Title: The Girl with No Name
Series: Detective Josie Quinn
By: Lisa Regan
ISBN13: 9781786813831
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Summary:
Detective Josie Quinn is horrified when she’s called to the house of a mother who had her newborn baby snatched from her arms.
A woman caught fleeing the scene is Josie’s only lead, but when questioned it seems this mysterious girl doesn’t know who she is, where she’s from or why she is so terrified…
Is she a witness, a suspect, or the next victim?
As Josie digs deeper, a letter about a mix-up at a fertility clinic links the nameless girl and the missing child to a spate of killings across the county. Josie is faced with an impossible decision: should she risk the life of one innocent child to save many others… or can she find another way? (Goodreads)
Review:
As I embarked upon reading the second book of the Detective Josie Quinn series, The Girl with No Name, I was filled with anticipation as I had just recently finished the first book in the series, Vanishing Girls and just loved it. I so wanted this book to be as engaging as the last. I can attest to the fact that indeed The Girl with No Name was certainly as riveting as the first book in the Detective Josie Quinn series. While not entirely necessary, as this book can be read as a stand alone, I would recommend reading Vanishing Girls first so that you have the history of all the main players, of which many carry forward to this book.
In this second book in the series, chief of police Josie Quinn quickly immerses herself in a brand new and active investigation, which as it turns out to be centered around Misty Derossi, the girlfriend (who we met in Vanishing Girls) of her deceased ex-husband (Ray). Misty’s newborn baby is missing and she has been attacked. As more details are uncovered, we find that Josie’s fiancée is also involved somehow AND he is missing! The only witness the police have is a woman who was fleeing a second abduction, but she has no recollection on what has happened or even who she is. While I would hope that protocol dictates Josie recuses herself given her relationship with her missing fiancée and her feelings towards Misty, this is not the case. Luckily, she does appear to be able to maintain professional distance for the most part, even in the face of despising Misty for her role in Josie’s marriage to Ray.
I found the main storyline morphed into so much more as the book continued. There were a number of additional storylines which really added to the intrigue of the book. The tapestry of all these storylines created one exciting, as well as convoluted, story! Twists abounded along with the body count. One thing I did not catch on to until the very end was the significance of chapter titles. What started out as a simple (if you could call it simple) as a child abduction turns into SO much more. The intrigue will keep the reader on their toes and engaged throughout. To make sure I kept everyone straight I did maintain a diagram of how everyone was connected. It truly was a masterful story, which I would love to say more about but then that would not leave the next reader the fun of reading about it themselves!
I often pushed myself to read “just one more chapter” as I could not put the book down and I felt like I needed to know what came next. And this in my mind is quintessential for any psychological thriller that is worth reading.
I think, actually… I know I have found my new favourite crime fiction writer! Well done Lisa Regan – another fine story in the Detective Josie Quinn series. I was led on a very entertaining, thrilling, heart stopping ride during the entire journey that is The Girl with No Name. I can hardly wait to read book three of the series, Her Mother’s Grave.
