Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
The Lost Ones (also published as All the Pretty Ones in the US) is the first Detective Jackie Cooke procedural thriller by Marnie Riches. Released 7th June 2022, it's 324 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The second book in the series, The Silent Dead, is also currently available on KU.
This is a fundamentally well written and constructed serial-killer police procedural featuring a pregnant detective (should this be a subgenre at this point?) and an ensemble cast of mostly capable multi-ethnic investigators and tech support. The antagonistic boss stereotype is thrown in for dramatic effect. Although trope-y in structure, it's twisty and not completely predictable which was delightful. Fans of gritty procedurals will foresee some of the developments, but almost certainly not all.
The writing is more than competent, and the author does dramatic tension very, very well. Some of the descriptions are fairly graphic. Definitely one for the readers who don't mind vivid descriptions of the aftermath of violent acts.
Four stars. Fans of Jeffrey Deaver, Peter Robinson, and Angela Marsons will find much to like here.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Reviewed by annieb123 on
Reading updates
- 11 March, 2023: Started reading
- 11 March, 2023: Finished reading
- 11 March, 2023: Reviewed