I am utterly hooked on these well-paced slow-burn thrillers featuring FBI agent Emily Ray. Emily is such a fantastic character. Driven by her traumatic childhood from being kidnapped and locked in a basement for five years, she is driven to fight injustices to the most vulnerable.

I was surprised by Emily was a bit naïve not to see what was right in front of her, especially when she realised how intertwined the community was. The ending? What a punch. And yet while I was stunned that the signs weren’t a misunderstanding, it was realistic. Women always feel like they have to earn love by diminishing their passions. I cannot wait to see where this story lands next.

Thanks to Storm and NetGalley for the ARC.

"My Name Is Emily Ray" is my read of the year so far so I had great hopes for this book. Unfortunately I was a little disappointed. It is a good crime story but it didn't have the twists and shocks that were the best part of the earlier book. Although I have to admit that the identity of Hayley's killer was very clever. I think the author shot herself in the foot a little by giving away the storyline, including the twists, of the earlier book. There were so many spoilers that there would be no point in a reader who enjoyed this book buying the previous one.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

This was amazing!
The second book in the series continues the plot with a punch and in a such smart way, I couldn’t put this down.

After Emily Ray is put on a mandatory leave, she decides to go on vacation to clear her mind and get some rest. Simple right? Well, actually no! Of course she might find something dangerous or maybe something will find her?!

She uncovers lies, corruption, girls disappearances and so much more on this vacation town, that it makes this so tense and suspenseful, with twists that will leave you with a jaw dropping!

I really love this series, highly recommend it to my book thriller friends out there. It’s never too late to start, trust me. You can thank me later🤭

Thank you so much to Storm Publishing, Michelle Dominguez Greene for my eARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Hayley Hope is Gone by Michele Domínguez Greene is the second book in the Special Agent Emily Ray series. This book is a standard FBI/investigation book. It's really good, but there wasn't that tiny special spark that the first book had.
(Remember, this is not my usual choice of book or format, so if I didn't hate it, it's a good one!)
So this one was more concentrated on investigation and less on Emily. There weren't any unexpected twists. And anything that falls under the delusional religious umbrella usually is even more challenging for me.
Back to book: the storyline itself was good, probably could be easily cut by quota without losing any important information. Characters were great, strong and not easily manipulated, so always a good refresher.

Special Agent Emily Ray is taking a break at Lake Arrowhead with her father. What started as a relaxing break soon became an investigation of the case no one wants to talk about. Emily wasn't ready for the dirt that she would dig up!

Thank you, Netgalley and Storm Publishing, for this copy!

Rounding up to 4 ⭐

Oh Emily... could you not just take a nice quiet vacation with your dad?
Did you have to get caught up with a murder?

I mean, obviously I'm glad she did.
Second book, and I enjoyed it as much as the first.
There's a very sinister side to this small town, and I particularly enjoyed that side of it.
The abuse of power, the surprise at how far things can go.
Really good pacing, and just a good read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of Hayley Hope is Gone by Michelle Dominguez Greene due to be published July 10, 2025.

I had read the first book in this series, My Name is Emily Ray, so I was looking forward to the second book.

The small town of Lake Arrowhead has secrets, and Emily Ray wants to find out what they are and who is keeping them. She uncovers a web of lies and corruption from many in the town where girls have been disappearing. Will Emily find out what she needs to know and stay out of danger?

This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time – even though parts of it were hard to read. I couldn’t wait to see what Emily uncovered about her former “friends” and their evil actions. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

#NetGalley #MichelleDominguezGreene #HayleyHopeIsGone #StormPublishing

5* Great book, though the slightly fractured family dynamics bothered me - I wasn't too shocked at the end reveal, sadly.

I picked up book 1 based on the blurb, and it turned out to be one of my best reads of this year. I loved the tale, the background, the relationship between Emily and her father, and with her husband, kids and their nanny-great aunt.

This was no different, with an excellent continuation of Emily's approach to her work, but it did come at a bit of an unexpected price. I couldn't fault the storyline, which was scary and creepy and once again made me thankfully that I don't live in the US. It has shades of the Mercy Kilpatrick series in that aspect, which I mean as a compliment.

Did I love the ending? No, but I admired Emily's response and actions. I'd have done the same. I can't wait to read the next book. I suspect she will have family loyalty on her side, and could turn into a bit of an Eve Dallas character, sadly without the Roarke sidekick.

ARC courtesy of Storm Publishing and NetGalley for my reading pleasure.