I've been struggling to complete this book for over a month now with no luck. I'm about 30% done and that's as much of the long overly descriptive paragraphs that I can stand.

Girl Most Likely is a fast-paced thriller that is the first book in the Krista Larson Series. If you like police procedurals, you will love this book , as I DID!

My attention was immediately grabbed from the first chapter and let me tell you WHY! The author brilliantly wrote the opening murder scene without out revealing the gender of the killer. I had no idea what was going on and things moved very quickly after that, and I really enjoyed not knowing what was going on.

I also enjoyed the amount of descriptive writing as this can be very important in police procedurals and revealing little clues to the mystery. Now I am not holding this down to just a police procedural as it was quite the suspense novel.

Looking forward to the next book in this series by this Award Winning Author.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the subtitle "a thriller" is dishonest, and probably put there because you might otherwise confuse this with a Harlequin romance--without even the excitement of a ripped bodice or two. I'm sorry to see such a good author put his name on such a mediocre and mislabeled product.

Very little of the text is devoted to the mystery, or anything else thrilling. There are elaborate brand-name descriptions of what everyone wears and eats. In one particularly over-the-top scene, the main character and her father have dinner in an Italian restaurant with zero events or dialog relevant to the plot. We learn what they order and how they do it, how they like their food--and not just the entrees, everything from bread to dessert--how they pay and what they think about the waitress. If that's not bad enough, we also learn what unidentified people eat at another table, completely unconnected with any plot element.

Another big portion of the book is repeating some basic facts about the main character. That she's a police chief, and very young for the job. That her mother died. That her father was a detective is a larger place across the state line. That someone she went to high school with owns and manages a resort. This makes it feel like the 20th book in a series that long since ran out of energy and consists only of characters mouthing their taglines are telling each other stuff they already know that happened in early books. What's special about this one is the flaw occurs in book 1 of the series.

The book is structured like a procedural, but none of the procedural stuff helps in the solution to the crime. It either leads down completely irrelevant blind alleys--and not very credible ones--or is forgotten. It's one of those procedurals in which people are always sending stuff to the "lab" but the lab never sends anything back.

Given the author's prolific history of pretty-good to very-good mysteries and thrillers, I seriously debated whether this is a parody. I'm sure the author knows how bad this book is, and recognizes all the flaws, unless he was reaching for some kind of ethereal subversive anti-thriller beyond my perception. Maybe someone smarter than me can find the virtue in this book.

This all sounds like a one-star review, but that's because I'm disappointed in the author. Subtract that element and it's a smoothly written cozy, about average for that genre, although somewhat more violent. You get a better idea of this book if you think of it as titled, "Murder and what to wear to your high school reunion when Dad moves in."

In a small town, a school reunion is being planned. Out of towners are expected and some who have made it big are also expected. Not all are looked at fondly especially Astrid who seemed to have taken great delight in taking away the boyfriends of all her school friends and then discarding them when it was not quite convenient.

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Memories seem to be harsh and though Krista now head cop of the small force in town is rightly proud of her position, she is slightly unnerved to face the crowd that is going to come. Her father who lives with her now is also a retired Detective. When things dont go quite as planned and when the body of Astrid is discovered brutally murdered, most people think that it is beyond the capabilities of this small police force since investigations reveal that it is not just jealous women or men in the community at play here.


When this becomes a triple murder Krista at times seems a little out of her depth and lacking the confidence to handle the situation alone. She does depend on her father for help and this is fine as otherwise she would have consulted outsiders in the force. The police procedure and the regulations which were followed and detailed in the book also add a lot of interest to the story.


Nice characterization as well of all who played a part in the book.

Girl Most Likely is not a show stopper kind of a book. It is a mediocre at best read. I was surprised because I thought it would be better.

“It’s never too late for revenge”

From what appears to be a slightly different approach to the author’s usual style of writing, this was a well constructed, thoughtfully researched, police procedural / murder mystery, which packed a punch in the scenes when it needed to ratchet up the tension, throwing in just enough red herrings to maintain the intrigue and kept me guessing right to the end – and, I have to admit, still quite a way from me getting it right!

The core plot was very relevant and on trend with current news features, highlighting with great clarity and insight, the enormous and potentially personal risks which whistleblowers are prepared to take, to ‘out’ their personal nemeses, often with disastrous consequences for themselves and others. Although it is a debatable point as to whether there would have been anyone stepping up to point the finger, if the murderer hadn’t panicked about the concept of a reunion and pre-empted a hypothetical situation – who knows!

Whilst I was happy that Krista was keeping her head above water during the investigation, I wasn’t completely comfortable with her role as Chief of Police, feeling that she wasn’t quite strong enough in personality, or experienced and confident enough in her new position to achieve her full potential. I am hoping that her role will grow in stature and independence as the series progresses and that Keith will take slightly more of back seat, perhaps as more of an advisor than a partner, although they do play off one another well, so there is no way the partnership should be ended completely, anytime soon.

I don’t think that Krista’s first major investigation was helped by the fact that the victims, just about all the suspects and indeed, the murderer, were known to her personally, and had been since childhood. Also, as the investigation unfolded, it became clear that Krista herself was involved in the complex events of the past, which had helped to bring about these current tragic developments.

Although she took great pains not to allow that to colour her judgement, to stay focused and professional, it took Keith’s experience and wisdom to start separating the wood from the trees, with the help of those few former friends and colleagues of the perpetrator, who realizing that something had been amiss for some time, were finally made to feel guilty enough to voice their doubts, even if it was only so that they were able to be eliminated as suspects themselves! I would have quite liked a little more detailed account of the accusers suspicions, although that didn’t really detract from the storyline, or the pace events moved at.

On the whole, Max managed to create quite a disparate bunch of suspects, none of which for me, were particularly likeable, which is probably what made the revelation of the actual perpetrator so difficult for me to work out. However, I did really like the idea that I got to ‘know’ the killer and a little of what they were thinking, as Max very cleverly had the book’s chapters switch back and forth between the first and third person, so that we read about the murders as they happened and from the killer’s point of view.

From a purely personal perspective, after a story so choc full of lavish descriptions, including the breath-taking end game, which might have benefitted from a little more time and attention to detail, I would have liked to have heard more about the killer’s motives for their original crimes, alongside them describing how they were committing their present day murders, an area which was left a little vague. There were also one or two seemingly unrelated outside events which were thrown into the mix, mostly concerning Krista’s father, which were also left as rather ‘unfinished business’ – I wonder if this was a deliberate omission, so that they were left as possible tie-ins to any future storylines?

Following on from earlier posts about the book, where I indicated that Max planned to write a further story featuring the father / daughter team, which would be a prequel to Girl Most Likely, I am now pleased to announce that the next book will form part of an extended series, with the prequel being put on hold for a while.

A Twitter follower posed the question as to whether we ever read the acknowledgements at the end of a book, or if we closed the cover as soon as the story was done with?

Well! I have to admit that I rarely bother with the acknowledgement pages, unless I have a few more minutes reading time available, but not quite enough time to begin a new book.

However, this was one such occasion and I was pleased to discover that the City of Galena, Illinois, does in fact have a female Police Chief, who having worked her way up through the ranks, was more than amenable to answering Max’s questions about the local area and policing procedure, adding credence to the storyline and illustrating the research and attention to detail by the author.

I was even more pleased to have a few moments left to research a little about the City, which is named after a mineral mined in the area, was the home of Ulysses S. Grant and several other Civil War Generals and is today, a popular tourist destination in the region.

https://www.fiction-books.biz/reviews/its-never-too-late-for-revengegirl-most-likelyby-max-allan-collinsreview/

What happens when the youngest female police detective who works in the town where she grew up, finds murder around the event of her 10th high school reunion? This is the plot that drives the short novel by an author who seems to always please Max Allan Collins.

Mr. Collins does not disappoint with this offering. The novel has the small town feel without becoming a cozy. It is still dark, but the protagonist, her father, the boyfriend she is sort of breaking up with, her drinks-too-much girlfriend, and more brought me further into the book. I really enjoyed the characters, their relationships, and all of these factors added to the story.

What drew me in and kept me in was the opening chapter. This and a few others are narrated by the killer, of whom the reader does not know the identity. That choice by the author helped to engage me throughout. The ending is satisfying and quick to conclude, and that is not a bad thing. It left me wanting more!

Girl Most Likely is a slow moving crime story that might be an introduction to a series.
Krista Larson is the police chief of a small town in Illinois and the youngest female police chef in the country. She followed in her fathers footsteps who was also a police detective and there is reference to a previous case that helped her become chief.
Krista has a 10 year high school reunion coming up and someone is killing former classmates to keep their past misdeeds secret.
The first half of the book was mostly introduction to the characters and really dragged for me. While Lrista’s relationship with her father improves the story, it does seem as though it is overdone. I agree with another reviewer who said it was a stretch to think a young police chief still establishing that she deserves the position would immediately call in her father to help on her first big challenge- a murder case.
This is yet another book where the murderer is revealed at the very last few pages and the story ends abruptly leaving the reader hanging.
The descriptions and characters are well developed but the story dragged.
Thank you to #netgalley and publishers Thomas & Mercer for the free e-book in exchange for my opinion.

I have really mixed feelings about this book. It plays out like a typical mystery, which aren't my favorite kind of books, although I do love a good "whodunnit" book. The writing wasn't my favorite style... but I still really enjoyed Krista and Keith. I thought there were some good red herrings to keep us guessing until the end. I'm assuming this book will be part of a series because of the abrupt ending. For these reasons, I'm rating this book 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3, because it was not the most original and the writing style was not my favorite. This does not make it a bad book, by any means.

I really enjoyed Girl Most Likely. The main character is Krista Larson and it looks like this is going to be the first in a series centered on her. This was a super quick read for me and the story took off immediately. I found that refreshing because I feel like most thrillers have a ton of buildup. My one semi-complaint is that everything felt kind of surface level to me. Overall this was a great book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Girl Most Likely by Max Allan Collins is a thriller revolving around several murders from a 2009 high school graduating class from Galena, Illinois. The story focuses on Krista Larsen, the police chief in Galena who is also from the class. Krista and her classmates are getting ready for their ten year high school reunion when they find out one of their classmates has been murdered. An additional murder occurs in Galena on the night of the reunion. This is a crime Krista doesn't have to navigate often in this town. She calls on her father, Keith, a retired detective to consult on how to proceed. I really enjoyed reading this one. While there is crime happening, this story also focuses more on the process that Krista goes through. It was really about how she was going to question her classmates, piece together clues, and figure out the identify of the murderer. The book did a good job of building suspicion for different characters, so much so that I couldn't figure out who the killer was. I always appreciate when I have that suspense along with the plot/characters. I kept reading because I had to get resolution, and I was along for the ride on each lead that Krista and Keith explored. This is apparently going to be a series, and it's one I'll definitely check back in on from here. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me check this recent release out.

A great mystery for the girls at the beach. A bit more intense and bloody than a cozy. But great characters and a truly believable plot. Lots of twists and turns with memories of my own high school memories and reunions.

I was very excited to pick up Max Allen Collins' 'Girl Most Likely". I thought the cover was really well done, and the description instantly hooked me. I love a good mystery.

The storyline of this book is great - a young police chief is trying to solve the murder of a high school classmate after their 10 year reunion. In the course of the investigation, this murder is linked to another murder of a classmate from a couple of months previous. Some parts of this story are really well-done. I did feel like I could envision all of the characters, The pacing was just right, The reader is kept guessing throughout the novel.

However, I felt like all of the characters were a little flat. The descriptions felt amateur-ish. Krista is a notably young, female police chief and yet at no point to we see her show what got her that role. She calls her retired father in to consult on the murder as soon as someone questions her ability to handle it on her own. He instantly seems to take the lead in the investigation, while at the same time introducing himself to every interviewee as the police chief's daughter? It all felt really unprofessional.

My other complaint is that while there was some guessing on 'whodunit", there was never an 'Ah-ha!" moment for the reader. It's fun to have there be a bit of the story where it all ties together. Instead the reveal was more of a "who? that guy?' for me.

All in all, this was a quick, enjoyable read.

Thank you to Net Galley and Thomas and Mercer for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

When I found out that Max Allan Collins is coming out with a new book, 'Girl Most Likely,' pub date April 1, 2019 I rushed to check it out. As most of you know by now I devour crime books, espionage, mystery and suspense. And when I got my hands on a copy of Collins' hotly anticipated Girl Most Likely I parked myself on my favorite reading chair and ignored the dishes in the sink calling out to me, the laundry politely asking if I was getting it done and my family wondering if I will be providing a cooked meal for them that night. How could I? I was in Galena, a small town in Illinois, getting acquainted with Chief of Police, Krista Larson, did I mention she is the youngest police chief ever, and her retired cop father, Keith.

One weekend in February, the slow paced town begins to burst with out-of-towners, who have gathered for the Galena High School, class of 09, ten year reunion. Krista's class. While the classmates catch up, gossip, flash pictures of their kids, at a lakefront resort, one of their classmates, the most popular girl in the class of 09, The Girl Most Likely to Successed, whom is deeply hated by her female classmates, having stolen some of their high school boyfriends, is murdered, gruesomely stabbed to death, at her parent's home. This is Galena's first homicide in twenty years and Krista's first major crime as a police chief. She too has a bone to pick with the Girl Most Likely, Astrid Lund.

A connection is quickly established with the murder of another female classmate, who was killed in Clearwater, Florida, six months before the reunion. Krista commissions the help of her father, Keith, to help with the murder investigation, since the Galena police department has only twelve officers at its disposal and she could use his help. After all, in this investigation everyone could become a murder suspect. I had a hard time deciding which character was my favorite in this dynamic duo - Krista or her father.

I connected with both in a different way and each one brought a crucial element to the plot.'Girl Most Likely' is superb, and no, I'm not exaggerating. It has all the right ingredients to introduce a new character in a series and become a staple in your library. It's suspenseful, it's complex, at times funny and at times dark.

Collins knows how to craft a story that won't reveal it's self too quickly, on the contrary. I pride myself on being able to early on establish whodunnit in books, but not in this case and isn't that after all why we read murder mysteries?! I think so.

This book was an interesting and clever who dunnit but I was a bit disappointed in the ending. The characters were interesting and likable and it was very suspenseful. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

Wow! Awesome page turning whodunnit. This book was a whirlwind from the first page. When two women from the same graduating class end up murdered right around the time of their ten year class reunion the mystery begins. What connects these two victims, and why were they targeted are questions that police chief Krista must try to decipher. Krista, who is also a member of the same graduating class, has help on the case from her father, who is a retired police officer. This is a fast paced, excellent mystery. I am thrilled to see that this is the first book in a series.

I was excited to read this book because I really enjoyed Collins’ <I> Criminal Minds </I> books and his writing. Unfortunately I found myself more often irritated than interested. His writing style here reminded me of R.L. Stine - in that it is sometimes intriguing and makes you want to turn the pages, but mostly outdated.
It felt cheesy and superficial. A lot of descriptions of outfits and body weight (“an athletically slender gal” “an almost under-control weight problem”) and quotes such as: <b> “A girlfriend of Krista’s (in the “friend” sense only)” </b> and <b> “hair short but not mannishly so” </b> had me gritting my teeth.

I did like the killer’s sections being told in the second person and the father/daughter relationship.

I think people may enjoy this as a summer read. It’s easy to pick up and put down while you’re on the plane or the beach.

Loved this thriller! Great storyline, character depiction and the writing just flows. Kudos to the author who truly managed to bring the story to life. I enjoyed the book very much and will definitely make sure to read more by this talented writer.

Max Allan Collins' Girl Most Likely has received mixed reviews on Goodreads (from 2-5 stars). It starts with a brutal murder told in the first person, and the murderer voices his concerns about his next victim(s) in several other chapters. Who and why?

Set in Galena, Illinois, much is made of the Scandinavian roots of Krista Larson, the young woman police chief of Galena. There is an awful lot of "virtue signaling," a phrase I've not heard of before, but was actually in need of for a recent novel. Thanks to reviewer Glen for providing me with the perfect way to describe an author's tendency to keep pounding the characteristics of a good character as if I needed constant reminding.

There are WAY too many details of clothing, which irritated me as well. Yes, clothing details can be revealing, but details for every item, for almost every character feels like filler.

OK, Krista must discover the guilty party among her former classmates when a murder during their ten-year reunion occurs.

NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer
Crime/ Police Procedural. April 1, 2019. Print length: 272 pages.