[b: Her Last Word|36240724|Her Last Word|Mary Burton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1512852445l/36240724._SY75_.jpg|57884052] by [a: Mary Burton|15020|Mary Burton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1535748765p2/15020.jpg] was a suspenseful mystery that held me in its grips until the end. The characters are well developed and the writing so good that I could visualize the characters and the setting for the story. I read it in one sitting and I liked it a lot. ( )

I was interested the entire book. It's really long and took longer for me to read. I had suspected the person who ended up being the murderer along with others. It did leave a loose end that I'm not happy about. I liked the main characters. The romance was kind of off. There is nothing but thoughts about being attracted to each other until all of a sudden they are kissing/having sex. ( )

This romantic suspense title stars Kaitlin Roe who is determined to make a podcast to try to find out what happened to her cousin Gina fourteen years earlier when she disappeared while walking home with Kaitlin.

Kaitlin was a difficult teen. She turned to drugs and alcohol to try to dampen the pain she felt because of her brother's suicide. She was sent to live with her aunt and cousin to give her a chance to change. She wasn't happy there but did like her cousin Gina. She had managed to stay dry for 11 months until the night Gina disappeared but social pressure and drugged alcohol made the night a blur for her. She knows she saw a clown-masked man grab Gina and she knows she was told to run, but the rest is lost in her memory.

Now she's clean and straight and determined to find Gina and bring her home. She's interviewing anyone who will talk about the crime. Detective John Adler isn't willing to be interviewed. He's busy with his current cases and getting over being inside a house when a bomb exploded which caused his partner to lose part of his leg.

But when people Kaitlin talks to start being murdered, Adler becomes involved. He's intrigued with Kaitlin but not at all sure that he can trust her.

The story includes transcripts of interviews and flashbacks to the original kidnapping in 2004. These are woven into the contemporary (2018) story of Kaitlin's building of a podcast. It is clear that someone is very upset about Kaitlin's attempt to find answers. There are lots of suspects including an old boyfriend of Kaitlin's who is in jail after killing a store clerk with a knife and who agrees to tell what he knows about Gina if he can make a deal to avoid the death penalty.

This was a great story ably narrated by Brittany Pressley. ( )

Full of intrigue. I like the way Ms. Burton gives hints and clues but at the same time kept you guessing. The clues led me to figure out the killer before the end but still had some surprises. This is the first book I have read by this author but definitely will not be the last. ( )

This is a mediocre mystery with a touch of romance.
Kaitlin Roe is tortured by the disappearance of her cousin some 14 years ago and is back to the place where it all happened. Her plan is to make a podcast on her cousin Gina with the overall aim of finding her. Her plan does not work as she intended when one of the key witnesses from the night of Gina's disappearance dies violently.

I found the resolution far-fetched and there were too many unsavory characters. The pieces of the puzzle came together in the end but it was all too forced and artificial. The romance aspect felt also a bit disingenuous. I rate it 3 stars because of the pacing aspect and the structure of unfolding the story but the plotting, characters and the rest left me wanting. If I remember this book in a month or two it will be because of the improbability of its events and resolution. ( )