This book was a page-turner!! It was especially interesting to learn something about kayaking but also about social influencers and the uproar they are capable of creating. The legalities around inheritance were also well explained and very interesting. Not to mention the power of 'The Cloud' and how it can keep all of our secrets forever! A fascinating read. ( )

Disclosure: I won a copy of this book in a LibraryThing giveaway. I very much enjoyed this book as another recent new foray into crime novels. The characters were realistic, everything seemed plausible (not to mention it felt very fresh), and it kept me guessing. I'd highly recommend this. Only reason I'm giving it 4 out of 5 stars as there seemed to be multiple denouement moments that didn't seem germane to the actual plot; I basically didn't understand why they were there. Aside from that, however, I enjoyed the hunt of the story and will look for other books by this author. ( )

Jodé Millman’s Queen City Crimes Mystery series is set in Poughkeepsie, NY, the Queen City of the Hudson River Valley. The series uses local true crime stories as a framework to explore the complicated relationship that has evolved between two childhood friends. The friendship of police detective Ebony Jones and criminal defense attorney Jessie Martin is threatened when their professional lives place them on opposite sides of the law. In The Empty Kayak, the third book in the series, Ebony and Jessie are brought back together when Ebony discovers that the person missing in the Hudson River is Jessie’s ex-boyfriend Kyle Emory and the father of her daughter Lillie. During the investigation, the conflict between Jessie and Ebony intensifies when they decide to withhold crucial information from each other rather than work together to solve the case. Throughout the book, Ebony and Jessie struggle to reestablish their friendship, maintain their professional boundaries, and deal with everyday challenges at work and at home while trying to find out what happened to Kyle and bring closure to his family and friends.

As a police procedural, the book is well-researched, well-written, and filled with details about the investigation: analysis of the crime scene, questioning of likely suspects, interviews of expert witnesses, examination of possible financial motives, and discussion of the influence of social media. By casting Kyle as the missing person in her rendition of a true crime straight from the depths of the Hudson River, Millman quickly embeds the case into the series narrative she has developed about Ebony and Jessie. Millman strategically expands the cast of characters beyond those involved in the true crime to introduce alternative scenarios and deepen the mystery surrounding Kyle’s disappearance. With the help of modern technology, Millman devises an ingenious plot twist that would have been welcomed by those who investigated the true crime. Millman has successfully transformed a true crime story into a modern-day mystery while helping her characters move forward with their lives until the next installment of the Queen City Crimes Mystery series. ( )

I really did love this book! It took me a second to get into but once I got into it, I just could not stop. I was constantly wondering how the killer was and who they would catch them. I loved the twists and turns in this book and the realness of the facts and education in this book shows just how much work the author put into the book. I loved the relationship between detectives Zander and Ebony and I need to go back to see more of their adventures!

The last section of this book was so hard to put down. I was bursting with curiosity as to how they would find and convict the killer. I had tears in my eyes during the last several pages and I just love how it ended. would recommend to anyone!

Thank you to LibraryThing and Jodé Millman for allowing me to read the Empty Kayak! I cant wait for other great reads for Jodé! ( )

This book kept me reading long after I should have stopped. I thought the twists and turns were believable, and the science of kayaking and rivers authentic. I can't decide if the perpetrator seemed too evil to believe, but most of the characters rang true. I will definitely go back and read the previous books in the series. ( )