I wanted to read a mystery to read and thought this would be the one. It was slow moving and in 3 days I only got to page 60 or so. Decided to not finish it and torture myself. The plot was good overall and her dead sarcastic sister who was always with her was hysterically funny for a "ghost" or whatever you want to call her.

I did read the end of the book and figured as much as what was going to happen. ( )

First Gone Girl by L.T. Vargus & Tim McBain
Charlotte Winters #1

Charlotte “Charlie” Winters is back in her childhood home after almost a decade away. Her reason for being there is not fully given but there are inklings provided. At first, reading the synopsis, I thought that Charlie was a police detective, but she is really more of a private investigator and has been for several years in Seattle before returning home. She is currently working in her Uncle Frank’s private investigation office and has mixed feelings about being back in Michigan.

The prologue sets the stage for the missing persons case, The next chapter had me quickly pondering who the characters were and how they would impact the case Charlie will ultimately agree to pursue. The missing person case Charlie accepts soon triggers memories of her past and the loss of her twin sister, provides interaction with old friends from high school, provides flashbacks to past events in her life, provides information related to Charlie’s backstory, and ultimately provides an intriguing thriller with a bad guy to catch in hopes of saving a young girl’s life.

What I liked:
* Charlie: an interesting character with an interest in seeking to provide recompense or justice for victims.
* Not knowing what to think of Allie and her relationship with Charlie
* Learning more about Charlie’s backstory although I believe there is much more to learn
* Zoe: I hope to see more of her in the future as she and Charlie work cases that overlap
* Uncle Frank: I charmer with a bit of a rough edge – do hope he is there for many more books in the series
* Will: I would like to hear more about him. He seems to be a lawyer dedicated to his clients’ best interests
* The twists and turns that occurred in the pursuit of the kidnapper-murderer
* Some of the red herrings – there was more than one
* Reading a story that introduced me to new authors
* knowing that there will be a book two to look forward in the future

What I did not like:
* Knowing that such crimes occur more often than we would like to believe
* Amber’s parents
* The double standard related to bending the law that Charlie had depending on whether it was her or someone else doing the bending
* Knowing I will have to wait awhile to find out what happens next

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series/by these authors? Definitely

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars ( )