Without A Trace

Nova is a young woman who escapes her abusive husband with her four-year old daughter, Lily in tow. But when the child suddenly goes missing, Nova turns to the local police for help. But things aren't always as they seem and as the police dig further, they unearth more than they bargained for and start to question whether the child ever existed.

This is a twisty story with a delightfully sinister overtone. It was an absorbing, escapist kind of read that, for a few hours at least, got my mind off the Covid-19 crisis and into the dysfunctional lives of fictional characters. Sometimes fiction is less scary that reality.

The story is told using three POVs in the first person which gives the reader insight into Nova's perspective as well as Ellie, a novice local police officer and Clara, the woman who rents out a cabin to Nova and Lily once they escape domestic violence. But the menfolk didn't fare well in this book with most of them not coming off in a good light, leaving the book to have a bit of a slanted feel to it.

The story takes a bit of time to gain traction, but I enjoyed the short chapters and how things slowly unravel for the reader. The tension, twists and characters kept me on my toes as I questioned everyone's intentions, tried to figure out who was lying and what exactly had happened to Lily - if she ever truly existed. See, totally twisty!

This was my first book by Carissa Ann Lynch and won't be my last (I have My Sister is Missing waiting for me on my Kindle). I'm so lucky to have a wonderful book blogger community online because it's due to their praise that I bought these two eBooks. I love it when I take a chance on a new author and it pays off. If you're looking for a new-to-you author and you enjoy suspense reads, you'll want to add Carissa Ann Lynch to your TBR list.

My Rating: 4 stars

Author: Carissa Ann Lynch

Genre: Suspense

Type: eBook

Source: Personal Copy

Publisher: Killer Reads

First Published: April 5, 2019

Opening Lines: I shivered as I stepped off the front porch and 
followed the well-beaten path down to the shady tree line.

Book Description from GoodReads: 

Lily’s gone.
Someone took her.
Unless she was she never there…

A little girl has gone missing.

Lily was last seen being tucked into bed by her adoring mother, Nova. But the next morning, the bed is empty except for a creepy toy rabbit.

Has Nova’s abusive ex stolen his “little bunny” back for good?

At first, Officer Ellie James assumes this is a clear custody battle. Until she discovers that there are no pictures of the girl and her drawers are full of unused toys and brand new clothes that have never been worn…

Is Ellie searching for a missing child who doesn’t actually exist?