| Title | : | The Sound of Rain (Nicole Foster Thriller, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 350 |
| Publication | : | First published December 13, 2016 |
The Sound of Rain (Nicole Foster Thriller, #1) Reviews
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4.5 Stars
This was my first Gregg Olsen read and it won't be my last. After reading the blurb for "The Sound of Rain" I was really looking forward to reading this novel.
The book starts in present day. Nicole Foster's life is off the rails. Once an investigator with the Bellevue PD now she's jobless, homeless and full of shame as she begs her sister to let her stay with her. Her sister, Stacy seems to be enjoying shredding any last bit of self-esteem Nicole has as she tells her that she has to hit rock bottom and help herself. She says Nicole can stay one night before going to the shelter.
Nicole was never one to upset the balance and usually lets herself be led by the men in her life. This probably stems from the fact that their mom left town they were little. Nicole was terrified their dad would leave too so she tried to be perfect. She took take of her little sister, making sure she had everything she needed. Stacy doesn't seem to appreciate all that her sister did for her. She comes across very entitled and appears to revel in her sister's pain.
Nicole doesn't need her sister to tell her she has a problem with gambling, she knows she's addicted. Even with everything going on, she feels the pull of the casino. Just wants to sit at her favorite slot machine and just forget everything.
We learn about the case that started Nicole's unraveling. A little girl goes missing from Target two days before Christmas. Little Kelsey Chase is only three years old.
Right away you can see that Angela Chase is not an average mother. She's acting very strange. Usually the mothers of missing children are inconsolable, frantic, and desperate. But Angela Chase doesn't seem very concerned about Kelsey. Is she in shock or is there something else going on? Julian Chase is the father and is much more concerned about what's happened to his daughter.
Angela starts to avoid everyone, including the investigators. She says she's told them everything she knows. But Nicole is positive she's not telling them something....even the father seems suspicious. He gives some insight into his marriage and his wife. It's enlightening to say the least.
Nicole's partner Danny is the acting lead in the investigation unit. Nicole and Danny are also in a relationship, though it's a toxic one. Danny is a narcissist and Nicole knows he's no good for her. He's controlling and rarely takes Nicole's opinion into account. However, if she comes up with something good he's quick to take credit for it.
The investigation continues and focus turns to a registered sex offender named Alan Dawson. Alan is on the sex offenders list. When he was 17 he had sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend (who was 2 weeks away from turning 16). Danny becomes fixated on Alan, but Nicole is hesitant to pin it on him. What he was convicted of was a far cry from kidnapping a child.
But Danny is like a dog with a bone and pretty much flat-out refuses to investigate anyone else. After some shoddy police work on Danny's part, the case goes sideways and falls apart. Nicole is swept up in the mess and is suddenly out of a job.
Nicole has definitely hit bottom. But she never stops thinking about little Kelsey. When she crosses paths with Kelsey's father, Julian she is pulled back in and decides to investigate on her own. But with this case nothing is what it seems. As Nicole continues to investigate she makes some rather shocking discoveries. But just when she thinks she's on the right track to figuring things out, something comes up that takes the case on a whole different path.
So far someone has gotten away with murder....but who?
"The Sound of Rain" was a really intriguing read. The authors descriptions of a gambling addict and addiction in general felt very realistic.
"I miss the lights of the casino, the blank stares of anticipation on the faces of the players lined up in front of the machines that offer the potential to change their lives. We were all escapees. Whatever had brought us to our favorite chair, our favorite game, at 2:00 a.m. had never been about winning. It was always about getting away from the lives we were living before we were swept up inside the open doors of the casino."
I thought most of the characters were well drawn ...flaws and all. We see the dysfunctional love/hate relationships between lovers and family members and how they related to each other. Nicole was once a fearless cop but she allowed people in her personal relationships to treat her with such disrespect. But the reader can see she's determined to change that.
Perhaps a bit far-fetched at times but it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the book. The twists and turns were interesting and kept me reading. I HAD to know what happened to Kelsey. I really had no idea where the book was going and was shocked at how it all came together. Once I was a few chapters in, it became very hard to put down the book.
I am definitely looking forward to more from this author.
Thank you NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Gregg Olsen for providing an advanced readers copy of this book for me to read in exchange for my honest review. -
I am now a fan of Gregg Olson. This is my first book by him and it is very well written. I now want to devour myself into all of his books.
This book is a very chilling dark tale, with gripping suspense. Nicole has made more mistakes than she cares to admit. She has lost her career as a detective. She is a lost soul. She has hit rock bottom, she has an addiction to gambling. The kidnapping and death of a little girl haunts her above these things.
The investigation involves a local Target store. The surrounding neighborhood is a trailer park. It is a rainy December day which shows the symbolism of the title of the book. The truth is shocking and hurtful, yet Nicole once again rises above to what is right and just not for only Kelsey but others. This is a compelling mystery full of twists and turns.
I love these kind of dark and exciting but not gory or gruesome mysteries. This book deals with gambling addiction, homelessness, abandonment and more. Nicole disappoints in some ways but in others she is right on. Nicole's sister is just awful, she is a witch and a sister like her, you would just want to disown.
This is a page turner and kept me turning the pages throughout the night until my eyes could no longer stay open. The characters and descriptions are done very well.
I usually put a warning on these kind of dark mystery thrillers but I don't feel like this book needs one and recommend it to all mystery and thriller fans.
I want to thank Netgalley, Gregg Olson, and the publisher for the copy of this book. -
4.5 Stars.......Hot Dam! Now this is a GREAT mystery!
Nicole Foster is a good detective, but she has a gambling problem. She has a scumbag boyfriend who unfortunately is also her partner, and she has a nasty, self-absorbed witch of a sister who treats her like sh*t. But, worst of all, she has an extremely difficult (and heartbreaking) multi-layered murder case to solve that lead her and the reader through a myriad of clues resulting in a shocking conclusion for all.
THE SOUND OF RAIN is a story filled with evil, deceitful characters and a wonderful (dog-loving) but flawed protagonist that made for a super quick read and round-up to 5 Stars for me.
Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC in return for an impartial review.
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Oh my! Oh my, my my…………
When I first meet Nicole Foster she is just one sleep away from rock bottom. By the following morning her sister will boot her from her home and Nicole will be left homeless and penniless.
Things weren’t always like this, At one time, not that long ago, she was a respected homicide detective with a nice home and a lease on a great car.
But that was before she met Angela Chase outside the Factoria Target store two days before Christmas. Her little three year old daughter, Kelsey is missing. According to Angela, Kelsey had been acting up in Target, so she had brought her out to the car and told her to wait there while she and Kelsey’s brother Samuel finished the shopping. She was only gone for a little minute she explains. Seriously!
It was also before Danny. Danny is not NIcole’s boss, but an outsider looking in would never know that. Danny is always hovering over her, taking credit for everything, giving off his own personal aura of being in charge, in control. Also before Danny and her became lovers, before he started taking her to the casino where he could unwind and revel in his occasional wins. And that word, occasional, was fine for Danny but not as it turned out, so fine for NIcole.
Meanwhile Kelsey is still missing and her mother is not being very cooperative. In fact once she went home the night of her daughter’s disappearance she took some sleeping pills and went to bed, leaving the detectives with only her husband to question. But he was not even there when Kelsey went missing. What kind of a mother does that?
Nicole and Danny continue their investigation by following up on the whereabouts of local, registered, sexual offenders on the night of the abduction. One in particular arouses their suspicion but when questioned Alan Dawson is adamant that he had nothing to do with Kelsey’s disappearance. Problem is Alan’s next door neighbour has made an unsettling discovery underneath of his trailer..
Now Danny is practically doing cartwheels in the break room, flexing his muscles and regaling everyone with the significance of the find. Saying things like “One a perv, always a perv.” Nicole needs to rein him in, to remind him that they still do not know for sure the relevance of the find. But Danny is not having it.
Nicole just wants to go back to her favourite machine at the casino and pull that lever. Let the lights start flashing and listen for the fake sound of rain.
Back in the real world however Danny has gone ahead without her and elicited a confession from Alan Dawson. NIcole cannot believe her eyes when Danny shows her the written confession any more than she can believe that he did this without her. They are after all partners.
As time passes and little Kelsey’s body is found, albeit not where Alan had said it would be, things do not sit well with Nicole. The more she looks into things the more unanswered questions surface and she begins to spiral out of control.
As i was reading this I became so frustrated with Nicole. Danny treats her like dirt and her sister manipulates her at every turn, but all Nicole ever does is "think" of snappy retorts, without once standing up to either one of them. For the record, yelling at and shaking your kindle does not produce the desired effect.
It is only when Nicole has sunk as low as she can go that Julien, Kelsey’s father reaches out to her. It would seem that he too has unanswered questions and wants Nicole’s help in finding out what really happened to his little girl. But Nicole is still battling her own inner demons and this investigation is taking her to a very dark place indeed.
Strap in folks and prepare yourselves for one bumpy ride. With more twists and turns than a world class roller coaster this story just keeps on pumping. With every clue that Nicole uncovers, another question steers her in a different direction, until she finds herself knee deep in the mire, in answers that her mind can’t process and in answers that she never in her wildest imaginings ever expected.
Cliche or not, I simply could not put this down. 4.5 stars rounded up!
My thanks to Thomas & Mercer, NetGalley and Gregg Olsen for the opportunity to read an advance copy. -
Wow!!! This was one crazy read! Nicole Foster is a cop who's partner is her boyfriend, and she has a terrible gambling problem, she also has no one for family, her mom left when she and her sister were young, her dad has Alzheimer's, and her sister is a self absorbed bitch.
A murder happens and all hell breaks loose all over the place and Nicole is fired from the police department, hits rock bottom and then unbelievable things happen. A good read!!
Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC -
Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review.
Nicole Foster's life is a disaster. Once a capable detective, the things that are important to her are slowly slipping out of her grasp, thanks to her gambling addiction and one poor decision after another. Broke, her home is lost, her job is in jeopardy. Mired in a toxic partnership with a fellow detective, he has Nic second-guessing her every move. The ongoing love/hate relationship she has with her sister has been tainted even further.
Meanwhile, a three-year old tot left in a car by her mother has been snatched. The missing child preys on Nic's mind and vies for her attention, along with the ever present pull of the casino.
Fantastic pacing, good story. Those who love a diet of twists and turns will not go away hungry. -
I wanted to rate this book lower because the ending did not make sense to me at all. However, it is such a complex, multilayered murder mystery, and so well written, that I happily and gladly rate it four stars.
The down-and-out ex-cop Nicole Foster, has nowhere to go, no one to rely on, when her police partner and lover goes to jail and she loses her job. A case bodged up. But her life did not go as planned either. A gambling addiction and a broken family life did not make it easier for her to recover herself and make things right. Roaming the streets and homeless shelters, she had nothing to lose when she decided to further investigate the murder of a little girl. She always thought she was a good cop ...
This is a run-of-the-mill, middle-of-the-road murder mystery. The template for millions of similar books is followed. Yet, a gripping, atmospheric tale is built into the fluent text. The denouement is surprising and shocking. A gut-wrenching blow to logic. But it is how it's suppose to be, right? Nothing turned out as expected. The writer knows his readers, and he delivered on cue. A superb mindgame which left the reader gobsmacked and the tale open for scrutiny ...
A brilliant move!
What a wonderful experience for the reader!
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The sound of rain is the tinkling sound of a slot machine as ex Detective Nicole Foster feeds in coins and watches the tiles flash by. Through her gambling addiction Nicole has lost everything, her job, her house, her car, her friends and the respect of her ex-colleagues. Even her sister won't take her in and lets her go to a women's shelter when she hits rock bottom. Nicole's gambling really took off when her partner and lover, Danny botched a case they were working on, that of Kelsey, a three year girl who disappeared from outside a shopping centre. Nicole can't stop thinking about Kelsey. She knows there is something wrong with Kelsey's mother and even at the lowest point in her life knows she must delve into the past and the secrets being hidden from her to find Kelsey.
This was a real page-turner of a thriller. I had to keep reading, not only to see if the mystery of Kelsey's disappearance was solved but also whether Nicole could pull herself back from her addiction and destitution. People find Nicole a difficult character to warm to, prickly and reserved as the result of a loveless upbringing by a cold mother who always favoured her prettier sister. Although she is flawed and makes poor judgements on who to love and trust, underneath she is fearless and will stand up for the weak and innocent. The plot is a slow burner, but once it gets going we are taken down many blind avenues before finding the true path to unlocking the secrets of Kelsey's abduction. There are some moments when you need to suspend belief and just go along for the ride but overall this was an unpredictable and gripping read.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Thomas and Mercer for an electronic copy to read and review -
Too many loose ends to the story, for me.
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I personally didn't enjoy this book at all. I love a good psychological thriller but not this one. Not one moment of this book could ever ring true in real life. Even the conversations between characters didn't flow smoothly. Most of the book doesn't even follow the mystery of the missing girl it's just the introspective thoughts of the whiny protagonist who feels sorry for herself. I got tired of listening to her boo-hoo really quickly. I scanned a good majority of this book because of it.
Then we come to that ending. Seriously bad. I love a good twist in a book but this was absolutely ridiculous. I think the author thought himself clever for coming up with multiple twists but it was just too absurd and ultimately a huge disappointment. 2 stars for the effort. -
3.5 stars. The Sound of Rain sure pushes the envelope. The story is pretty far fetched. But it's definitely a good page turner-- and a very readable one, at that. Nicole is an ex-cop, with a slate full of problems, including a gambling addiction, a nasty relationship with another cop, a complicated relationship with her sister and a failed investigation into three year old Kelsey's death. The story progresses through the complex tangled web of Nicole's attempts to put her life back together and figure out what happened to Kelsey. I will say no more to avoid spoilers. This one will require you to forget about plausibility and suspend disbelief big time, especially at the end. But it's still a good page turning ride. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.
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A mother leaves a young toddler in her car while she ducks into the shops to grab a few things, when she returns the child is missing, Detective Nicole Foster is handed the case. Nicole's life is currently falling apart due to very prevalent gambling addition, a rat bag of a boyfriend and quite a strained relationship with her sister. This missing child preys on Nicole's mind and she is determined to find out what has happened. I liked Nicole's character, with everything she is dealing with she is still more than able to put her full attention to this case to get it solved, she is strong and compassionate. This was a very enjoyable quick read, twists and turns around every corner and a fast paced story. Thank you to Netgalley the author and publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
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An interesting enough, if not particularly believable, crime novel that sees down and out detective Nicole Foster kicked off the force. Haunted by the case of the unsolved murder of a little girl, Nicole starts to investigate again, only to find that the clues lead her painfully close to home. I did find Nicole to be an annoying character, and though the ending was unexpected it was not really strong. This book is okay, but I doubt I'll be tempted to read the rest of the series.
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Unforgettable..
This is another book deserves more than five stars. But I should worn you, if you're in bad place at this time, don't read this book, wait. Characters so believable you'll never forget, one thing for sure I will be reading the next book. Family dynamics written in this fictional story so real, you'll relate to it. Really love Sound of Rain. At first didn't care for Nicole character, her gambling and short comings, but now understand why. Ending is unbelievable. Lovers of mystery/thrillers should spend some time with this book. -
This could have been a 4 stars book, but the ending didn't work for me at all.
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I've just finished The Sound of Rain by Gregg Olsen and I defiantly don’t feel like many of the other reviewers of this book ( I'm in the minority here). I’ve looked at many of the reviews on Goodreads and Amazon (some are duplicates) and I’m very confused by the rave reviews. This is not my first Gregg Olsen book; I’ve read 6 of his works since 2014, so I don’t feel “it’s a getting used to the author thing”.
Let’s see if I can explain better:
The actual mystery of “what happened to Kelsey” was a good story, filled with twists and turns, and characters that weren’t who you thought they were. There was lots of double crossing, back stabbing, and damaged lives before the truth come's out. Sadly I didn’t feel that those on the wrong side of the law got what they deserved, but the solution to the whodunit was completed.
To get to that story you had to slog through Nicole’s melodramatic life, dysfunctional friends and family, broken lives, poor decisions, and downward spiral due to an out of control addiction.
I was depressed; I wanted a good mystery, a suspenseful book!
I felt that Nicole’s story and issues overshadowed the actual mystery, and the only saving grace I saw in her character was the fact that she wasn’t going to give up on finding out what actually happened to Kelsey. I will say there were times when I felt Nicole's story was padding for book length.
I didn’t find any of the book's characters likable, nor did I want to root for them. I would have thought with Nicole being the book's heroine that I should have been able to like her, but that was not the case.
I also found the book was filled with ripped from the headlines issues like homelessness, child predators, addictions, greed, death while in police custody, and police corruption. All issues that are found in many other books, but they too just seemed to be lost in Nicole’s portion of the story.
I received a copy of the book from NetGalley on behalf of Thomas & Mercer, Publishers in return for an honest review.
The book’s publication date was Dec 13th, 2016.
Sadly for me this was a 2 star read -
I love Gregg Olsen’s characters as they are relatable. We all have made bad decisions and have done things we regret. Former disgraced homicide detective Nicole Foster is just one of those people. She allowed her boyfriend/partner to lead her down a path that has caused the loss of her job and her home due to a gambling addiction she cannot fight. Now a case from her time on the force that has always haunted her has come up again in the way of murdered Kelsey Chase’s father. He finds her on the street and takes her in asking for her help in trying to solve the case. As she digs deeper and deeper into the case and the more she starts to feel like her old self again she is not sure that she will like the outcome. It is leading in a direction she did not expect. Great read. I would like to thank the Publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC.
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Holy crows, The Sound of Rain by Gregg Olsen is twistier than my intestines on the day after Thanksgiving. What. The. Hell. Just. Happened?
Nicole Foster – if she wasn’t in need of therapy at the beginning of this book, she sure will be needing it by the end. Oh. My. Gosh.
Nicole is down on her luck. She has a gambling addiction; she’s lost her job, her pup, her ass-hat boyfriend (ok, not much of a loss there), and is sleeping at a women’s shelter because her sister is a witch who won’t allow her to stay over more than one night.
If that’s not enough to make one cray-cray, then just wait until you see what happens in this book! Holy moly. (There’s a lot of holies in this review!).
The Sound of Rain backtracks a little bit to Nicole’s last case – the beginning of her end. Kelsey Chase. The little girl who went missing from her mother’s car in the Target parking lot at Christmas time.
Danny, Nicole’s jerky partner, both on the force and in life focus’ the investigation on a nearby sex offender. A young man who slept with his underage girlfriend and did his time. He and his girlfriend are now married and just want to move on with life. But Danny won’t let it go. Nicole just isn’t on board.
Angela Chase, Kelsey’s mother, is not the average mom. She’s more worried about getting home and making dinner than she is about finding her daughter.
But after Nicole’s life falls apart, Julian Chase, Kelsey’s father has an offer Nicole can’t refuse. Shelter, in exchange for the continuation of the investigation into his daughter’s case.
The Sound of Rain is my first book by Gregg Olsen, and it was quite a doozy. I can’t wait to check out more; my only hope is that they can live up to this one!
Gregg Olsen wrote a story that weaves you down a deep rabbit hole in the dark. The story was very complex and intricate. Perhaps there were a few parts that were a bit far-fetched, as other reviewers have said, but it’s fiction. That doesn’t bother me.
Five amazing stars from me. -
Oh no, this story was quite bad. The police procedural and subsequent investigation were absolutely terrible, pitiful, and I couldn’t help rolling my eyes as I was reading. The investigation was basically non existent, the police procedure was weak, and a guilty sentence would never have been handed down in the REAL WORLD based on what the reader was reading. Man, I could hardly wrap my head around this story because it was so far-fetched that it annoyed me. I've given it 1.5 Stars for the main female protagonist, and rounded it up to a very generous 2 Stars for the twisty end. But IF you need your stories to be somewhat believable... skip this one.
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The Sound of Rain by Gregg Olsen is a pretty solid thriller. There was a good amount of background that is told in the past tense, then it moves to present day events as the detective works through the case more as a private investigator. As a side note, I am becoming sold on the first person point of view when it it done well, and I found myself really liking Nicole's voice.
When a little girl is abducted and murdered, the case spirals out of control along with the detective's love life and gambling problem. All seemed lost for her...Her job, her house, her dog, it was all taken and/or gambled away. I thought the insight into Nicole's gambling addiction was pretty real, it was described very similarly to how I've heard addicts talk about their niches before, and it was handled thoughtfully.
When the murdered girl's father, Julian, steps in and offers Nicole a path to redemption. She is all too happy to jump on board. Without any spoilers, the case starts heating up and Nicole is determined to find out what happened to that little girl. Could the mother really be that ridiculously callous?
All paths lead toward the psychotic mother and boyfriend, but the twists and turns of events that lead up to conclusion are ..... .... Well, I was hooked after 70% but it just seemed ridiculous who all of the killers and conspirators ended up being.
I docked the star because it just got a little too twisted up for me, but I would 100% fully recommend this to fans of mysteries, thrillers, and police procedurals. I will also certainly be reading the second book! -
The Sound of Rain by Gregg Olsen.
This was was highly over rated in my opinion. The story I was expecting was definitely not this one. The story was totally negative from page one and continued on the same. Nicole Foster was a homicide detective on the skids. She spirals out of control due to being the worst decision maker on the planet. The characters are not worth mentioning due to their shallowness and empty relationships. Nicole continues on as the victim with no moral compass whatsoever. Finally after reaching chapter 11 I stopped. I was finding that to continue reading a book I didn't like with characters not worth knowing was just not worth my time. -
After recently reading one of Gregg Olsen's books, I was hooked on his writing and when I saw that he had a new one out called The Sound of Rain. I knew I had to read it and I was more than certain that I would enjoy it. In The Sound of Rain, we meet Detective Nicole Foster whom just before Christmas season is called to a crime scene where a little girl has been abducted from her mother's car while out shopping with the family. This was a weird case from the beginning with the mother coming across as cold and the answers not matching up with the questions and then when evidence goes missing and suspects turn up dead. Nicole knows something is seriously wrong and suspects corruption, but due to her past, she is dismissed and eventually ends up losing everything and becoming homeless. Months later, this case continues to haunt Nicole, and she decides to do some more digging into it and finds a similar case and MO from twenty years prior where a guy was sent to prison for killing his stepsister who was the same age as Kelsey. The stepbrother always proclaimed his innocence, but like her case, all the evidence pointed towards him, and he was found guilty of murder. As Nicole goes deeper, she is about to discover a conspiracy of murder and is faced with the cold hard truth that you can't trust those closest to you and often that they are the ones you have to be afraid of and not the strangers. I have to admit without giving away the story, which I did not see the whole ending coming. I was so shocked especially in that last chapter; it made me go OMG how and I did not see that coming and finally a WOW.
If you love suspense novels and crime shows, then The Sound of Rain by Gregg Olsen is the read for you.
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Pretty good thriller. Good plot and character development. You really get to know the characters. Thought I had the ending figured out but a few things caught me of guard. It's a stand alone novel which I liked with a satisfactory ending. Not sure if this is the right title for this book though. Hmm. I got an advanced copy of this book, no promises were made.
This is the first book I've read by this author. I'll have to check out his other books. So if you like thrillers check this out. -
The Sound of Rain by Gregg Olsen
This is another psychological thriller with many multilayered relationships. Nicole Foster is a homicide detective who gets kicked off the police force. She has a really serious gambling problem. She hits rock bottom, going down, down, down. Her boyfriend/partner named Danny along with her troubled relationships with her family doesn't help to improve matters. Danny doesn't always walk the straight and narrow. He implicates the wrong perpetrator by garnering a confession that simply is not true. When Nicole loses her employment her gambling problem takes on a life of its own. She loses her place where she lives. Danny and her spend too much time at the casino. Nicole also has relationship problems with her mother and sister. It seemed at times, that Nicole let every body boss her around.
Nichole meets a woman named Angela Chase who is a very disinterested mother. Angela leaves her three year old daughter, Kelsey all alone in the car at Target. When Kelsey goes missing all because her mother thought that Kelsey was acting out in the store it turns tragic. What kind of mother would leave their three year old all alone in the car? When Angela and Samuel are done shopping Kelsey has vanished. Angela rationalizes that she only left Kelsey alone in the car for a minute.
When Kelsey's body is found, Danny extracts a confession from a serial predator named Alan Dawson. Nicole cannot believe that Danny did that and doesn't believe that Alan is the murderer. Nor can Nicole believe that Danny could go behind her back because they are supposed to be working together. Danny produces a signed confession by Alan who later goes on to commit suicide. Kelsey's body wasn't found where Alan says he left it. This deeply disturbs Nicole and her downward spiral continues.
Kelsey's father Jullen approaches Nicole to help him find out the true murderer. Both Nicole and Julien do not believe Alan was the true murderer, so they both are seeking answers to questions. This novel has a lot of twists and turns. Gregg Olsen is talented in showing us both the light and dark sides of humanity. Where there is darkness, there also lies hope. This book is a page turner with a lot of suspense. The characters may not always seem likable, but there are certainly many different layers to characterization. This was a solid 4 star read for me.
Many thanks to Net Galley, Gregg Olsen and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with a digital copy for an honest and fair review. -
This book is harder to review than any 10 I've done before it.
Why???
Because it certainly has flaws, and the writing is also filled with cliche phrases and trite repetitions.
And YET!! Did I get sucked into the story! Nicole's plight and her relationship with Danny embedded me immediately. And then just as I was hooked, I nearly dumped the book after all because, ONCE AGAIN, why would anyone stay with such a "boy-friend". Who cares if she moves on from that guy or where the next casino binge occurs when she gets into another self-pity party to go with it. Plus there also was a spot about a third of the way in during a long dozen pages or so when I got SUPER sick of the Nicole rants about her sister, Stacy. In this genre of the dysfunctional birth family- I have had it up to my eyeballs for the bicker and manipulation fest that has become a fixture of sisterhood in fictional psychological or copper drama.
But I couldn't do it. Quit. And that's why it is a 4 star.
Because as convoluted as the plot, crime, cabal of greedy liars became, the more I felt a tension to WHO KILLED Kelsey? And why could Angela, as a mother of a stolen 3 year old, act like that?
And I found out. Eventually and without complete closure to one character in particular- I did find out. Yet- again another yet- it needs another book to see where Nicole goes next with this result.
I've read others by this author and he does nasty characterization well, but IMHO, does not write very well. Dialog for one thing, seems questionable.
But regardless. 3.5 star rounded up for the plot and perp history collusion. Because they almost approach the tragic realities of many such cop cases. Little from the "outside" is as it seems. -
Flaws! Flaws! Flaws!
I hate when the hero of the story is so unlikable.
Nowadays, it’s the thing, to have all the heroes as flawed characters. It’s become a cliche.
As the story starts, former detective Nicole Foster, is a flawed character. And just like the flawed individuals of heroic lore, she’s a doozy.
She’s in a relationship with a verbally abusive cop. She herself, is an addictive gambler. And she thinks her cop boyfriend has arrested the wrong suspect, and is the cause of his suicide. If it is a suicide.
Then, like a true addict, she blames everyone for her addiction...Mom, Dad, sister, boyfriend, trash cans...everyone!
And the story drags on and sleeps a bit, then finally wakes up at the last few chapters. They’re good chapters, though, and that’s what saves the book. Why it’s not a total loss.
I’m still disappointed, though. This book got lots of good reviews and GR recommended that I read it. So glad that, as an Amazon Prime member, I got to read it for free.
So three stars ⭐️. -
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I really liked the premise of the story and while it was a good story and I really didn't mind how "dark" it was, the story just becomes very far fetched, talk about living in a small world. Interesting enough but not his best work.
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This was a wild ride!
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Warning--This is not a romance. Occasionally I like a good suspense /Thriller
Warnings, the story, is about a missing child that has been murdered and possible child porn. It is not explicit or doesn't go into details it is handled tastefully. It is also about addiction (Gambling), so if this is a possible trigger, this may not be for you.
Nicole is a police detective. She is involved with her Narcissistic partner. She has a love/hate relationship with her sister. And she has a gambling addiction. After a case of a missing child, she finds herself falling further and further down a rabbit hole. Once she reaches rock bottom finding herself in a women's shelter, jobless homeless, having to give up her dog, lost and alone.
Help comes in the most unexpected place. The father of the missing girl asks for her help to solve the crime since the police department closed the case after Danny, Nicoles Partner tampered with evidence and the man arrested for the crime committed suicide.
All I can say is WOW. This is a new to me author and it won't be the last book I read. I loved the descriptions and the emotions you could feel from Nicole. The story is very angsty, the mystery is grim, the topic one of those that make us cringe, yet it was all handled with taste. It seemed obvious of the murderer then I was torn between two... wow was there twists in this story! The ending was explosive and totally unexpected. I will warn you again this is not an HEA type story.
I was just floored. Fantastic story!
If you like a good Mystery /suspense, thriller, police procedure, story of flawed characters, lots of twists and turns and a very different shocking ending this is for you! I highly recommend it. It's on y top 10 lists for this year! -
I am a fan of Gregg Olsen's books. They never fail to entertain and they always keep me coming back for more. This one is a prime example of the way in which he does what he does so perfectly.
I was immediately gripped by the story which begins in a Target parking lot with a ripped from the headlines scene. And I was kept flipping pages long into the night as I went along with Nicole in her quest to find out what really happened that night. And that journey takes some fascinating twists and turns until we get to that really unexpected and twisty turn at the end. I admit I was totally blindsided and quite shocked. And I love when an author can do one of those wow I didn't see that coming moments. It's what I read Grit Lit for and this moment was perfect.
I highly recommend this book especially if you enjoy a great mystery with a surprise ending. This one was fabulous.
