HUSBAND MISSING

4 stars out of 5

Let me get to the nitty-gritty right away: The missing husband, as loyal readers of this series (like me) would suspect, is Denton, Pa., police detective Josie Quinn's hunky police officer husband Noah Fraley. One not-so-fine day, she returns home from a murder scene to find their home totally ransacked, blood everywhere and Noah gone. Alas, Josie isn't the only one to miss him - he's a major reason I love the series, so not having him around was more than a small disappointment. And after awhile, reading about his absence started to get a bit tedious; put another way, I can count too, so I really didn't need an update on how long he's been gone on every third page.

Nitpicking aside, I will say that the happenings in this book bring a good measure of closure to Josie's horrific life before the police department and Noah (after 21 previous books, long-time readers will be familiar with her story and reconnection with her twin sister Trinity Payne as adults). Trinity, a well-known TV journalist who's engaged to FBI agent Drake Nally, of course is around to lend support and investigative expertise to her sister - as is the usual police force team that includes the rather obnoxious officer Kyle Turner (though here, too, the ongoing snarkiness between Kyle and Josie got old fast).

Josie herself is officially sidelined throughout most of the book, given her connection to Noah (she can't be the one leading the investigation to find her own husband). Then, the case she was called to right before returning to her ransacked home takes a turn for the bizzare. At the scene, the daughter of a prominent contractor is killed, and prints are found. Great for helping find the killer, perhaps, but for Josie, not so much; the prints match those found in the mess at her place. Whoops - off the case she goes once again.

Josie being Josie, of course, she manages to call in a few favors and do some surreptitious digging around on her own (in between telling readers how long Noah has been missing and trading barbs with Kyle). Finally, the whole thing - which is directly tied to the mother Josie knew to be a monster - comes together to reach a rather surprising conclusion. As for Noah, nope, you ain't gonna hear it from me. Go read the book for yourself!

Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with a pre-release copy - I enjoyed it and look forward to the next one!

Husband Missing by Lisa Regan (Bookouture, March 2025); 423 pp.

REMEMBER HER NAME

5 stars out of 5

Honestly, I had some trouble keeping all the characters straight, but the nonstop action had me hooked from the first page to the last (which I stayed up late to finish, I hasten to add). After reading many of the books in this series - this is the 21st - I'm at least very familiar with rural Denton, Pennsylvania Detective Josie Quinn (and more recently, her husband and co-worker, Lt. Noah Fraley, her twin sister Trinity Payne and co-worker pal Detective Gretchen Palmer).

Just off a disturbing case, Josie is reluctant to throw herself back into the investigative fray. But there's no choice; she's called to a puzzling scene with an infant girl wailing in a stroller and no parent or caretaker in sight. There is, notably, a Polaroid shot of an unknown body of water - a photo with blood on the corner. Shortly, the baby's father comes to collect her - with no clear alibi, he becomes a suspect. 

The case remains puzzling, but that provides time for readers to get to know the newest team member - a rather reprehensible dude named Kyle Turner, who's replacing an officer killed in that disturbing case mentioned earlier. No one seems to like him much (count me among those astute characters). But then, something about the photo triggers Josie's memory, and she heads to a place familiar to her from another investigation with fingers crossed every mile of the way. Alas, she's too late; she finds the baby's mother dead, another Polaroid of an unidentified scene and confirmation that a serial killer is running rampant.

But why? And who? And most important, can Josie and her team find all that out before the killer strikes again? Sorry, but I won't tell; you'll just have to read the book for yourself. It's a good one - and I'm ready for the next. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for once again allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

Remember Her Name by Lisa Regan (Bookouture, September 2024); 423 pp.

FACE HER FEAR

4 stars out of 5

This book - the 19th in the series - is a bit of a departure from the usual case-solving procedural featuring Denton Police Department Detective Josie Quinn. Here, she's more than a little bit out of her usual element, taking part in a trauma recovery program at an isolated Pennsylvania retreat after losing a dear friend and colleague and having a meltdown of sorts that involves her husband Noah.

There are six participants in all - five women and one man - led by a Zen-like therapist named Sandrine, who organized the retreat and loves helping everyone get in touch with their feelings. Everyone there is a victim of some kind of trauma, which they're invited to share either in group sessions or with Sandrine privately. To spook things up a bit, no cell phones, laptops or other communication devices are allowed, nor is Josie allowed to bring a weapon - she's not there as an officer of the law, and besides, she's no longer within her jurisdiction. Amid all that, a huge snowstorm appears out of nowhere (with all of today's technology, I must say I found it implausible that any meterorologist worth his or her salt could possibly have missed a storm of that magnitude, but hey).

In really short order, everyone becomes snowbound and virtually unreachable on a mountaintop with enough food, burnable wood and generator-produced electricity to last the week - if they're prudent. By now, you know what's coming next: one of the participants, a woman named Meg, is found dead in the woods; and although Josie knows Meg was murdered, she has no authority to investigate - and worse, no way of contacting anyone in the outside world.

From that point on, Josie tries to put her crime-solving skills to work while knowing there's little she can do even if she does identify the killer - one who almost certainly is among them. Problem is - at least for me - she just can't seem to get her own act together; much of her time is spent amid self-doubt and unfounded speculation. While I understand her personal conflicts and the reasons she's at the retreat in the first place (well, except for her knee-jerk interaction with Noah, which I honestly couldn't relate to at all), that constant second-guessing didn't grab me much. Happily, enough facts and hard evidence were interspersed to keep things interesting and hold my attention throughout (to that end, another of the retreat participants turning up missing and Josie's revelation that cameras have been hidden throughout the buildings certainly helped).

By the finish line, everything gets resolved, and although it's no secret to series followers that Josie will live to see another installment, exactly how it all comes together is for me to know and other readers to find out (yes, there are a few surprises). All in all, an entertaining read once again - for which I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the pre-release copy.

Face Her Fear by Lisa Regan (Bookouture, January 2024); 385 pp.

CLOSE HER EYES

4 stars out of 5

No, no, no - not an ending I saw coming and decidedly not one I wanted to bring to a close the 17th installment of this very entertaining series. A few other surprises were in store near the end as well, but this one is a doozy.

Other than that observation, upon which I will not expand, I'll say that books in this series stand pretty well on their own, although I do think it helps to have read at least some of the others first (I've had seven on my Kindle in addition to this one). The focus is on Denton, Pennsylvania, Detective Josie Quinn and her very competent team. As this one begins, she's at home with her twin sister, Trinity Payne, Trinity's boyfriend Drake Nally (an FBI agent from the New York City Field Office) and her husband, Denton police Lt. Noah Fraley. After dinner, Josie gets a call from another of her team members, Finn Mettner, explaining that a woman's body has been found along nearby Kettlewell Creek.

During the initial inspection by Medical Examiner Dr. Anya Feist, it's discovered that the woman has a cattle brand on her hip - a horrifying sight that terrifies the good doctor for an equally horrifying reason: She's got an identical brand on her hip, inflicted by her former husband from whom she ran away to Denton (and has been on edge ever since wondering where and when he'll find her). Problem is, there's zero evidence tying Anya's ex-husband, or his equally mean father, who's somewhat incapacitated by a stroke, to the new murder. 

Trinity, a TV journalist who does stories on unsolved, or questionable, crimes, is in Denton to gather more information on a different case. When a second woman's dead body turns up - with that same brand on her hip - the action starts to heat up and, not unsurprisingly, so does suspicion that the story Trinity is working on has ties to the current murders. But suspicion isn't proof, so Josie and her team keep digging despite the threat - which too often extracts physical and mental tolls - until the exciting conclusion that includes that unforeseen, and most unwelcome ending. I have to say I enjoyed this one a teeny bit less than most of the others I've read, in large part because a little too much of it just seemed a little too contrived. But I'm also sure most fans of the series will love it (well, except for, you know...) As for me, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for once again allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

Close Her Eyes by Lisa Regan (Bookouture, May 2023); 389 pp.

WATCH HER DISAPPEAR

5 stars out of 5

This is the 14th installment in the series featuring Pennsylvania Detective Josie Quinn, and I've read several. All have been quite good, but for some reason this one stands out among the others. Maybe it's because the focus seems a little less on Josie's troubled background and more on that of her chief, Robert Chitwood - a man who, prior to this, has been a bit of a thorn in Josie's side. Or maybe it's because a serial killer is on the loose - perhaps one with ties to a long-ago murder that hits too close to home for comfort. Whatever the reason, it gets five stars from me.

That's even though I was left scratching my head over how a relatively small (20,000) town can support "several different" high schools and reels in "hundreds and hundreds" of students at a single prom (especially when the latter typically is limited to juniors and seniors). I live close to a handful of towns of this size - a few stones' throws from the Keystone state, in fact - where just two high schools struggle with low enrollment figures. Oh well, except that the unrealistic numbers helped complicate corpse identification, I suppose it really wasn't all that important to the overall scheme of things.

And the scheme is intriguing; out behind one of those several schools on systemwide prom night, a young girl's body is found. The victim of a single stab wound, she's wearing what appears to be a prom dress, complete with wrist corsage. Problem is, no one has a clue as to who she is. Finally, a lightbulb goes off in Josie's head; she's a girl who went missing a few months earlier for whom an Amber alert was issued. There are zero clues on the body that could lead to a suspect, but five small cuts on the inside of her arm raise alarm bells. When another missing girl is found in her bed a few days later - with a similar cause of death and a different number of small cuts - it's enough to make Jesse and her team, husband Lt. Noah Fraley and detectives Gretchen Palmer and Finn Mettner, lean toward the serial killer angle.

Strangely, their chief suddenly becomes animated and insistent that they pursue the case. When he finally reveals the reason, it opens up a whole new line of investigation into what will become a race to find a killer before another young girl falls victim. It's nonstop action and a slam-bang finish - good reasons for not wanting to turn off my Kindle at bedtime. Many thanks once again to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy. Good job!

Watch Her Disappear by Lisa Regan (Bookouture, April 2022); 389 pp.

THE DROWNING GIRLS

4 stars out of 5

Small-town Denton, Pennsylvania, detective Josie Quinn is enjoying holiday time with her husband, Noah (a police force lieutenant), her twin sister and TV show host Trinity and other family members when a co-worker, Detective Finn Mettner, knocks on the door. He's been dating Amber Watts, the department's press liaison, and he frantically insists she's gone missing. He convinces Josie to come with him to Amber's home; when they see a reference to a nearby dam written in the ice on Amber's car windshield, Josie heads out. What she finds is a woman's hand, but she manages to grab it too late to stop it and the rest of the body from being washed away. The good news? It's not Amber.

The only real clue is Amber's diary - with Josie's name on it - containing a set of numbers that no one can decipher. The cause of death is determined to be murder, but when the dead woman finally is identified, the investigative waters become even more muddled. Some leads point to a possible connection with a wildly popular preacher-man who, with his wife, is building a mega-church at the outskirts of town. But that, too, goes nowhere fast. A couple of Amber's relatives who turn up turn out to be quirky as all get-out, but there's no hard evidence that they're connected to the murder. And Finn's almost stalker-like behavior toward Amber doesn't help, instead pushing him to the top of the suspect list despite Josie's initial insistence that he's innocent.

The fact is, Amber remains missing and feared dead. But hope springs eternal, so Josie, Noah and the rest of the team keep looking for her while trying to solve the murder at the dam. Still, time is of the essence; If Amber has been kidnapped and is still alive, can they find her before the searchers' worst fears come true? The only thing I'll say is that the last handful of chapters makes for the most frenzied, twisted-up ending I've read in a long while. All told, it's another solid entry in this enjoyable series (this is the 13th book), and I'm pretty sure it will please old fans and create new ones as well. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read a pre-release copy.

The Drowning Girls by Lisa Regan (Bookouture, December 2021); 391 pp.

HER DEADLY TOUCH

5 stars out of 5

Denton Police Department Detective Josie Quinn has a trauma-filled background that's left her with nightmares and regular meetings with a psychologist, but ready or not, she's back on the job after a four-month suspension. Thoughts of tiptoeing in are stomped by the discovery of a dead woman in the local cemetery; she was found next to the headstone of her daughter, who was one of five children killed in a school bus crash two years earlier. A suicide? Doubtful, since the woman's lips are sealed with some kind of wax and the body appears to have been carefully positioned there.

Although clues are few and far between, Josie and her team, including her husband, police Lt. Noah Fraley, suspect the murder is somehow related to that bus crash; the driver, who's in jail, will go on trial shortly. As they follow leads - some going absolutely nowhere - they begin to realize that most of the parents of the dead children have secrets that could be related to the crash. Then, the worst happens; the body of another mother is discovered near the crash site - her mouth also sealed with wax.

Throughout the story, Josie continues to grapple with her emotions following the death of her beloved grandmother - a death  for which Josie feels responsibility. Noah, and her department friend Gretchen, remain supportive, helping her deal with her loss while staying focused on solving the horrific crimes (and, hopefully, preventing even more from happening).

I've read some of the more recent books in this series (this is the 12th) - all good, but IMHO, this is one of the best. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy. Recommended!

Her Deadly Touch by Lisa Regan (Bookouture, August 2021); 1686 KB.

SAVE HER SOUL

4 stars out of 5


Detective Josie Quinn is back (well actually, I guess she never left), and she's in fighting form. This time, besides her usual murder-solving prowess, she and her police colleagues are dealing with the weather: heavy rains have flooded much of small-town Denton, Pennsylvania, rendering some spots virtually inaccessible and putting investigations on a slippery slope.

After Josie and her partner Gretchen Palmer save an elderly woman whose home - and her - are about to be swept away by the raging current, a long-dead, tarp-wrapped body is unearthed, apparently from underneath the rental home's concrete basement. Turns out it's Beverly Urban, one of Josie's high-school classmates - a bully who had a rough life but took it out on everybody else except a couple of close friends. Just another cold case, or so it seems, until Josie discovers that the teenager was wearing a baseball awards jacket that's way too similar to the one that belonged to Josie's late husband, Ray.

Back then, Ray claimed he lost it; but Josie all too well recalls rumors that Ray and Beverly had a "thing" behind Josie's back. Josie didn't believe it then and doesn't want to believe it now, but on the other hand, evidence doesn't lie. Beverly and her mother, Vera, had serious issues which, apparently, led to the two of them making a sudden getaway from Denton, never to be heard from again.

Since Ray's death, Josie is in a happy relationship with coworker Noah, who's almost too good to be true. She's not pining an old love, but neither does she want to learn that her high-school sweetheart and former husband isn't the person she thought he was. As the investigation progresses, Josie gets a call from an unidentified woman who says she's willing to spill the beans. Maybe yes, maybe no; but it doesn't really matter when the woman is murdered right before Josie and Gretchen's eyes.

But when the going gets tough, the tough get going; and nothing describes Josie Quinn more than the word tough. The trail leads to some of Denton's most wealthy and influential residents, several of whom have been keeping dark secrets for many years. In between the action are flashback chapters outlining Josie's memories from high school - and while it's done well, I really hope this is the last I'll see of this over-used technique in future books. And while I'm on the subject of please don'ts, if I read the phrase "his/her smile didn't quite reach his/her eyes" one more time, I'm gonna barf (it's appeared at least once in at least four out of the last five books I've read; enough, already).

None of that, though, has dampened my enthusiasm for this series - and I'll be eager to read the next one (I've read and enjoyed four others). Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for giving me the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of this one.

Save Her Soul by Lisa Regan (Bookouture, August 2020); 284 pp.

FIND HER ALIVE

5 stars out of 5

Count on this series to be consistently good,

and this one - the eighth - fits the pattern well. The story is a bit more "far out" than the others I've read, but it doesn't matter - I stayed up late to finish the last four chapters just because things were moving so fast at that point that I didn't want to wait till morning to find out what happened.

Josie Quinn, a detective in rural Denton, Pennsylvania, has twin sister Trinity. It's been only recently that they discovered each other (background on all that is in previous books); and even now, their interaction can be a bit tense. Trinity, who is a well-known TV news anchor, came to visit Josie and her significant other Noah Fraley, also a police officer. Convinced she was about to be fired, Trinity was on the trail of a major breakthrough story that would revive her TV career big-time.

But about three weeks ago, the twins got into an argument and Trinity stalked out - renting a remote hunting cabin for a reason known only to her. When she can't reach her sister, Josie heads to the cabin, where she encounters a gruesome sight: human bones neatly arranged outside the cabin. Needless to say, she's terrified that the bones are Trinity's, although it seems unlikely that total decomposition could have happened this rapidly.

When the police team come in to investigate, Josie is relieved; dental records confirm the remains are not Trinity, but rather a missing woman from a nearby town. Now, the investigation expands, but it seems to go nowhere fast. Gleaning some clues from a handwritten message Trinity apparently left on her car - which was found outside the cabin complete with her purse and cell phone - Josie determines that Trinity's big story involved an as-yet-unidentified serial killer known for his "artistry" with human bones.

Along the way, other bone formations are found, adding urgency to the investigation. Is Trinity still alive, and if she is, can they find her before it's too late? Josie is hot to trot with ideas and suggestions, but not all are taken seriously simply because of her obvious personal interest in the case. 

And tttthhhhhaaat's all from me, folks, except to say it's a dash to an exciting finish with a couple of twists thrown in. Those who are familar with this series will enjoy this one too, I'm sure - and to those who aren't, well, what are you waiting for? Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Find Her Alive by Lisa Regan (Bookouture, April 2020); 300 pp.

COLD HEART CREEK

5 stars out of 5

If I ever made a list of my 10 favorite book "heroines," Josie Quinn would be in there somewhere. Yes, she's got emotional baggage as a result of an extremely abusive childhood, but unlike way too many other lead characters with similar backgrounds, she doesn't whimper and whine about it and gets on with her life in fine fettle (excepting perhaps those awful nightmares). That life, for the record, includes her duties as a detective in largely rural parts of Pennsylvania and Noah, a partner both professionally and personally (for the record, I like him a lot as well).

As this episode begins, Josie and Noah are called out when two bodies are found at a remote campground about half a mile from Cold Heart Creek. At first blush, it appears that they were poisoned - even, perhaps, in a suicide pact. But further investigation changes the outlook in two ways: They are murder victims, and there was a third camper at the site who is inexplicably missing.

The search for clues makes a significant stop at a fenced-in section of private property called The Sanctuary, a haven for societal misfits who, according to commune leader and property owner Charlotte, need to find themselves. Although all the residents are willing to answer questions, Josie and Noah are pretty sure they're not being totally honest. Then, on the drive home, Josie nearly collides with a very pregnant woman staggering out of the woods - who proceeds to give birth in Josie's car. When she's finally identified and hospitalized, the woman claims to have been kidnapped two years ago and held captive in some of the remote caves that dot the region. The plot thickens even more when a young girl Josie met at the commune turns up dead.

Admittedly, there are bits and pieces that stretch credulity a bit, but overall this is a book I really didn't want to put down and could have finished in a day had the facts of my personal life not intervened. And while I have read and enjoyed other books in the series, this one stands quite well on its own. I do thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

Cold Heart Creek by Lisa Regan (Bookouture, December 2019); 1969 KB).

THE GIRL WITH NO NAME

5 stars out of 5

This series got off to a promising start with Vanishing Girls, the first to feature Josie Quinn, a very capable detective in Denton, Pa. So of course, I was eager to get my hands on a copy of this one (thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for an advance review copy). My opinion? This one is better than the first. That said, I'll add this: While this one stands on its own well, I think that starting with the first one will give you a bit more understanding of what's going on (and besides, it's also very good).

And for sure, there's a whole lot going on here with lots of players, so you need to pay close attention. Josie is now the chief of police in Denton - a job she likes, although she prefers action to sitting behind a desk keeping tabs on department budgets. She gets it in spades as she's called in when Missy, a stripper, lands in the hospital after taking a brutal beating at her home. She'd just delivered a baby, it appears - a baby who's now missing. Complicating the matter is that Missy and Raymond, Josie's late husband, were a hot item before he died; now, Josie must put aside her conflicting feelings and find out who attacked Missy and took the infant. 

And that's when the plot thickens even more. Josie's fiance Luke has been distant of late; when he goes missing, Josie learns that he knew Missy rather well. So, Josie and her team head for Luke's remote cabin, where he's been spending more time of late, and they find blood. No Luke, but there is a dead body half-buried behind the cabin - a man who's identified as a gangster type from Atlantic City. Has Luke gone off the deep end and committed murder, and if so, is it somehow connected to the baby's disappearance?

Needless to say, Josie desperately wants to find Luke, even if it means he's implicated in the goings-on. The investigation leads to a very nasty rich kid who's trying to build a casino in Denton and then to an even more wealthy man who's good friends with the Denton mayor, who threatens to relieve Josie of her job if she doesn't play well with said mayor's family and friends.

Josie isn't one to be intimidated, but with Luke involved and her upcoming marriage in jeopardy, she's conflicted. Her colleages try to help, with some success, but in the end it's Josie who must come to terms with the outcome. 

The Girl With No Name by Lisa Regan (Bookouture, April 2018); 341 pp.