Count to Three

by T.R. Ragan

For a private investigator on the trail of a missing girl, every second counts in a gripping thriller by New York Times bestselling author T.R. Ragan.

On her first day of kindergarten, five-year-old Tinsley disappeared without a trace…

Five agonizing years later, her divorced mother, Dani Callahan, is a private investigator. She and Quinn Sullivan, a promising young assistant determined to prove herself, are devoted to helping others find missing loved ones. And for Dani, finding Tinsley is still a never-ending obsession.

Their newest case is Ali Cross, a teenager who vanished off a Sacramento street while walking home. A troubled boy’s eyewitness testimony to Ali’s abduction provides their only clues. And as their search for Ali gets underway, new information about Tinsley’s disappearance begins to surface too.

As their investigations lead down two twisting paths, disturbing secrets are revealed and new victims find themselves in mortal danger. Time is running out, and the hunt is only getting grimmer.

• ISBN10: 1542093945
• ISBN13: 9781542093941
• Publish Date: 14 December 2021
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Thomas & Mercer
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 284
• Language: English

Reviews

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. In a lot of ways it was great, exactly what I was after - kidnappings, detective work, some killer moves to defeat the bad guys, etc. In other ways it was kind of a mess. It started out fairly solid - if not a little lame. Dani was kind of bland and some of the investigation was just dumb. The whole thing with Frank was insane. Why wouldn't she have placed the cameras herself to start with? Wasn't that the whole point? It just seemed like she made some dumbass decisions with her investigation - and yes, she recognises her mistake but it also just made her look incompetent.

Ali was interesting. She seemed a pretty stereotypical victim to start with but she had some real moments of brilliance. I loved her plan to unseal the utility bill and slip in her note. And I adored her use of the mother's bones to make a weapon - it was fkn brutal and it was awesome. I only wish she had of actually stabbed him with it instead of tasing him. On the other hand... I was annoyed Dylan was killed. I wanted Ali to escape and reunite with Dylan and live happily ever after. This was the same problem I had with Ragan's [b:Abducted|13765729|Abducted (Lizzy Gardner, #1)|T.R. Ragan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446520793l/13765729._SY75_.jpg|16544641] when she kills off the love interest I liked. Ragan never hesitates to kill off characters and frankly it's always a hit or miss for me - I either totally respect it or absolutely hate it.

I liked Quinn and I loved Ethan. Although like Dani, Quinn made some fkn dumb decisions. Her entire plan to run into the house was just plain stupid. Why not tase him unconscious before planning the rescue? Or wait until Dani is in place to watch him or something? I loved Ethan's dedication to helping and being Ali's only hope. I did like the portrayal that detective work is checking minor details and being persistent but it was lost between the ridiculousness of the rest of their investigating.

I did like that all the crimes were wrapped up. But it also happened a bit too abruptly. It was just like - need to end this book, okay this this and this is how it went, the end. As far as the motive for the kidnapping I have so many problems. It made practically no sense whatsoever. Why did Rebecca/Hattie kidnap Tinsey? What was the point? To anger Matthew? It was just weak. Add to that Matthew knows and never bothers to mention it? Also weak. Thinking his daughter had died but actually lived and he buried some other girl was just insane. Your mistress kidnaps your daughter and the daughter dies and you get handed a body and just decide to bury it? What? Why? He hadn't done anything wrong - affairs aren't actually illegal - so why not just take Tinsey and go home? Why not just call the cops? There was no reasoning for not calling the cops at that point. And then - so Tinsey lives and Matthew never knows. Fine I guess. But what the fk is Rebecca/Hattie doing with her? Why keep her? What's the point? Just to look after her? Did she want a kid? Did she kidnap for profit? None of it really made any sense.

So I'm conflicted. I enjoyed reading it. I liked most of the characters. The plot was messy but it hit most of all the right points of kidnapped daughter, missing person crime books. It was let down by the motives but overall it was a decent read. 3 stars.