Review: Codebreaker by Jay Martel

Codebreaker

by Jay Martel

Release Date: July 22, 2025

2025 Wednesday Books

Softcover ARC: 384 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250355546

ASIN:  ‎ B0D19JY8MV

Audiobook: B0FKK7G3BT

Genre: Fiction / Thriller / YA

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Mia Hayes has peaceful plans for the summer—find a part-time job at a coffee shop and work on her application for Harvard. Those plans are shattered one night when government agents arrive unannounced at her home seeking something they believe her father has taken. When the dust settles, her mother is dead and her father is gone, a fugitive on the run.

Three weeks later, and still reeling from her father’s betrayal, Mia spends her seventeenth birthday at a protest in the heart of D.C., where she meets Logan, a rebellious and charming hacker. Just as she’s enjoying her first happy moment since the night her world exploded, a voicemail from her father arrives to upend everything she believed about her family, her past, and what really happened that night three weeks ago. Even more, the voicemail hides another encoded message inside which, once Mia solves it, sets her and Logan off on a mission from her sleepy suburb straight into the heart of the federal government.

 

My Thoughts

Codebreaker was a fun YA novel about a girl who discovers her family has secrets, ones in which others are willing to kill over. One night, Mia comes home and her peaceful and innocent existence was shattered, sending her on a birthday hunt that she wasn't expecting, one that could shape the future of her world. I loved the fact I could try to solve the clues with Mia and learn more about some of the codes and the code breakers who created them.

 

Mia was a smart and determined character, but she was also vulnerable having seen her mother die in front of her and knowing her father was on the run for something she wasn't sure he committed. With her world falling apart, she had to try to figure out who she was, but also figure out who her parents actually were. I really liked this aspect of the story as it is always a shock when a child discovers there is so much more to their parents than they thought and Mia's parents were hiding quite a bit; Mia had to rethink everything she knew about her relationship with them. I empathized with her struggle to try to fit this new reality into her current world and to re-discover the love she still had for them despite knowing their flaws and what they were doing as this would not have been easy to do. She would no longer be that innocent young girl she was before this happened, that's for sure.

 

The story took place over a short period of time, but moved along rather quickly. It actually reminded me a bit of the movie National Treasure where the main characters moved from one clue to the next with people trying to kill them every step of the way. I thought the story interwove the historical elements, the code breaking, and the current story quite seamlessly and yes, there were plenty of twists and turns, one of which actually caught me off guard as I wasn't thinking that way at all. However, the twist worked really well and I liked it a lot; it would also make a great discussion question about how well we really know about the people in our lives. Mia's sidekick Logan was a good addition to the story and I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop, but there were secrets there as well, something I enjoyed quite a bit.  

 

Verdict

Codebreaker drew me because of the codes and the idea that I could also be immersed in breaking them, but it was so much more than that. The plot moved along quickly, full of twists and turns, and I enjoyed the historical details that were included throughout the story. Both Logan and Mia were fun characters to follow, but I didn't really feel like the concept of the 'enemies' thoughts and ideals was fully fleshed out and I did think more could have been done with that. However, this was still a fun story and I do recommend it to anyone looking for a quick read and is also fascinated with the concept of code breaking and puzzles. 

 

Review: The Paxton's Tower Murders by Stephen Puleston

The Paxton's Tower Murders (A Detective Caren Waits Mystery, #1)

by Stephen Puleston

Release Date: June 16, 2025

2025 Independently Published

Ebook ARC; 315 Pages

ISBN: 979-8284500903

ASIN: B0FDJ71QB6

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from author

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Detective Inspector Caren Waits was ready to prove herself on her first day in a new job—but she wasn’t expecting a murder. When a small-time drug dealer is found dead near The Paxton’s Tower, Caren is thrown into a case that demands her full attention.

Leading an unfamiliar team, she must prove she has what it takes to command respect and catch a killer.

But when a second body turns up at the same location, Caren knows she’s dealing with someone calculated and ruthless. As the investigation deepens, she finds herself chasing a murderer who always seems one step ahead.

 

My Thoughts

The Paxton's Tower Murders is the first book in a new series by this author and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Having read most of the Inspector Drake series, I was happy to read a new series featuring a character who appeared in the Drake series. Caren was starting her new job in a new town and had barely settled in when she was called out on her first case. I would be quite nervous as well if I were in her shoes and hadn't even had an opportunity to check in, to figure out the layout of where I was working, or to even have met my team, so to say she was a bit uptight and nervous was understandable. 

 

Personally, I liked Caren better in this book than in the Inspector Drake series, but it's only because I got to learn more about her. Because the book is about her, reading her inner thoughts as she juggled motherhood and a demanding job was interesting, and I could relate to her struggles to provide a normal childhood for her son while being exhausted. The fact she was a bit cool to her colleagues did not bother me as she is the boss and understands the importance of a functional team. Considering the mystery surrounding her predecessor, her more distant behaviour was understandable, but she definitely opened up as the book progressed. She was determined, fair, and was able to see the strengths and weaknesses in her team members and use them appropriately. My only question mark with regards to Caren is her behaviour towards her underlings and it is something to which I rolled my eyes constantly: a 'please' and 'thank you' would not be remiss once in a while, and if you want a cup of coffee, get off your tuff and go make it yourself. In many offices, the way that was demanded would land you in a behaviour, aka manners and DEI training, course. To me, that speaks of a lack of confidence in yourself to be a leader; there's a way to do without being a jerk.

 

The plot itself had many twists and turns and was quite interesting. The murder investigation itself was done in such a way as to introduce people who lived in the community, people we will probably see in future books, so I liked that a lot. There was also a secondary story woven through the narrative, that of Karen's husband who died in an accident a year ago. That one did not resolve itself in this book, but it definitely made me curious as to know what happened. The investigation did allow Caren to grow as a character and to connect better with her team, something I definitely enjoyed. While the ending was rushed, it was still satisfactory.

 

Verdict

The Paxton's Tower Murders was a strong start to a new series and I enjoyed both the character and the plot development. It is well written and I liked the descriptions of the Welsh landscape and some of the background information the author provided. And as a I mentioned above, while I enjoyed Caren's character development, there were some things that did not sit well with me with regards to how she treated her team so hopefully that is all part of her future character development and now displaying how a leader should behave towards one's team. All in all, the mystery and investigation were fun, and I will be reading the next book in this series. 

 

Review: Difficult Girls by Veronica Bane

Difficult Girls

by Veronica Bane

Release Date: July 8, 2025

2025 Delacorte Press

Ebook ARC; 336 Pages

ISBN: 978-0593903988

ASIN:  ‎ B0DJQBYC7F

Audiobook: B0DJWJJWCT

Genre: Fiction / YA / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

After the incident last year, Greta Riley Green is looking for reinvention, a fresh start, a chance to run away from the many secrets she’s suddenly hiding. When fate pulls Greta into the orbit of Mercy Goodwin, star of the park’s most popular show, it feels like things are looking up. Beautiful and confident, Mercy dazzles audiences daily. And Mercy has a secret to share, if Greta will just meet her at lunch the next day. 

Only, when the time comes, Mercy is a no-show—as she is every day after that. She just stops coming to work. Greta knows something is wrong. She can’t help thinking back to the night of the party. Did Mercy seem upset? Terrified, even? Could she be in trouble? It wouldn’t be the first time a talented young performer came to a sinister end at Hyper Kid. . . .

 

My Thoughts

Difficult Girls is one of those books where I enjoyed the second half of the book far more than I enjoyed the first half, and I will be honest, I almost DNF the book halfway through. I'm glad I did persevere though, as I was curious to know what happened to Mercy and how everything would tie together at the end. I do have to say however, that Greta is probably one of the most annoying FMC that I have come across in quite a while and is the main reason why I almost put this book aside.

 

This story is set in an amusement park and I always like a setting like this as there is so much scope for imagination and for something to go terribly wrong. The mystery itself was rather intriguing and I did enjoy how it unfolded and how the unsolved murder from the past tied into the present-day one. There were lots of twists and turns, even if some of them were quite predictable, and I liked how it all unfolded. Naturally, there were a lot of things that were coincidences and where you just had to accept that they happened even if they were not quite believable, but I chose to go with them and just enjoyed the ride. Yes, there was a general tendency to over-explain concepts and it could, at times, be repetitive, but the writing style was clear and it did flow very well.

 

Now we come to an area with which I had problems, the character development. First of all, I really did not like the main character, Greta. Sorry, but no wonder she got herself into so much trouble in the past as her judgment skills are so incredibly poor I just wanted to shake her through most of the book. Let me explain. So, here's this guy she met , no SAW, maybe twice, and she had already convinced herself how great he was, how perfect he was, how he would never treat anyone poorly like she had been treated in the past, how he was just so, so, so NICE, and he was going to be hers. And it just goes on and on. For a guy she said maybe three words to and maybe had seen twice.  And then there's this other guy who she judges harshly because someone has a nickname for him that she misinterprets, and it becomes so repetitive in her thoughts it's what almost made me DNF. Honestly, I've seen this technique used in writing in other books to use as red herrings and it simply does not work; in fact, it seems like a sloppy way of trying to throw off a reader and create an unreliable narrator. Because of this, there was not a lot of room left to develop any of the secondary characters which affects any empathy shown for their situations. The character development was a bit of a mess. It also created a situation where I was rolling my eyes every time Greta had any space for inner monologues. So juvenile!! 

 

Verdict

Difficult Girls actually had a strong mystery behind it so there was no need to create an unreliable narrator, one whose judgment skills were so poor it became cringeworthy. The clues were interesting and I enjoyed how the mystery unfolded as well as how it tied to the one from the past, and it was believable. The character development was lacking however, and the FMC was in dire need of help. I don't mind flawed and vulnerable characters at all, but she was silly. Did she redeem herself in the last quarter of the book? Yes, a bit, as she realized she was putting her own wishes into people, but it was not enough to really make her likable. With that being said though, I would read another book by this author as I thought the mystery was strong and I did like some of the other characters.  

 

Review: House of Ash and Bone by Joel A. Sutherland

House of Ash and Bone

by Joel A. Sutherland

Release Date: July 1st, 2025 (First published September 2023)

2025 Tundra Books

Softcover ARC; 344 Pages

ISBN: 978-1774881002

ASIN: B0BP6P5VKY

Audiobook: B0BPMZSPX6

Genre: Fiction / YA / Horror

Source: Review copy from publisher 

 

3 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Seventeen-year-old Josephine Jagger is a talented writer with special abilities she doesn't fully understand. Over the years she has developed methods to cope with the voices she hears in her head, but the old house her family has inherited in Vermont makes Josephine question what's real and what's not more than anything she's ever encountered before. It's filled with shadows, and whispers, and the unshakable feeling of being watched. Josephine then catches her first glimpse of a shadowy woman with long hair, pale skin, and impossibly wide smile and hollow pits for eyes. Her name is Dorcas, the ghost of a witch who died three hundred years ago. She has summoned the family to Vermont to ensnare them — then consume them — in order to rise from the grave and live again . . .

 

My Thoughts

House of Ash and Bone was an entertaining read, but I think it really misses the mark when it comes to horror as well as intentions. There were quite a few themes running through it, ones that were rather interesting, but when you have too many of them, none of them get explored into any depth so the overall story seems rather superficial. I also really wished that Josephine didn't have any 'magical' powers as I think it would have made this much more compelling as it wouldn't have relied so much on her abilities and it would have been a spookier setting for her and her family. Relying on 'magic' kind of downplays the horror element for me.

 

So let's talk about Josephine. How do you like the reference to Little Women, something I think was done on purpose. I think this author is a fan so I kind of like that idea. Maybe someone should write a horror novel based on those women, but I digress.  I rather liked Josephine as a main character. She was determined, smart, sincere, and loyal to her sisters.  Because of her ability to hear the thoughts of others and see things when she is dreaming, she is the only one to realize something was not right in the house. The pantry is always stocked with food, their personal bedrooms are stocked with everything they personally desire, and all their needs are met without them remembering a thing about how it happened, except for Jo. Josephine is the clearest character as the other ones seemed to move in a more dreamlike state, something that was done deliberately to show the reader something clearly was wrong. While I didn't necessarily mind the way this was done, it did make character development for the rest of the characters to be rather difficult and honestly, I couldn't tell you their names if my life depended on it at this point.

 

The story itself is well-paced and the haunting atmosphere is definitely there in the setting as you have this old decrepit house with a forest that has a reputation for being haunted surrounding it. There are ghostly apparitions and things that go bump in the night. The family constantly forgets what they were doing and why. So, all the elements are definitely there. However, the execution felt stilted and while there were some nice twists and turns, something else would destroy the tension that was being built up, either some dialogue that didn't quite match what was happening or something else. In fact, the dialogue pulled me out of the story a few times and I had to re-immerse myself into it to get a feel for the haunting atmosphere again and again. I do think the author likes the classics as well as fairy tales though, as I was definitely getting vibes of Hansel and Gretel from this book. In fact, lots of Grimm's fairy tale references were peppered throughout the book and I had fun looking for them.

 

Verdict

House of Ash and Bone was a story that kept me entertained even if there were issues with execution and character development. I've already mentioned that I liked the main character, but I did think her behaviour was inconsistent for a seventeen-year-old girl and it didn't help that the character development for the other characters was almost non-existent. The twists and turns were fun, if predictable, but I have to say though, that I really liked that ending as it was the highlight of the book for me.  If you like stories set in eerie locales with an atmosphere, then I suggest giving this one a go. 

 

 

Review: Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall

Death at the White Hart

by Chris Chibnall

Release Date: June 10, 2025

2025 Pamela Dorman Books

Hardcover ARC; 340 Pages

ISBN: 978-1593831571

ASIN: B0D3C3JDMT

Audiobook: B0DJH8VWLT

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3.5 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Nothing keeps a village together like secrets.

A man is found dead, tied to a chair in the middle of the road, with a stag’s antler’s on his head. The gruesome scene stuns the town, especially when they learn that it is Jim Tiernan, owner of the White Hart pub, who has been found murdered. Is it a personal vendetta, or something more macabre? Tierney’s pub is at the center of village life and he knew everyone’s secrets.

Detective Nicola Bridge grew up in Fleetcombe, and has been craving a juicy case ever since she moved back from the big city. DC Harry Ward is ten years younger, and their partnership is somehow stronger, and more satisfying even than her marriage. Together, they are determined to crack the storybook façade to find out just what the people of Fleetcombe have to hide.

 

My Thoughts

Death at the White Hart definitely had a lot going for it with an intriguing mystery, interesting and quirky characters, a setting that was picturesque, and it was fairly easy to read. I don't typically read something based off recommendations of 'he wrote this...' and 'she penned this...', but fell into this trap just by that one word 'Broadchurch'. I should really know better as I think it set my expectations a bit too high. So, while all the elements of a really good story were there, the execution did not work for me.

 

In a mystery like this, I usually tend to prefer the investigative side of the narrative so while I had my quibbles with Nicola and crew, I did find this part more interesting. Nicola had some personal issues to deal with as she negotiated the case and I liked her first officer, even if his theories got a bit wild and funny. Seeing his enthusiasm was a breath of fresh air and as he worked hard to impress Nicola, and she took the time to push him back to facts and figures, focusing on the reality of the investigation and away from the fantastical, something which could be easy to do if one were not careful. It was a good way to introduce the reader to local legends and I do enjoy this kind of thing. I didn't particularly like Nicola at the beginning of the book, but she did grow on me as the story unfolded. However, I will say this over and over again, stop using personal issues to excuse bad behaviour on the job. Having issues at home does not give one license to treat your subordinates like s&**. 

 

But while I did enjoy the dialogue and the back-and-forth between the characters, I don't think the multiple POV worked very well in this book as it gave too much information away to the reader. I don't know about other readers, but I pretty much figured out the culprit within the first POV chapter and I had to grind my teeth through some of these other similar chapters that felt like filler; when a reader is led along by the nose like a good little puppy to the water bowl with all the answers in it, more than once in case you missed it the first time, you know you have a problem. Let us figure it out ourselves. Don't tell us, but show us through your writing and dialogue what happened.  

 

Verdict

Death at the White Hart had some positive elements to the story and I definitely like the setting. However, I did think the multiple POV destroyed the tension of the story and gave away too much information, to the point where it was easy to figure out the culprit. While it was an okay read, it was kind of tropey and relied a lot on misunderstanding to proper the story forward, including many repetitive actions.  Overall, this was an average murder mystery. 

 

Review: The One and Only Vivian Stone by Melissa O'Connor

The One and Only Vivian Stone

by Melissa O'Connor

Release Date: July 22, 2025

2025 Gallery Books

Ebook ARC; 368 Pages

ISBN; 978-1668074831

ASIN: B0DHV4MQJS

Audiobook: B0DYQDZGXD

Genre: Fiction / Historical 

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

After her grandmother’s death, thirty-something Margot DuBois prepares to sell the house quickly so she can go back to her predictable life in Santa Barbara. But while cleaning out the attic, she comes across eight unlabeled cassette tapes. Unable to use the damaged tape player, she calls in a favor from Leo—her first love and first epic heartbreak—and they strike a deal: he’ll fix the player if he can hear what’s on the tapes. When they manage to listen, the two are shocked to hear the voice of comedic legend Vivian Stone. Why did she record these tapes and how did Margot’s grandmother get them?

Between listening to Vivian recount everything from her forbidden love for Hollywood’s leading actor, to working under a misogynistic exec, to her chemistry with her costar-turned-husband on TV, Margot and Leo fall down a memory lane of their own. Margot is inspired by Vivian’s tenacity and courage to keep fighting for the life she wants, but everything changes when Vivian reveals a secret from her past in this moving exploration of how it’s never too late to start over. 

 

My Thoughts

The One and Only Vivian Stone is one of those books that surprised me by the emotional impact it had on me while I was reading. I wasn't expecting to become as involved in Vivian's life as I did and I really rooted for her as her story unfolded. I'm still not a fan of the dual-timelines and I personally did not like Margot's story in the present, but I thoroughly enjoyed Vivian's story and wanted to know more after the tapes concluded.  

 

The strength of this book for me was definitely Vivian's character development. She went from a naive ingenue to someone who realized her worth in comedic acting, but needed to learn her strengths and weaknesses as she took on more demanding acting roles. I loved how she really wanted to be a dramatic actress and went through the withdrawal of realizing she just wasn't capable of pulling off roles like that only to realize her worth as a comedic actress and how those roles were just as important. 

 

Vivian was a remarkably complex person who struggled with the ambitious side to her personality with the woman who wanted love and a family. Like I've mentioned, she was ambitious and strong-willed, but she was also vulnerable and quite loyal to her friends and family. I don't even think I realized how skillfully the author created a more polished mature version of Vivian as she became successful in Hollywood from the naive woman in her earlier years.  I was also impressed with the way Vivian's romantic relationships were developed as we saw one that was more shallow in nature and one that was more in-depth. Both relationships were well-done and I appreciated how a person can love two people in a different way, one from a place of healing and one from a place of friendship.  When one became toxic, it was still done with respect and understanding, coming from a traumatic place in Vivian's past. 

 

I wasn't overly impressed with Margot's character arc, but it could simply be there was not enough time given to her to really develop her character the way Vivian's was developed. I just did not emphasize with her situation and I found her defensive all of the time.  

 

The plot wound itself around the characters and their development, but it was quite deceptive in nature. It dealt with a lot of serious themes such as sexual harassment in Hollywood, the misogyny that existed, and the control over actors' lives. The meticulous research that went into this book highlighted the difficulty of actors when they were bound to contracts with studios and literally had no personal rights and were told who to date and if they could even have children. It even delves into the topic of the drug abuse and how the actors were forced to take uppers/downers, diet pills, etc...Women's lack of control as well as lack of contribution to screen writing and directing was also a big theme running through the book. 

 

Verdict

The One and Only Vivian Stone was a very surprising and fascinating book. I think the author tried to honour the glamour of Hollywood, but also wanted to highlight the difficulties of being a star during the 1950s and how much the glamour actually hid. Actors didn't have freedom to do their own thing and were always afraid of losing their contracts, and the complexities of navigating the harassment during this time period for women were done delicately, but didn't downplay the seriousness of what was happening.  I did think the end of the story was a bit disappointing however, and didn't quite fit with the rest of the story. I also thought Margot's story felt more like something the author threw in as a way to tell Vivian's story; therefore, I do feel like this book didn't really need the dual timeline. 

 

Review: The House at Devil's Neck by Tom Mead

The House at Devil's Neck (A Spector Locked-Room Mystery, #4)

by Tom Mead

Release Date: July 15, 2025

2025 Mysterious Press

Ebook ARC; 320 Pages

ISBN: 978-1613166505

ASIN: B0DL3N8PFL

Audiobook: B0FFWXJN4C

Genre: Fiction / Historical / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

An apparent suicide in a London townhouse uncannily mirrors a similar incident from twenty-five years ago, prompting Scotland Yard's George Flint to delve deep into the past in search of the solution to a long-forgotten mystery.

Meanwhile, Joseph Spector travels with a coach party through the rainy English countryside to visit an allegedly haunted house on a lonely island called Devil’s Neck. The house, first built by a notorious alchemist and occultist, was later used as a field hospital in the First World War before falling into disrepair. The visitors hold a seance to conjure the spirit of a long-dead soldier. But when a storm floods the narrow causeway connecting Devil’s Neck to the mainland, they find themselves stranded in the haunted house. Before long, the guests begin to die one by one, and it seems that the only possible culprit is the phantom soldier.

 

My Thoughts

The House at Devil's Neck naturally caught my attention as it's a locked-room mystery at an atmospheric home with a history of hauntings and other to-dos. We've also go all of the usual things happening with secrets, mysterious connections between characters, seances, haunting, more secrets, locked-room mysteries, bad weather, and a house with atmosphere. What could you not love about it?

 

Well, as it turns out, a plot that becomes too convoluted can actually make you roll your eyes and rethink how much you are enjoying a book. To be fair, I really enjoyed the first half of the book and enjoyed trying to keep up with twists and turns as they occurred. For someone who has read a lot of these things, there were some things that I just expected to happen, and they did, but those things didn't lower my pleasure when the characters discovered these things. It's hard to explain without actually giving away important plot points to the story, so I'll just say that some of the plot points were actually predictable, expected, but didn't remove you from the story. However, when things get too complicated to try to throw off a reader, then you have a problem. And it's too bad as most of the story was interesting. However, when things just start getting too fanciful for me, I start rolling my eyes, and this is what happened. Too many ridiculous explanations for x, y, and z. 

 

Spector is definitely an intriguing character though, and I really enjoyed how he picked apart the theories the others had regarding the murders.  Because the author tries really hard to capture the atmosphere of an Agatha Christie novel, something that is definitely not easy to do, I do have to commend him for reminding me of those novels quite often. And I like the fact the author states that the reader has all the facts they need to solve the puzzle on their own if they can. And I did, even if I didn't quite have all the facts down pat. So that was fun. The other characters were unique in their own ways and I enjoyed their quirks and foibles very much. 

 

Verdict

The House at Devil's Neck was really enjoyable for the first half of the book, but sabotaged itself in the second half by becoming too convoluted with some ridiculous explanations. And I love convoluted story lines. The quirky characters were fun and I enjoyed how they interacted with each other and how they all eventually interconnected. I did think the ending was a bit unsatisfying, but overall I enjoyed this book.  

 

Review: How They Were Taken by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

How They Were Taken (Jenna Wyatt, #1)

by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

Release Date: July 8, 2025

2025 Severn River Publishing

Ebook ARC; 292 Pages

ISBN: 978-1648756320

ASIN: B0DFHNFGDH

Audiobook:  B0FCGCQ4C1

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Jenna Wyatt thought she'd left her demons behind when she traded her GBI badge for a private detective's license. But when a desperate mother's plea echoes the unsolved mystery of Jenna's own missing sister, she's pulled into a labyrinth of deceit spanning decades.

Reluctantly partnering with Jack Parks, a magnetic ex-NCIS investigator, Jenna probes into Atlanta's underbelly, uncovering a chilling pattern of abductions and murders. As they peel back layers of lies, Jenna and Jack find themselves trapped in a deadly game where every revelation brings them closer to danger—and to the ghosts Jenna has spent a lifetime trying to outrun.

With lives hanging in the balance, Jenna must confront her darkest fears and how much is she willing to sacrifice for the truth?

 

My Thoughts

How They Were Taken is the first book in a planned series featuring ex-GBI Jenna Wyatt. The reasons she left the force and turned to private investigation were interesting and definitely kept me intrigued throughout the book.  And while I found the plot to be fascinating, it was really Jenna's trauma that was the highlight of the book as the author wrote about it so well and how it affected her throughout her life. But not only throughout the years, but how it was also shaping her thoughts and decisions today, including her relationships and how she formed bonds with people. 

 

Jenna was a complicated person who definitely had a lot of character development throughout the book. She could be annoying at times as she often made decisions based on emotions rather than on hard core facts, but the author didn't excuse her behaviour nor her poor choices and blame them on the trauma, she just highlighted how the trauma could make a person make choices that are not always solid ones.  Jenna definitely had to suck it up a few times and apologize which is something I liked. What I also really liked about this book was how the author didn't make Jenna out to be a superhero, running all over town looking up leads on only 3 hours of sleep in 72 hours. Okay, I am exaggerating, but not by much. Jenna was often exhausted, dealing with the emotional complications of the case, and I really liked that about her. It made her feel approachable and I could empathize with her situation.

 

The plot itself was also rather good. Dealing with the kidnapping of her younger sister all those years ago, investigating the kidnapping of another young girl was bringing back all of those emotions and feelings all over again. The plot did move along quickly and the twists and turns kept you guessing as to who was the culprit. 

 

Verdict

How They Were Taken was quite good, and if you are a fan of main characters who are suffering from traumatic events, then this one is for you. The plot moved along quickly and the author was rather adept at intertwining the story and the character development. While this book focused more on Jenna's story, I am looking forward to learning more about the other characters in future books. I did feel that the ending was rushed however, something that left me feeling a bit disappointed considering the high level of tension in the rest of the book. I am looking forward to reading the following books in this series when they is released in November 2025 and April 2026.