Book Review: A Map of the Dark (The Searchers Book 1) by Karen Ellis

Release Date: March 12, 2019
Publisher: Mulholland Books
Format: ebook
Pages: 320 pages
Genre:  Mystery/Thriller
Buy: Kindle | Paperback

Synopsis:

Even as her father lies dying in a hospital north of New York City, FBI Agent Elsa Myers can't ignore a call for help. A teenage girl has disappeared from Forest Hills, Queens, and during the critical first hours of the case, a series of false leads obscures the fact that she did not go willingly.

As the hours tick by, the hunt for the girl deepens into a search for a man--who may have been killing for years. Elsa's carefully compartmentalized world begins to collapse around her. She can find missing people, but she knows too well how it feels to be lost. Everything she has buried--her fraught relationship with her sister and niece, her self-destructive past, her mother's death--threatens to resurface, with devastating consequences.

Review: 

This is the first book in the series.  I read the 2nd one first but this one really gives me some background on Elsa and NYPD detective Lex Cole. Elsa is an FBI agent in charge of helping find missing kids.  She should probably be on leave since her father is dying and she is trying to split her attention between her father and her case. Lex Cole is the detective in charge of the case, he asked for Elsa's help on this case and so far hasn't been disappointed. He does however keep trying to break through her walls to form a friendship.

As Elsa's father declines she keeps being brought back to the past, her abusive mother and why her father never helped her. This is a good book that not only focuses on the mystery of who kidnapped a young girl on her way home from school but also what happens when we revisit our past. The scars they create and how hard it is to break down walls and let others in. Well written characters, interesting story line.  I wish I had read this one first but either way works, they can easily stand alone but you get much more insight into the characters when you read them in order.

Trigger warning there are scenes related to cutting. 





Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

Discover other books or products I like: https://www.amazon.com/shop/readinggrrl 

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