Photo de l'auteur
2 oeuvres 155 utilisateurs 21 critiques 1 Favoris

A propos de l'auteur

Gerry Schmitt was born in rural Minnesota. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin and proceeded to work in advertising for 30 years. She has won dozens of TV and radio awards, produced two reality TVshows, and invests in small businesses. She has written The Tea Shop Mystery Series, afficher plus Scrapbooking Mystery Series, and Cackleberry Club Mystery Series under the Pen name Laura Childs. The Afton Tangler Thriller Series is the first series written under her real name and includes "Little Girl Gone" (2016). (Bowker Author Biography) afficher moins

Séries

Œuvres de Gerry Schmitt

Étiqueté

Partage des connaissances

Il n’existe pas encore de données Common Knowledge pour cet auteur. Vous pouvez aider.

Membres

Critiques

The second Afton Tangler mystery has Afton and her police partner near at hand when someone shoots down a medivac helicopter containing a heart for transplant with a missile. After dealing with the chaos of an exploding helicopter over the University of Minnesota campus, they begin trying to find out who didn't want Leland Odin dead.

Leland has started a major home shopping network and really shouldn't have made anyone angry enough to kill him. But an illegal deal in Thailand has sent a woman looking for revenge. Mom Chao Cherry grew from a missionary's child to child prostitute to head of a major criminal enterprise. Her desire for revenge against the man who stole from her causes many deaths.

I enjoyed reading about Afton who was a police liaison officer who wanted to be a detective. This twice-divorced mother of two young daughters was quick to get involved in this case. Her insights were very helpful even though they put her right in the bullseye for one of Mom Chao Cherry's confederates.

I enjoyed the Twin Cities setting since it talks about places that are sort of familiar. I even liked that one of the major villains came from my hometown of Duluth.

This was a fast-paced, enjoyable thriller filled with interesting characters. Gerry Schmitt also writes cozy mysteries under the name of Laura Childs.
… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
kmartin802 | 6 autres critiques | Oct 23, 2022 |
Good book. Set in The Twin Cities. Afton is a climber, which comes in handy. This book reminded me a of a girl version of the John Sandford Lucas Davenport series. Looking forward to the next one.
 
Signalé
Sunandsand | 13 autres critiques | Apr 30, 2022 |
3.5 stars.

Little Girl Gone is the first installment in Gerry Schmitt's new mystery series starring family liaison officer Afton Tangler. After a three month old baby is kidnapped, Afton takes full advantage of the unexpected opportunity to hone her detective skills when she gets to work alongside veteran detective Max Montgomery on the case.

A family liaison officer with the Minneapolis P.D. , Afton is a twice divorced mom of two daughters who is hoping to move through the ranks and eventually make detective. An avid outdoorswoman, she is intelligent and tenacious with a keen eye for detail. One of Afton's strongest attributes is her ability to feel empathy for victims and she is determined to find Susan and Richard Darden's missing baby.

While he appreciates modern technology, Max Montgomery is a little old school and relies on copious handwritten notes and good old-fashioned detective work to solve crimes. Believing the truth will be found in the details, he is an excellent mentor for Afton as he teaches her a few tricks of the trade during the investigation for the kidnapped baby. Max fully believes in Afton's ability to become a topnotch detective and he always takes her suggestions seriously.

The investigation into the baby's kidnapping yields few leads since there is very little evidence to go on initially. Knowing time is not on their side, Max and Afton quickly look into the Darden's background. While the couple appear to be on the up and up, the detectives decide to dig a little deeper into Richard's work history. While Max and Afton are still trying to get a clear picture of why he recently changed jobs, Susan stumbles across shocking information about her husband but does this new information have any bearing on the case?

While Max and Afton are looking into the Dardens, their most promising lead seems to involve a woman that Susan met at a doll show in a local mall. Drawn to the woman's display of "reborn" dolls that eerily resemble real babies, Susan eagerly shows off pictures of her baby Emily Ann as the doll maker tries to convince her to commission a doll that will look exactly like her daughter. With little more than a nondescript likeness of the doll maker, will their investigation turn up any viable information about the mystery woman?

Although Max and Afton are fully rounded, interesting characters, some of the other characters (including the kidnappers and an overly ambitious reporter) are woefully underdeveloped. While the identity of the kidnappers is known from the beginning, the motive for the crime is not initially apparent. It is quite intriguing watching Max and Afton slowly sift through the evidence to find the information that will break the case wide open. Although the finale of Little Girl Gone is highly improbable, Gerry Schmitt delivers a pulse-pounding and dramatic conclusion that will completely satisfy readers. All in all a nice beginning the Afton Tangler Thriller series that fans of police procedurals will enjoy.
… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
kbranfield | 13 autres critiques | Feb 3, 2020 |
3.5 stars.

The second installment in Gerry Schmitt's Afton Tangler Thriller series, Shadow Girl is an intriguing police procedural about a plot to murder a home shopping network mogul.

Minneapolis Family Liaison Officer Afton Tangler and her partner Detective Max Montgomery are among the first on the scene of a horrific helicopter crash. They quickly learn the crash was no accident-someone deliberately shot the helo out of sky. The discovery the copter was delivering a donor heart for multi-millionaire Leland Odin raises some very interesting questions about why someone wants the executive dead. Their preliminary inquiries fails to offer a motive and before their investigation has the opportunity to gain speed, the killer's second attempt on Leland's life is successful. Max and Afton are soon embroiled in the hunt for the person responsible for Odin's death but will they locate the murderer before he (or she) strikes again?

Since Afton is hoping to eventually become a full-fledged detective, she is eager to help Max with the investigation. She often acts without thinking and in this case, she puts herself right in the path of danger during a suspect chase. Afton is given a lot of leeway as she assists Max but will her impulsivity and personal feelings cloud her judgment as they struggle to solve the case?

With no motive for the murder or a viable suspect, Afton and Max are struggling to make any progress on the case when someone closely connected to Leland disappears. A lack of cooperation by family members and business associates impedes their investigation and they often rely on gut instinct to uncover information. Through hard work, determination and a few lucky breaks, Max and Afton are finally getting close to finding Odin's killers but a motive for the crimes remains elusive.

Since the reader is fully aware of who the bad guys are and what their next move is going to be, there is a distinct lack of tension as Shadow Girl slowly unfolds. Despite the initial lack of knowledge for the perpetrator's somewhat nefarious and violent plot against Odin, it does not take much to deduce the suspect's motive for the crime. In this newest addition to the Afton Tangler Thriller series, the lines between Afton's position with the police force are very blurred since she acts more like a criminal investigator than a family liaison officer. It will be very interesting to see what Gerry Schmitt has planned for her in the future installments of the series.
… (plus d'informations)
1 voter
Signalé
kbranfield | 6 autres critiques | Feb 3, 2020 |

Statistiques

Œuvres
2
Membres
155
Popularité
#135,097
Évaluation
3.8
Critiques
21
ISBN
11
Favoris
1

Tableaux et graphiques