Review: The Missing Ones by Patricia Gibney

Title:The Missing Ones

Author:Patricia Gibney

Series:Detective Lottie Parker, #1

Published:March 2017, Bookouture

Format:ARC E–copy, 518 pages

Source:Netgalley via Bookouture

The hole they dug
was not deep. A white flour bag encased the little body. Three small
faces watched from the window, eyes black with terror.

The child in the middle spoke without turning his head. ‘I wonder which one of us will be next?’

When
a woman’s body is discovered in a cathedral and hours later a young man
is found hanging from a tree outside his home, Detective Lottie Parker
is called in to lead the investigation. Both bodies have the same
distinctive tattoo clumsily inscribed on their legs. It’s clear the pair
are connected, but how?

The trail leads Lottie to St Angela’s, a
former children’s home, with a dark connection to her own family
history. Suddenly the case just got personal.

As Lottie begins
to link the current victims to unsolved murders decades old, two teenage
boys go missing. She must close in on the killer before they strike
again, but in doing so is she putting her own children in terrifying
danger?

Lottie is about to come face to face with a twisted soul who has a very warped idea of justice.

Fans
of Rachel Abbott, Karin Slaughter and Robert Dugoni will be gripped by
this page-turning serial killer thriller, guaranteed to keep you reading
late into the night.

My thoughts:I’ve been on a streak with good books coming from Bookouture lately and this one is certainly no exception! This is Patricia Gibney’s debut thriller novel and the start of a new series – double winner in my book!!! 

As soon as I started reading this book, I was hooked. From the prologue to the epilogue, I found myself completely engaged and needing to know just what was going on. And even though this is a bit disturbing at times, it is highly suspenseful and kept me flipping the pages long after I should have been turning out the light! 

With all first books in a series, you need time to set up back stories of the main characters and develop the purpose of your main character‘s purpose. Well, in this book, we not only get that, but an amazing first case. I love the characters in this series.  

First, there’s Detective Lottie Parker – she’s a spit-fire, that’s for sure! She’s certainly got her baggage – she’s a widow, has three teenage children, an estranged mom, battles with the bottle, and is constantly at odds with her boss. She’s a flawed character for sure!  Then there’s Lottie’s partner, Boyd – I just might have a little crush on him! He‘s the perfect balance to Lottie – he seems to be able to handle her, calm her down when she’s being just a bit unrational and unbalanced and can talk her down. And he seems to have a bit of a thing for her, too! I love watching these two work together. The rest of the team – Lynch and Kirby – make up a good team and I look forward to getting to know more about each and every one of them.

The case itself that Lottie and her team were called to investigate in this first book was shocking and disturbing at times. It seemed to be all over the place, with many possible perpetrators, therefore making it difficult to guess who the guilty party really is. It takes us on a roller coaster of a ride, with plenty of twists and turns.

I really enjoyed this first installment in Patricia Gibney’s new series and look forward to getting to know these characters more. This first book starts with a bang and really holds up the entire time, even though it was a rather long book! Hopefully we don’t have to wait too long for the next one!!!  

Books in this series: 

1. The Missing Ones
2. The Unwanted – due out ???