I was unaware this was a debut novel. I'm impressed!

This is book 1 in a series featuring, Caitlin Bergman, best seller and journalist. Caitlin returns to her university, where she left suddenly 20 years prior without explanation. She announces why she left to the whole university leaving everyone shocked. Wowza! That was interesting! She is approached afterwards by a student who asks for her help in trying to find her missing friend. She agrees to help investigate the missing persons case of Angela Chapman who vanished 2 years earlier.

Caitlyn is a strong character fighting her own demons and I really enjoyed her. I really could have done without the detective/sex part, to me it added nothing to the story but clichés but some may disagree.

I found this book started strong, was a little slow in the middle but picked up speed again and ended nicely. I would like to read more of this author and of Caitlin Bergman so I'm all in for book number 2!

A big thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book! A solid 4 stars!

I applaud that the author draws attention to sexual assault and other dangers on college campuses in his book COME AND GET ME, the first in a new series about Caitlin Bergman, an investigative journalist, who returns to her alma mater after 20 years. He does a very good job of portraying the psychological scars and the way some victims’ past sexual history is used to intimidate them into not filing charges. Unfortunately, it isn’t enough to make this book stand out from other books - and series - where a journalist helps police solve a missing student’s case. (Fiona Barton’s “The Suspect” immediately comes to mind which features journalist Kate Waters…)

The story was very slow and seemed to drag on when I wished it would just wrap up. Also, all the explicit sexual descriptions were a bit too much for me. I felt some of the things in the story were just ridiculous and mainly included for shock value like when Caitlin slips on a used maxi pad. Why was that necessary to include in the story? In fact, why was it even necessary that a character being held against her will had to have her period in the first place? Yuck.

Another thing that really got old after awhile was the fraternity bashing and stereotyping. It added absolutely nothing to the story because there are plenty of non-Greek students who engage in such behavior or even worse behavior. It was distracting to read and made me think the author may possibly be harboring some resentment toward the Greek system from his own college days since he used real chapter names instead of fictitious ones. People who have not been in the Greek system should be very careful what they say about sororities and fraternities because the truth is, they just do not know what actually happens behind closed doors.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

Caitlin Bergman is back in Bloomington to accept an honorary degree from Indiana University. She fled just four credits short of graduation without telling anyone why. Now her best friend is the head of the Media Department and has convinced her to come.

During a Q & A after her degree ceremony, she is asked if she has come to investigate the disappearance of Angela Chapman who was a sophomore when she was last seen. Her best friend Lakshmi Anjale is a student journalist who has been keeping Angela's disappearance in the public's awareness. Caitlin also confesses that she left twenty years earlier because she had been beaten and raped. The police convinced her not to file charges and threatened to use her own sexual history to smear her reputation.

She has come back, partially, to face that situation and try to finally lay it to rest. But looking into Angela's disappearance gives her an excuse to stay more than the weekend she had planned. The movie deal money from her current best seller has given her the freedom to decide what she wants to do next. She thinks that Angela's story might turn into her next book.

As she delves into the events of the two years earlier, she meets those who were involved including Jerry Greenwood from the Bloomington PD who was involved in the earlier investigation. She also mentors Lakshmi in investigative journalism as they retrace the events of Angela's disappearance.

Meanwhile and intertwined in the story, we get some scenes from the character who took Angela as he focuses on a new victim and fixates on Caitlin.

This was an engaging page turner with a twisty, fast-paced plot. Caitlin in an intriguing character who excels in her work as an investigative journalist despite the trauma that still fills her life. I liked her and would like to read more stories about her.

Caitlin Bergman, a well regarded journalist, returns to Indiana University to be awarded and honorary degree. But in returning to IU, Caitlin must also face hers fears and memories on the rape she endured her senior year. And while her rapist is in prison, someone else has started to pray on female students and Caitlin takes on the story with the full force of her investigative skills. COME AND GET ME has one of the most engaging protagonists I've met in a long time. She smart and snarky and has good skills, but she is no superhero. Norman's excellent writing and good plotting put me in mind of the Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais. Can't wait to read the next in the series.

This is an interesting story about a reporter who not only comes back to get closure to her own assault but also is trying to help find a missing girl. The main character is very much a journalism star even after her own attack many years ago. It is a suspenseful story that holds the attention of the reader.

Description
An intrepid journalist confronts a small town’s dark secrets in Come and Get Me, a breakneck thriller for fans of Tess Gerritsen and Julia Keller.

At Indiana University, someone’s been studying the female student body: their dating customs, nocturnal activities—and how long they can survive in captivity.

When award-winning journalist Caitlin Bergman is invited back to campus to receive an honorary degree, she finds an opportunity for a well-earned victory lap—and a chance to face the trauma that almost destroyed her as an undergrad. But her lap becomes an all-out race when a student begs her to probe an unsolved campus disappearance: Angela Chapman went out one Friday night and never came back.

To find the missing woman, Caitlin must join forces with a local police detective and the department that botched her own case so long ago. But while Caitlin follows the clues behind Angela’s disappearance, someone else is following her…

Unearthing secrets hidden beneath an idyllic Midwestern college town, Caitlin must expose what really happened to Angela—before she herself becomes the newest addition to a twisted collection.


I found it pretty good. Not the 5 stars. It was not a huge page turner for me. I could put it down, several times.

This is a story about Caitlin Bergman, a writer and journalist. She has been invited back to Indiana University to receive an honorary degree by her old college friend and Dean of Media, Mary Lubbers-Gaffney. During the Q&A section, she talks about her rape while she was a student. It was the event that led her to leave college and not finish. This is also when she learns of a missing student, Angela Chapman, who has been missing for 2 years. Although she was supposed to fly out the next day, she ends up staying. She is not only working through her demons, she has decided to help Lakshmi Anjale investigate Angela's disappearance. What happened the night she went missing? Was there a cover-up of an accident, or something worse? Can Caitlin fight her demons off long enough to find out what happened?

I felt the book started of a little slow, I had a hard time getting into it. I was glad I stuck it out. Once it got going, it didn't stop. There were moments when I wanted to yell at Caitlin to shut-up, not because she was annoying, but she was getting into a moment. She was letting that moment cloud her judgment and take the filter of her mouth. The author wrote this character well, made it to where I hated the fact that the book ended. She may not be everyone's idea of a leading character, but that makes her a perfect one. I can't wait to read more about her and she what trouble she can get into.

Oh, how do I even start to describe this book!! This had me hooked on from the very first chapter and had me hooked on to the very last one. I completed this book in a day as I just could't put it down. All I did all day was read. I had requested this book from NetGalley after just reading the overview and I am so glad that I did request it and I was given the book. This is a book I will definitely recommend to anyone who cares to listen and I can't wait for August Norman to come out with another book. And a big big thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for giving me the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

A pretty typical mystery, light reading, enjoyable enough but nothing too surprising, thought provoking or moving. Moments it reached 4 stars but overall a 3 or 3.5

Fantastic read. Your never quite sure on which way the author will lead the storyline. But it had me on the edge of my seat. Very good easy to read

This book was very compelling for me. I enjoyed the many different characters and the story. This book had more twists and turns than I expected.  It was fast-paced and it caught me and sucked me in from the beginning.  College campuses have problems too sometimes and this book helps bring up how scar it can get at college.  *This book was given to me for free at my request from NetGalley and I provided this voluntary review.*

My favorite thing about this book was that it was set in Bloomington, Indiana. Give it up for the Hoosiers!! I felt that the last 30 % of this book was non-stop action and I loved that. The beginning set up was a little slow going but once I got into it I couldn't stop. I was surprised by the who the evil kidnapper was and didn't see that coming. I look forward to the next book in this series.

This is a competent murder mystery about a female journalist who returns to her college hometown to receive an honorary degree and whilst visiting gets pulled into the mystery of a college girl who's disappeared.

Caitlin (the main character) had a traumatic experience whilst at college and is still suffering the after effects many years later. The book is unpredictable and fast paced with many twists and turns and it's a good read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Come and Get Me by August Norman is a very fast paced thriller with a strong female leading character.

The secondary characters are well developed and the twists and turns are great!

I really enjoyed this book , it is a page turner that you won't be able to put down. There is a great amount of action and suspense, and I loved that.

This book is first in a series and I cannot wait to read the next book.

Feisty journalist returns to Hell

When Caitlin Berger fled Bloomington and her friends a few weeks before graduating, her life was in tatters. Her return, years later, as an award-winning investigative journalist, to receive her degree, should have been triumphant but the mysterious disappearance of a girl 2 years previously threatens to bring back memories which have haunted her for years. Will she be able to vanquish her demons?

Our fictional heroine is a feisty, sex-loving, pot-smoking woman whose harsh upbringing has sculpted her character and personality. She can hardly be described as likeable but she’s a person who commands respect as someone who comes straight to the point and expects the same from others. Her various sidekicks are equally strong and tenacious having weathered their own dramas, emerging steel-hardened to continue their lives.

So, the female characters are all well-formed and developed, whereas many of the male characters are flawed, with the possible exception of Mike Roman – an investigator also with history. It was also difficult at times to determine the motivation of the male characters although this added to, rather than detracted from, the development of the plot. It was a surprise, on the investigation, to find that the author is male who should be congratulated on writing about such strong female personalities.

The dialogue was gritty and precise and the author does not shy away from subjects perhaps not mentioned in polite society. However, one criticism I have is that it was neither one thing or the other. There was passing mention to menstruation and masturbation but no explicit sex scenes. Given the core subject of the novel I personally think the plot would have benefited from the inclusion of a few steamy episodes as I found the references titillating more than anything else. Maybe I should remind myself of the intended audience for which the book was written. A European audience is perhaps more used to rough and ready sex scenes than an American one.

On balance, therefore, this thriller thoroughly deserves 4 stars. The pace is varied and the plot flows seamlessly. The tension builds towards the end and the denouement, whilst predictable and a little boring, is, nonetheless, very satisfactory. It’s a recommended read.

mr zorg

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to read.

Norman provides everything you want in a Suspense Thriller : intensity, a dark preditor, a turbulent
and tangled case, no clear and logical solutions, and a deeply determined herion who’s well worth rooting for.”

complex and interesting lead and supporting characters that are very well drawn. Darn impressive, and very relative
of current crimes "

"It truly leaves you wanting more." -

If you’re from a small town then you will relate to the vibe in this book!

I don’t usually like law enforcement novel but this was just enough. Our main character goes back to her home town for a visit, but she stays longer than expected to help local law enforcement solve a cold case.. a cold case that feels like dejavu.

An interesting book, layered with many characters and story lines. At times it seemed to be a little slow, but picked back up quickly. Overall, a good book with a creative storyline.

The main character reaches back to her darkest memories from the past when the college student goes missing. The journalist turns her life upside down in order to help fin the missing girl. Good read, fast paced thriller.

This is a story about a woman, Caitlin, a journalist. She is living in California and returns to her college town in Bloomington, Indiana. She had not returned in twenty years, after having survived a brutal attack. There are a few storylines going on with the engaging cast of supporting characters. I struggled to get through this book in parts. It was a bit formulaic and predictable. 3.5 stars.