A review by liseyp
One Step Too Far by Lisa Gardner

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

Thank you to the author, publishers Random House and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.

 

A new Lisa Gardner novel is always a treat, and this latest outing is no exception. Amateur missing person investigator and perpetual nomad Frankie Elkin has returned after her introduction in January 2021.

 

I enjoyed the first in the Frankie Elkin series, but One Step Too Far delivers an even tenser, gripping storyline with a more developed character who I’m hoping will continue for many more books yet.

 

Far removed from the big city Frankie’s latest search takes her into rural Wyoming, joining the fifth year of the search for Tim O’Day. Tim’s father Martin, the four best friends who were on the same hiking trip Tim disappeared from, a search dog and her handler, the local search and rescue leader and a genuine Bigfoot hunter, are all heading deeper into the extensive forests to try and find any trace of Tim’s body. Frankie turns up, a bit like the old TV series The Littlest Hobo, and invites herself on the hike when one of the original party gets ill.

 

The hike through the woods pushes Frankie to her physical limits, and as things go wrong there’s a real chance none of them will make it home.

 

I loved the characters, the relationships between them and how these were portrayed. Frankie’s personality traits really shone out as she casts her lot in with these complete strangers, having to quickly rely on them for survival whilst also uncovering the secrets which could lead to finding out what really happened to Tim.

 

An excellent read.