First Girl Gone - (Detective Charlotte Winters) by L T Vargus & Tim McBain (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Down the beach, she can just make out the rusting hulk of the Ferris wheel through the dawn mist. The hairs prickle on her neck as she drags her focus back to the chestnut hair fanned out in the shallow water at her feet, to the grains of sand decorating the beautiful girl's white cheeks like freckles.

Private Detective Charlie Winters never thought she'd find herself back on Salem Island, but she's forced home re-open the wound that never healed: her sister was abducted from the small town when they were teenagers.

For Charlie, her sister's voice in her head--pushing her to risk everything to seek justice for the innocent--is a painful and constant reminder of what she lost. And never has that voice been louder than when a family friend comes to Charlie begging for help to find her missing daughter, Kara.

Searching Kara's messy, poster-covered bedroom, Charlie finds more questions than answers. Did Kara run away, or was she snatched? She's clearly been keeping secrets from her family--but don't all teenagers?

A little black matchbook hidden in a jewellery box is Charlie's only lead, but the seedy nightclub it comes from proves to be nothing but a dangerous dead end. Until Charlie is approached by a second distraught mother whose daughter has also vanished.

Forced at every turn to relive the trauma she ran away from, Charlie's blood runs cold when a girl's body is discovered in the exact spot on the water's edge where the last trace of her sister was found. It's clear someone is taunting Charlie, but with other innocent girls' lives at risk, she has no choice but to take the bait...

An absolutely unputdownable crime thriller that will leave you gasping for breath. Fans of Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni and Lisa Regan will need to sleep with the lights on!

Readers adore First Girl Gone:

'Leaves you on the edge of your seat until the wee hours of the morning. Kept me enthralled from cover to cover. Heart-stopping suspense.' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

'A great start to a new series. It is a true page turner and I was truly blind-sided by the reveal. Lots of potential and promise in this series.' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

'Wow...This is so much better than the majority of crime books out there. Suspenseful, engrossing... All of the characters are believable... I want to read the next one please pretty please.' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

'Stylish, taut and addictive... One of the masterpieces of 2020... I was drawn in from the very first word... kept me hooked until I read its wonderful and satisfying ending. I completed it in one night.' NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars

'Stayed up far too late devouring this absolutely gripping and unputdownable crime thriller... I absolutely cannot wait to read more... kept on the edge of my seat... there's absolutely no way I could've predicted where this was going. This is extremely well-written and fast-paced... completely addicted to this book
. A definite five star read.' Little Miss Book Lover 87, 5 stars