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A review by lizabethstucker
When All the Girls Have Gone by Jayne Ann Krentz
4.0
Charlotte Sawyer becomes worried about her step-sister after one of Jocelyn's friends dies under suspicious circumstances. She asks private investigator Max Cutler for help after he reveals that he is looking into Louise's death.
Max quickly discovers that Jocelyn is definitely NOT at the tech-free retreat, that she left immediately after arriving and isn't staying at a hotel on the island. He and Charlotte realize that both Jocelyn and Louise were investigating a series of rapes, two of which ended in fatal drug overdoses. The deeper Max and Charlotte investigate, the more dangerous and complicated things become.
There is a lot of backstory for all of the characters, but Krentz does a great job revealing them in easily digestible nuggets. The build-up of attraction between Max and Charlotte is slow and believable, catnip for me. Also Charlotte understands and accepts Max's need for answers about the man who haunts his nightmares. Max also seems to have little problems with Charlotte being more his partner than his client, allowing her to accompany him into the field as well as trusting that she will do as he asks. Most of the time.
I loved this story, but I think my biggest problem with it was the way the various cops handled the deaths of the investment club members. Considering what a small group it was, having so many deaths or near-deaths within such a short period of time should've triggered a red flag for one of the cops. Instead they dismissed each death as accidents or unrelated. Sloppy plotting.
Strangely enough, there are multiple ending chapters, each of them being a good place to end. Almost as if Krentz either was determined to tie up some loose threads that could've waited for the next book in the series or couldn't bear to let Max and Charlotte go. However, that very last chapter about Ethel was perfect, so I won't complain!
A great start to what will be a trilogy, I guess. I know I will be starting the next in the series immediately and the third will be released in January of 2019. This is the JAK that I've come to love over the years, excellent characterization, interesting plots (even with the one quibble I had), and fascinating jobs. 4.5 out of 5.
Max quickly discovers that Jocelyn is definitely NOT at the tech-free retreat, that she left immediately after arriving and isn't staying at a hotel on the island. He and Charlotte realize that both Jocelyn and Louise were investigating a series of rapes, two of which ended in fatal drug overdoses. The deeper Max and Charlotte investigate, the more dangerous and complicated things become.
There is a lot of backstory for all of the characters, but Krentz does a great job revealing them in easily digestible nuggets. The build-up of attraction between Max and Charlotte is slow and believable, catnip for me. Also Charlotte understands and accepts Max's need for answers about the man who haunts his nightmares. Max also seems to have little problems with Charlotte being more his partner than his client, allowing her to accompany him into the field as well as trusting that she will do as he asks. Most of the time.
I loved this story, but I think my biggest problem with it was the way the various cops handled the deaths of the investment club members. Considering what a small group it was, having so many deaths or near-deaths within such a short period of time should've triggered a red flag for one of the cops. Instead they dismissed each death as accidents or unrelated. Sloppy plotting.
Strangely enough, there are multiple ending chapters, each of them being a good place to end. Almost as if Krentz either was determined to tie up some loose threads that could've waited for the next book in the series or couldn't bear to let Max and Charlotte go. However, that very last chapter about Ethel was perfect, so I won't complain!
A great start to what will be a trilogy, I guess. I know I will be starting the next in the series immediately and the third will be released in January of 2019. This is the JAK that I've come to love over the years, excellent characterization, interesting plots (even with the one quibble I had), and fascinating jobs. 4.5 out of 5.