Laura Griffin
September 28, 2021
Berkley
Blurb: Up-and-coming attorney Leigh Larson fights for victims of sexual extortion, harassment, and online abuse. She is not afraid to go after the sleaziest targets to get payback for her clients. Leigh is laser-focused on her career—to the exclusion of everything else—until a seemingly routine case and a determined cop turn her world upside down.
Austin homicide detective Brandon Reynolds is no stranger to midnight callouts. But when he gets summoned to an abandoned car on a desolate road, he quickly realizes he’s dealing with an unusual crime scene. A pool of blood in the nearby woods suggests a brutal homicide. But where is the victim? The vehicle is registered to twenty-six-year-old Vanessa Adams. Searching the car, all Brandon finds is a smear of blood and a business card for Leigh Larson, attorney-at-law.
Vanessa had hired Leigh just before her disappearance, but Leigh has no leads on who could have wanted her dead. Faced with bewildering evidence and shocking twists, Leigh and Brandon must work against the clock to chase down a ruthless criminal who is out for vengeance.
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A few Laura Griffin books ago, I made an off-handed comment about not getting too attached to the individual you read about in the opening scene because Laura will make them worm-fodder. Whether she saw that comment or not, she has since turned that observation on its ear and I no longer know what’s going to happen to that person we read about in the opening chapter. Case in point, Last Seen Alone.
Vanessa Adams is the woman the reader meets at the beginning. The last we see of her she is running through woods. Her car’s found, her body’s not; however, there is a lot of blood in the woods. The police can’t consider this a homicide without a body, but all signs point that way.
Enter Detective Brandon Reynolds and Lawyer Leigh Larson. Brandon contacts Leigh because he found her card among Vanessa’s things. Leigh cooperates with Brandon only so far. There’s something about Vanessa’s case that attracts Leigh, perhaps something Leigh understands that she’s not sharing with Brandon.
Laura Griffin’s writing is, as always, flowing and meticulous, with enough hints and red herrings to keep her readers guessing. She serves up a satisfying ending of the mystery and the budding romance between Brandon and Leigh, who are both thankfully mature and interesting to read about. Everything a reader of romantic suspense could want.
Another excellent novel from Laura Griffin.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
