LITTLE GIRL TAKEN

4 stars out of 5

This is the third book in this series featuring Colorado Detective Madison Harper and her friend Nate Monroe. Both were imprisoned for crimes they didn't commit (she for six years, he for 17); she's just returned to her former job while Nate, a former priest in training, is trying to find his way back by doing private investigation work. On a rainy day, Madison discovers a wrecked car; as she leans in, she spots a baby girl. Doing a quick look-around for a grown-up, she finds a sneaker streaked with blood - definitely not a good sign, Madison thinks as she heads in to the station.

Before too long, both the baby and shoe are connected to Kacie Larson, a young server at the local diner who didn't show up for her most recent shift. It's hard for Madison, who just reconnected with her now-17 year-old son Owen, to believe Kacie (or any mother) simply abandoned her baby. There's much more to that story, and Madison wants to get to the bottom of it. For extra help, she calls on her old friend Nate, who has a cool former K9 companion named Brody. She also gets some help from Vince, the diner owner who took a chance on hiring Kacie and seems to have taken her under his wing. But clearly, Vince has issues of his own - he's a suspect in the years-ago disappearance of his wife and grandson - so just how far can he be trusted, if at all? Meanwhile, a convicted child rapist somehow gets an early parole and returns home, so he gets added to the growing suspect list. That's only a couple of the story subplots, all of which make twists and turns to get to resolution.

I really connected with both primary characters from a likability perspective, and this book stands alone well. That said, I have no doubt that reading it would have been far more satisfying had I been aware of the content of those first two - I'm sure a few of the characters who popped up almost out of nowhere had made appearances in earlier books. I also was rather amused at terms that struck me as more British than American such as using "fell pregnant" to describe a mother-to-be. One major scene involving a vehicle totally confused me until I realized the steering wheel must have been on the right. When I learned the author lives in the United Kingdom, though, all that made sense. I also took issue when a TV reporter was "forced" by her boss to "report both sides of a story." Over here, any reporter worth his or her salt who didn't do that from the git-go would be kicked to the curb faster than you can say journalistic integrity. 

In the end, most of the twists get straightened out, although plenty of fodder is left for the next installment. Having very much enjoyed getting to know these characters, I'll be watching for it - and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy of this one.

Little Girl Taken by Wendy Dranfield (Bookouture, July 2021); 313 pp.