The Return of Ellie Black

Real rating: 3.5.

I enjoyed this read but the ending was disappointing or rather I should say the antagonists motivations were weak and didn't correlate to their actions. The “surprise twist” in the third act was also underwhelming but aside from that I enjoyed the book up to that point.

Audio notes: This book is narrated but a full cast for some reason. They all do a fine job but it felt totally unnecessary as we don't spend enough time with those supporting characters to justify the need for them to have their own voice actor.

Wow this was a beautiful and thrilling story. I've been meaning to read this forever and when I saw it pop up on Kindle Unlimited I knew I needed to finally. 

This was a twisty tale that I did NOT see any of the twists coming. I am floored by all of them. It's also a beautiful story about hope and found family. 

What a lovely way to kick the year off. This is a must read if you love thrillers!

So enjoyed this!!

Oh, I liked this one. Didn't love that of course, Chelsey is a “driven to the extreme” detective who can't have relationships (despite being in one) and has Daddy issues. But putting that aside Chelsey surprised me at times and Ellie was so good! The kidnappers sort of came out of left field and the final twist was surprising-ish, but I thought this was great coming from an author I've only read the YA romance they've done.

The very definition of toxic masculinity - and that's probably my biggest criticism of this fast-paced, intriguing, layered, and well-written mystery/suspense addition to the kidnapped women trope - do all the men have to be horribly psychopathically disturbed or else shut down emotionally and non-supportive of the very capable and relateable women? Still, this is top drawer work and deseves the accolades it's getting.