browneyedbookgirlie 's review for:

All the Missing Pieces by Catherine Cowles

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

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The queen of romantic suspense has done it again, just like I knew she would! I absolutely devoured this book; it's a true crime, romance lover's dream! It may be Catherine Cowles' best work to date!

When Ridley Bennett's twin sister Avery was abducted right before their college graduation, Ridley set out on a mission to find answers. Her podcast, Sounds Like Serial, becomes her place of purpose. In her VW Kombi van, she travels the country with her three legged cat, Tater, in search of the missing pieces. Her investigation leads her to Shady Cove, where she crosses paths with the broody, gruff, quick to pass judgment, mountain of a man Colter Brooks, who is the town sheriff. Even though there is immediate distrust and tension between the two of them, their chemistry is undeniable. Ridley, with her fierce personality, free spirit and determination, shows Colt that he couldn't be more wrong about her and they discover that they have much more in common than they realized. Colt becomes her protector and safe haven in the danger she faces while looking for answers. 

The biggest highlight for me was the transformation that Colt and Ridley's relationship went through. Watching their walls come down with each other was truly beautiful. There were so many funny, painful, raw, intimate, honest, intense moments between the two of them and I loved it all so much! There were also several supporting characters that really added to the story. I loved the strong sense of community; the people of this small town really looked out for each other. The town was so charming and there were moments where I felt like I was living in Shady Cove, wanting to solve these cold cases with Ridley and Colt. And, in true Catherine Cowles fashion, you think you have the villain figured out, but I promise that you don't!

Overall, this book was so, so amazing. It's a story of hope, courage, healing and love. Catherine's writing is absolute perfection and her ability to bring characters and stories to life is unmatched. I can't wait for what's next — I really hope that we get Trey and Emerson's story!

Thank you so much to Catherine and her team for the arc! 

𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔

🔎 Small town

🧩 Forced proximity

🔎 Enemies to lovers

🧩 True crime podcaster FMC

🔎 Sheriff MMC

𝑭𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑸𝒖𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔

"𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳."

"𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵, 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴? 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶."

"𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail