Hidden Pieces by Mary Keliikoa Book Review

About the Book:

He has nothing left to lose but this case. Can he rescue a young victim before there's another death on his conscience?

Sheriff Jax Turner is staring down the barrel of his broken past. On the brink of ending it all, he feels like a failure following his daughter's tragic passing and his subsequent divorce. But when a schoolgirl vanishes and her backpack is found in a sex offender's backseat, the weary lawman drags himself into action and vows to nail one last sociopath.

Shocked to discover the missing preteen's aunt had lost her life in an abduction years prior, the devastating outcome that he's taken personally, Jax believes the killer has returned with a vengeance. But as the desperate cop frantically hunts down a mysterious relative in search of a suspect, the girls' time keeps ticking away...

Can the jaded sheriff taken down the culprit and bring the poor youngster home alive?

Hidden Pieces is the gripping first book in the Misty Pines Mystery Series. If you like compelling characters, shocking plot twists, and atmospheric settings, you'll love this suspenseful new series.

My Review:

This is the first book I have read by Keliikoa and I really liked most of it. I became engaged right away with the opening scene of Sheriff Jax, despondent enough to contemplate suicide yet forced back into the responsibility of his job by a dispatch from his office. That scene was a great way to hook this reader.

The title of the book is apt given that, as the investigation by Jax continues, facts from the past as well as current relationships are reluctantly revealed. It is like hidden pieces of a puzzle coming together. I liked Jax's commitment to finding the lost girl, even when it meant alienating powerful people or irritating his ex-wife. He was not going to lose this girl, no matter what it took.

There were some good twists at the end. While I appreciated most of them, I did think the final identity of the abductor was stretching my ability to believe a bit. Except for that unreasonable aspect of the final resolution, I thought the novel was well written.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

Mary Keliikoa is the author of the Shamus Finalist and Lefty, Agatha and Anthony award nominated PI Kelly Pruett mystery series and the upcoming Misty Pines mystery series featuring Sheriff Jax Turner slated for release in September 2022. Her short stories have appeared in Woman's World and in the anthology Peace, Love and Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by Music of the ‘60s. A Pacific NW native, she spent a part of her life working around lawyers. Combining her love of legal and books, she creates a twisting mystery where justice prevails.

When not in Washington, you can find Mary on the beach in Hawaii where she and her husband recharge. But even under the palm trees and blazing sun, she’s plotting her next murder—novel that is.

Level Best Books, 300 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)