiday but actually to follow another lead on a cold case from 14 years ago. The cold case being her toddler daughter, Hannah, who was stolen from her front garden.

On arriving at North Carolina’s Outer Banks, she finds a young teenage girl stumbling around the forests in an old-fashioned white nightie. She is holding onto her swollen stomach crying about her baby. She manages to get the girl in her car and takes her to the hospital but the girl later dies. Casey is always on the lookout for her missing daughter and any missing child case she looks to see whether it could possibly be her daughter. She carries around age progression sketches of her daughter.

Casey teams up with Jericho Flynn of the Marine Patrol and the local police to help solve this missing child case – the victim was taken, with her twin sister, 9 years previously. The sister’s body was found a week after their disappearance but the second twin was never found, until now.
Then another body of a young girl is found on a yacht which was left floating out in the ocean. Is there a serial killer on the loose?

I enjoyed this twisty book which kept me listening to find out whether Casey would find Hannah.

This thriller had so much potential, but the pacing made it a bit of a struggle. I would have rated it higher, but it took **44 chapters** before things really got interesting. The beginning felt bogged down with more and more cases piling up, yet there was little progress and no clear suspects for a long time.

That said, Detective Casey White is a compelling character, and once the story finally picked up, the twists kept me engaged. The emotional depth of Casey’s past made her investigation even more personal.

If you love slow-burn mysteries and don’t mind a long build-up, this one might be for you. But if you prefer fast-paced thrillers, you may find yourself impatiently waiting for things to take off!

An enticing murder-mystery novel impossible to put down. While it was not entirely difficult to dissect who the culprit was if read attentively, the book is constantly adding to the puzzling nature of the case. Beautiful narration by the voice actor, who consistently alters voices and accents for different individuals.

A story that kept my attention the entire time, twists, turns and high tension this was fantastic!
It took me a minute or two to get used to the narrator but once I had I thought she was great, for a moment thought I thought she was A.I!
I thought all the different lines of enquiry ran really well together, I was constantly trying to figure things out (nothing seemed to smack me in the face and be too obvious) all in all I very much enjoyed!