First Girl Gone: An absolutely addictive crime thriller with a twist (Detective Charlotte Winters, #1) (Charlotte Winters, #1)

by L T Vargus and Tim McBain

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… 

• ISBN10: 1838888330
• ISBN13: 9781838888336
• Publish Date: 18 September 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Bookouture
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[Emma (SCR)]

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Bookouture for my copy of this book via Netgalley and for letting me take part in this tour. I love a good detective novel so I was excited to read this story.
Charlotte Winters is a private detective, usually, I read police procedurals but, in all honesty,, there wasn’t too much difference. Yes, Charlotte could break the rules more than the police but most of the time the rules get broken anyway! I really liked Charlie. She’s been through a terrible ordeal in her life and to continue on through that is quite remarkable.
The case of missing girls Kara and Amber is full of dead ends. I was so stumped. There were lots of red herrings and leads that went nowhere. I could really feel Charlie’s frustration too.
The book was full of action and was very fast-paced. The last 30% or so somehow seemed to get faster. I was right on the edge through the last few chapters. I felt every step, every movement every heartbeat of Charlie’s. The danger felt so real.
This is the first book I have read by these authors but it certainly won’t be the last. It was so easy to become absorbed and forget your surroundings. I felt like I was right there with Charlie. I am looking forward to seeing this series progress.