GONE IN THE NIGHT

4 stars out of 5

Chicago private detective Annalisa Vega is almost an old friend by now - this is the fifth book in the series, and I've read all the others. This time out, she has a little extra to deal with: the impending birth of a new baby with her husband, police detective Nick Carelli (who she married for the second time after the first time didn't "take." She's left the police force (and working with him), but given her talent for police work and the sheer boredom of not having many clients, keeping her nose to herself is proving a bit difficult.

Although I enjoyed this one as I always have, I did have a bit of trouble keeping all the characters in this one straight - partly because it seemed as if half of them aren't who they claim to be. It makes for a complex plot for which I give props to the author, but it also meant a fair amount of flipping back to prior pages to make sure I knew who was who.

The story begins as Annalisa's brother Alex, who's in jail for murder (Annalisa played a major role in putting him there, albeit reluctantly), calls and asks her to visit. She does, but it turns out he doesn't want her help for himself, but rather for another inmate named Joe Green. The man, Alex insists, is innocent of the murder of his ex-wife's lawyer for which he was convicted.

Annalisa is skeptical, of course, but a letter from an unknown person suggests that the witness whose testimony sealed Green's fate was lying. Curious, Annalisa does a bit of digging and learns that the witness did lie about at least one crucial detail. But she also learns something even more potentially devastating: her husband was Green's arresting officer. That, in turn, exacerbates tension between the two as Nick sometimes considers his wife's no-holds-barred approach to solving crimes as an attempt to upstage him.

But of course, Annalisa forges ahead, and Nick - to his credit - for the most part realizes she's simply trying to figure out what really happened, not cut his legs from under him. As her investigation digs deeper, more murders make her even more sure sure that Green is innocent - at least of the crime for which he was convicted - and Nick concurs. It's not an easy investigation and it ends up putting Nick's life in danger, but that makes it even more of an adventure for readers. Definitely worth checking out - and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to go along for the ride by way of a pre-release copy.

Gone in the Night by Joanna Schaffhausen (Minotaur Books, August 2025); 320 pp.

ALL THE WAY GONE

4 stars out of 5

Somewhere between the most recent book in this series - this is the fourth that I've read and enjoyed - Chicago detective Annalisa Vega underwent something of a metamorphosis. She left the department to open her own private detective agency and got hitched - to her ex-husband and still-Chicago PD detective Nick Carelli, who recently learned he has a teenage daughter, Cassidy (putting Annalisa in the hazy world of stepmoms). And amid all that, she seems to have become, for want of a better description, less of a strong, independent character. The career change I can sink my teeth into, but the jury's still out on the remarriage and personality shift. 

This story, however, is right up my alley; I'm a student of psychology, so anything that touches on that subject gets my full attention. Here, it doesn't just touch; it smacks it right between the eyes. As Annalisa is looking to kick-start her new P.I. business, in walks Mara Delaney, a potential client. She's authored a book on "good" sociopaths - her term for people who really care nothing for anyone else but nonetheless do good. The focus of the book is local neurosurgeon Dr. Craig Canning, whose expertise saves lives every single day, but his pride lies solely in what he's doing, with zero caring or concern for the lives themselves.

As the about-to-be-published book garners media attention (thus fueling the good doctor's pride in his talents, tragedy strikes in the building in which he lives; a young woman who also lives there falls from her balcony to her death, which at the outset deemed an accident by the police (including Annalisa's husband). Learning of the death and her book subject's proximity to the young woman, though, the author seeks Annalisa's help to be absolutely certain Canning played no role in the death - because if he did, it might negate the book's premise that there's such a thing as a "good" sociopath.

But there's considerable evidence that Canning is innocent; in fact, he's got a virtually airtight alibi and no discernible motive. Besides that, it becomes clear that if the woman was murdered, a couple of other folks have reason to do the deed. Still, Canning almost goes out of his way to be irritating, annoying and self-serving - making him a prime suspect in Annalisa's eyes. But that may be meaningless; after all, isn't that kind of behavior characterstic of all sociopaths? 

The investigation takes up quite a bit of Annalisa's time, but she's got another dilemma of sorts on her hands; Nick's newfound daughter Cassidy is dealing with a couple of serious personal issues, and he is trying his best to help her. That puts Annalisa, who can relate to Cassidy on a personal level, square in the middle of an awkward situation - all while she's trying to outsmart someone who's whole life is based on outsmarting everybody else.

Much of the fun for me, at least, was watching Canning's manipulative behavior with everyone around him, including Annalisa, as her determination to prove him guilty (or not) once and for all picks up steam. Along the way are plenty of twists, turns and surprises right up to the end, including one that no doubt will have implications for the next installment. Already looking forward to it! Meantime, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy of this one.

All the Way Gone by Joanna Schaffhausen (Minotaur Books, August 2024); 343 pp.

DEAD AND GONE

4 stars out of 5

There's certainly no shortage of crimes to investigate in this, the third book featuring Chicago police detective Annalisa Vega. Nor is there a lack of trauma in her personal life; overlap, then, is to be expected - and needless to say, it happens, whether it be with former husband and police partner Nick Carelli, her beloved niece Quinn or her semi-estranged family.

The action begins with the death of Sam Tran, a former Chicago police officer turned private eye. On his chest is a handwritten message that suggests his death wasn't an accident, so Annalisa's instincts kick in, making her suspect his killer is associated with one of the cases he was investigating.

She then learns that her brother Vinny has a stake in one of those cases - he hired Sam to track down whoever's been stalking female students at his daughter Quinn's college. Meantime, readers see the story from Quinn's perspective, which is, shall we say, a bit different. Also meantime, Nick and Annalisa have been trying to identify, and capture, a thief known as the Chicken Bandit (you can probably guess why, but you'll have to read the book to find out if you're right).

Speaking of guessing correctly, fairly early on I thought I'd nailed the campus stalker - an obvious culprit in my eyes - but turns out I wasn't even close. But with or without my obviously wrong insights, everything works out in the end, though not necessarily smoothly; there's at least one other murder, and a couple of other characters narrowly escape the same fate. The ending brings a major new development - maybe two or three - that I assume will carry over to future installments. Actually, there's another biggie that happens early on that affects Annalisa and Nick's newfound (re-found??) relationship, albeit not nearly as much as I expected it would. 

All things considered, I enjoyed this one - I remain a big fan of both Annalisa and Nick - so I'm more than ready for the next. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to once again read and review a pre-release copy of this one. 

Dead and Gone by Joanna Schaffhausen (Minotaur Books, August 2023); 332 pp.

LONG GONE

5 stars out of 5

Impressive is a word I'd use to describe this author after reading two of her books including the first in this series. This is the second, and my opinion hasn't changed a whit.

The star of the show is Chicago detective Annalisa Vega, who is great at detective work but in her personal life, not so much. When she learned that a couple of family members were involved in a murder - one of them her father, a former cop - she turned them in. No surprise, then, that most of her family members would just as soon not see her at Sunday dinner, and her fellow police officers think she's a snitch who should resign. On the plus side, he's still got support from her station chief and her ex-husband Nick Carelli, who has remained her work partner and friend.

As this story begins, Annalisa and Nick are called to a crime scene, where they find a very dead police officer and a very scared, but still very much alive, trophy wife. After a little digging, they determine that a rich guy who is suspected of murdering someone else but never charged did the deed this time as well. One potential problem? He's dating Annalisa's best friend, who refuses to believe he could possibly commit such a crime.

The ongoing investigation, much of which Annalisa (with a little help from Nick) is conducting on an unauthorized basis in part because of her connection to the suspect, heads for uncharted waters with the suggestion of a masked scuba diver, a bag full of money from an unknown source and what appears to be a systematic wipeout of a group known as the "Fantastic Four." Her reluctance to stand down not only angers her boss and threatens her job, but puts her square in the sights of someone, or several someones, who will do just about anything to get her to go away - alive or dead.

In short, it's another winner, and I'm already looking forward to the next installment of this entertaining series. Meantime, thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy. Well done!

Long Gone by Joanna Schaffhausen (Minotaur Books, August 2022); 296 pp.

LAST SEEN ALIVE

5 stars out of 5

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed another book by this author - but not in this series - I didn't hesitate when I got a chance to read a pre-release copy of this one (thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley). Now, the only thing that disappoints me is that I missed the first four, although this one stands on its own quite well. It was so good, in fact, that I put off making dinner for an hour and a half so I could get to the exciting finish.

She was the one who got away: Abigail Ellery Hathaway, now a Boston detective, managed to escape serial torturer and killer of women Frances Coben. He was caught and has been languishing in prison for a couple of decades; the man who found and saved her, FBI agent Reed Markham, later became her lover. Still traumatized by the horrific treatment she endured at Coven's hands, Ellery, as she now calls herself, recently called things off with Reed. But now, out of the blue, Coben claims he's remorseful and wants to come clean by revealing the location of some of his victims' bodies (minus the body parts he keeps as trophies) - but only if he can confess to his "Abby."

Reed objects, but a TV crew gets into the act as well and puts some pressure on the powers-that-be. Just because the confrontation might bring closure to families of the victims, Reed and Ellery agree to meet Coben in prison. It's arranged, but Coben does little more than confuse the issue. Confounding things even more, a new body turns up with a too-similar M.O. - but Coben couldn't possibly have done it from jail. Or could he?

Amid all this, the impossible happens (no, I won't say what) - and from that point on, I was on the edge of my seat even though some of the happenings were predictable. Besides that, I really liked Ellery and Reed (him in particular), so I had my fingers and toes crossed that they'd get back together again (no, I won't reveal that, either). All in all, a most engrossing novel very much recommended.

Last Seen Alive by Joanna Schaffhausen (Minotaur Books, January 2022); 320 pp.

GONE FOR GOOD

5 stars out of 5

As a lover of mysteries, thrillers and police procedurals, finding a new series in any of those genres is an absolute delight (even though I probably need another one like another hole in my head). So it is that I'm excited to say I loved this book and, from even before I finished it, started looking forward to the next.

The star of this show is Chicago Detective Annalisa Vega, the daughter of a retired cop father and a mother who (reminiscent of my own sweet mom) laid out a dinner spread fit for a king 365 days a year even if no one was there to eat it. Annalisa's ex-husband of not many years (both the marriage and how long they've been apart) has returned to the department and is stoked at the prospect of working with her again.

Early on, Annalisa gets a call that a dead body has been found at the perfect time - while she's trying to figure out how to ditch a boring blind date. The deceased turns out to be Grace Harper, a member of a group called the Grave Diggers - civilians who try to solve cold cases. Most recently, Grace has focused on a serial killer known as the "Lovelorn Killer," who murdered seven women, the last known having happened two decades earlier. Whether the killer had a change of heart, is in jail for something else or is dead is a matter of conjecture. 

Now, that's changed. Grace, it seems, was murdered in an MO identical to that of the Lovelorn Killer - trussed up in intricate ropes that led to a slow strangulation. For Annalisa and her father, who worked that case back then, conjures up sad memories of a beloved neighbor who was the last known victim of the serial killer. As the investigation into Grace's murder begins, it becomes clear that her relentless research may have unearthed a few too many clues - some that just might lead to the killer's identity. Finding him (or her) is a good thing, of course, but this time it threatens to turn Annalisa's world upside down (not to mention put her in the killer's crosshairs).

All told, this is an exciting, well-thought-out story with plenty of twists and turns and a terrific start for the series. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to get an up-close-and-personal look at an intriguing character. More, please? And soon?

Gone for Good by Joanna Schaffhausen (Minotaur Books, August 2021); 304 pp.