Title: LAST SEEN
Author: JOY KLUVER
PUBLICATION DAY: March 26th 2021
Description:
‘A little girl is missing from under her mother’s nose. She’ll be scared and vulnerable – if she’s still alive. But no one is helping us search. No one wants to give us information. No one even seems surprised. What’s going on?’
Detective Bernadette Noel came to this quiet rural corner of south-west England from London to lie low after a high-profile prosecution led to death threats against her family. But she has barely settled in when the call comes. A woman’s voice, shrill with terror and thick with tears: ‘Help – it’s my daughter, Molly – I only had my back turned for a minute… She’s gone!’
A child abduction is about as far from lying low as it gets, and her boss wants to assign a different detective. But there’s no way Bernie’s not taking the case – she can’t miss this chance to prove herself.
Five-year-old Molly Reynolds has been snatched from the playground in the village where she lives. Normally in cases like this the community is an asset – eager to help search and full of local knowledge. But although Molly’s mother Jessica is in anguish, the other villagers don’t seem to want to know.
As details emerge, Bernie discovers a possible link to a shocking crime that has never been solved, and which the locals have never forgotten. But what exactly is the connection to Molly’s abduction? Cracking a cold case is the only way to find out – and meanwhile time is running out for Molly.
A dark and compelling crime thriller that will have you reading late into the night. If you like Val McDermid, D.S. Butler or Angela Marsons, you’ll love Joy Kluver.
Author Bio:
Joy Kluver has been an avid reader and writer since childhood. More recently she's been escaping the madness of motherhood by turning her hand to crime novels. A book blogger, she's also part of the First Monday Crime team and if you've been to any of their events it's likely you've eaten one of her cookies. She also organises author talks for her local library. Joy lives in SW London with her husband and three children. 'Last Seen' is her debut novel and the first book in the DI Bernadette Noel series. Joy is represented by Anne Williams at the Kate Horden Literary Agency.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Last Seen' by Joy Kluver.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 26th March 2021.
This is the first book I have read by this author. It is her debut novel and also the first book in the 'Detective Bernadette Noel' series.
I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching and beautiful cover and its intriguing synopsis. The synopsis stated that if you are a fan of Angela Marsons among others you will love Joy Kluver. I am a fan of Angela's books so am interested to see if it will live up to this statement. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a prologue, 40 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium to long in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in Wiltshire, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture.
This book is written in third person perspective with the main protagonist being Detective Bernadette Noel. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.
Wow!! Just Wow!! What can I even say?!? Joy are you sure this is your first book because you have absolutely slam dunked it!!! What an absolutely EPIC debut novel. You are going far!!! Anyway... Will I get on with my review? Best had....
As you can tell from my opening statement this book is brilliant! More than brilliant, amazing!!! It had been fantastically written and the descriptions completely absorb the reader into the storyline.
The storyline is absolutely gripping, addictive and captivating. Filled with everything you are looking for in a book... Suspense, tension, mystery, red herrings, researched police procedural, you name it this book has it. I was absolutely hooked from the first page to the last. I had a complete shock at the twists and finding out who was who and who did what. A HUGE congratulations there as it is getting harder and harder to surprise me these days but that was a whooper!! I loved the snippets after every few chapters from the abductor and everything came together perfectly, nothing worse than crucial parts being mentioned and then left and not mentioned again, this was all perfectly tyed up a the end. This is an absolutely fantastic start to what promises to be a heart racing and nail biting new series.
Love, love, loved all the characters!!! I cannot wait to meet them again. The fact that Bernice is such a strong, determined and captivating female lead is a huge bonus for all female readers. Woman power!! It wasn't just Bernie who was a super woman though as Kerry was also whoop butt. The dynamic of the team was spot on and I really enjoyed reading all the different personalities and watching friendships bond. Matt and Anderson were also excellent members of the team and Anderson will definitely be an intriguing one to continue to read about.
I really cannot compliment this book and successfull author more. I would love to see this made into a movie and cannot wait to get my hands on the next book.
Overall an addictive, gripping and page turning thriller that will keep you hooked.
Genres covered in this novel include Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Crime and Police Procedural amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Angela Marsons, Carol Wyer, P. J Tracy and anyone looking for an epic read .
358 pages.
This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews
@JoyKluver @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
Author Bio:
Joy Kluver has been an avid reader and writer since childhood. More recently she's been escaping the madness of motherhood by turning her hand to crime novels. A book blogger, she's also part of the First Monday Crime team and if you've been to any of their events it's likely you've eaten one of her cookies. She also organises author talks for her local library. Joy lives in SW London with her husband and three children. 'Last Seen' is her debut novel and the first book in the DI Bernadette Noel series. Joy is represented by Anne Williams at the Kate Horden Literary Agency.
Author Social Media Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoyKluver
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joykluverauthor
Buy Links
Amazon: https://geni.us/B08T6DNKTFCover
Apple: http://ow.ly/WwXd50Dc8XW
Kobo: http://ow.ly/HIF350Dc8W4
Google: http://ow.ly/LEQQ50Dc91M
Audible:
UK: zpr.io/Rzwwa
US: zpr.io/RzwwN
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