Greetings Friends!
Today I have a REVIEW of the mystery LOOK FOR HER by Emily Winslow, the fourth book in the Keene and Frohmann series, featuring investigators from Cambridge, England.
Book Details:
Publication Date: February 13th 2018
Number of Pages: 304
ISBN: 006257258X (ISBN13: 9780062572585)
Series: Keene and Frohmann #4 | Each is a stand alone novel
Purchase Links: Amazon 🔗 | Barnes & Noble 🔗 | Goodreads 🔗
SYNOPSIS
Everyone loves a beautiful missing girl… a gripping psychological thriller that delves into the grief, jealousy, and unresolved mystery surrounding a cold case kidnapping, in the vein of Gilly MacMillan and Mary Kubica.
Just outside of Cambridge, Lilling seems like an unassuming idyllic English village, but it’s home to a dark history. In 1976, a teenage girl named Annalise Wood disappeared while riding her bike home from school. Though her body was later discovered in a shallow grave, the culprit was never found. Decades later, Annalise maintains a perverse kind of celebrity in the small town, and is still the focus of grief, speculation, and for one young woman, a disturbing, escalating jealousy.
When DNA linked to the Annalise murder unexpectedly surfaces, cold case investigator Morris Keene realizes he may now have the chance of his career. Morris and his former partner, Chloe Frohmann, hope to finally solve this perplexing mystery, and bring closure to a traumatized community. But the new evidence that should be the simple solution instead undoes the case’s only certainty: the buried body that had long ago been confidently identified as Annalise may be someone else entirely, and instead of answers, the investigators face only new puzzles.
Whose body was unearthed all those years ago, and what happened to the real Annalise? Could she have had a secret child? Is someone interfering with the investigation? And is there a link to a present-day drowning with eerie connections?
Read an excerpt:
Annalise Williams (Wolfson College),
University Counselling Service,
recorded and transcribed by Dr. Laurie Ambrose
My mother picked the name Annalise for me because of a girl who was killed. Her name was Annalise Wood, and she went missing when she was sixteen. My mother was the same age when it happened. Annalise was lovely, much prettier than my sister and I ever became. She was the kind of girl you look at and think, “Of course someone would want to take her.”
Don’t look at me like that. I know that what happened to her was awful. It just seems a very fine line between being the kind of person that others want to be with and be like and treat well, and being the kind of person that some others, just a few, sick others, want to take for themselves. That’s the same kind of person, isn’t it? The loved and lovely. Isn’t that from a poem somewhere? That’s what she was like. That’s the risk when you’re the kind of person who’s wanted. Good people want to be close to you, but the bad people want you too.
There were two photos of her that the media used most: her most recent school portrait, and a snapshot of her laughing, with the friends on either side cropped out. Taken together, they presented the two sides of a beautiful and perfect person: poised and thoughtful, and spontaneous and bubbly. The kind of person who deserves help and attention.
Realistically, if they wanted these pictures to help strangers identify her if they saw her out and about with the bad man, they should have used photos of her frowning or looking frightened. Either there weren’t any (which may well be the case; who would take a photo of that?), or they couldn’t bring themselves to advertise a version of her that was less than appealing. The narrative is important. If you want the “general public” to get worked up, you have to persuade. Attractiveness and innocence must be communicated, even if emphasising those traits makes the real person harder to recognise.
In the end, she was already dead, so it’s a good thing, I suppose, that they used the nice photos. They’re the images that everyone remembers. My mum was a teenager when those pictures were in the paper every day for weeks, then weekly for months. Annalise Wood was the most beautiful girl in the world. Everyone cared about her. It’s what any mother would wish for her child, to be the kind of person that everyone would care about and miss if she disappeared.
It wasn’t until Mum was over thirty that what really happened to Annalise Wood was discovered.
***
Excerpt from Look for Her by Emily Winslow. Copyright © 2018 by Emily Winslow. Reprinted by permission of William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
Trade Reviews
“An intriguing, suspenseful, and briskly paced story with complex characters, evocative descriptions of England’s Cambridgeshire, plenty of clever misdirection, and a satisfying ending.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Using multiple narrators, as she did in The Start of Everything (2013), Winslow spins the plot to a satisfying and humane conclusion, with Keene and Frohmann again proving to be a winning pair.” —Booklist
“Winslow’s kaleidoscopic narrative technique, employing first-person accounts from multiple characters, makes for engaging reading.” —Publishers Weekly
“Look For Her is a nuanced, thought-provoking portrait of a crime and its aftermath. Beautifully written with an expertly twisty, surprising story, this is a must-read!” —Chevy Stevens, New York Times bestselling author of Never Let You Go
“Surprising and satisfying, you won’t be able to stop turning the pages of Look For Her.” —Karen Dionne, author of The Marsh King’s Daughter
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
You can connect with her on:
BOOK REVIEW
Told in multiple perspectives, you can see just how a case like this one impacts everyone involved including the community itself. The speculation, intrigue, and attention all work to give the case a life all its own, raising Annalise Williams to celebrity or even cultlike status. I absolutely loved the unreliability of all the narrators who each seemed to have some small reason to not be completely forthright, but surprisingly, none of them were terribly unlikeable! There were definite character flaws, but I wasn’t overly disgusted or annoyed by any of them. In fact, this worked in their favor at appearing more relatable and making some of the more implausible plot points slightly more convincing.
With so many points of view, characters, crimes, family dramas, and time frames to keep track of, this is a densely packed story that you will want to stay engaged with or things will quickly begin to become quite convoluted because there is A LOT more going on then the synopsis reveals. This is in no way a negative reflection of the book, but ultimately, it isn’t your average fast-paced thriller where the connections to the truth will be easily made. The pacing is much slower, but no less suspenseful nor captivating. Winslow’s writing was especially strong and very well done, particularly with regards to the reveal, which was not expected, actually quite refreshing, and will keep you guessing until the very end!
Overall, this complex read was immensely satisfying and highly recommended!
GIVEAWAY INFO!
This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Emily Winslow and William Morrow. There will be 1 winner of one (1) physical copy of each of the 1st three books in the Keene and Frohmann Series: The Whole World, The Start of Everything, and The Red House AND there will be 5 Winners of one (1) physical copy of their choice of ONE of the 1st three books in the Keene and Frohmann Series: The Whole World, The Start of Everything, and The Red House. The giveaway begins on February 12 and runs through March 18, 2018. This giveaway is open to US & Canada residents only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Best of luck!
I hope that you enjoyed this post and will be picking up the book and series soon! Many thanks to Partners in Crime Tours, Providence Books, and Emily Winslow for this great opportunity! It was an absolute pleasure hosting and providing a review. And be sure to visit the other stops on the tour for more opinions and author extras!
02/12 Review @ Mrs. Robinson’s Library
02/12 Showcase @ Tome Tender
02/13 Review @ The World As I See It
02/14 Review @ Cheryls Book Nook
02/14 Showcase @ Bound 2 Escape
02/15 Showcase @ The Book Divas Reads
02/16 Interview @ Aurora B’s Book Blog
02/17 Review @ Book Reviews From an Avid Reader
02/18 Review @ A Dream Within A Dream
02/19 Review @ Chill and read
02/20 Review @ It’s All About the Book
02/21 Review @ Booked on a Feeling
02/22 Showcase @ The Pulp and Mystery Shelf
02/23 Interview @ Quiet Fury Books
02/25 Review @ Stormy Nights Reviewing & Bloggin
02/26 Showcase @ Julie’s Bookshelf
02/27 Interview @ A Blue Million Books
02/28 Showcase @ BooksChatter
03/01 Review @ A Bookaholic Swede
03/01 showcase @ The Bookworm Lodge
03/02 Review @ View from the Birdhouse
03/04 Review @ Curling up by the Fire
03/05 Guest post @ Colloquium
03/05 Review @ FUONLYKNEW
03/07 Guest post (pre-written) @ Loris Reading Corner
03/08 Review @ Words And Peace
03/10 Review @ Simply Kelina
03/12 Review @ Colloquium
03/13 Review @ Mystery Suspense Reviews
03/14 Review @ Mrs Mommy Booknerd’s Book Reviews
03/15 Blog Talk Radio w/Fran Lewis
03/15 Review @ A Room Without Books is Empty
03/15 Review @ Thats What Shes Reading
03/16 Guest post (pre-written) @ Thats What Shes Reading
03/16 Review @ Just Reviews
I have seen many great reviews on this book and want to read it sooner than later.
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With so many books available and tools such as e-readers that allow you to read your favorite book from your mobile device, you only need to make a few improvements to ensure that you get the most out of every book reading session.Excellent
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