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Buried Deep

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Member Reviews

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read and review this amazing book

t.r. ragan has done it again...with this fourth book in the series and the final one

a young girl who has disappeared off the face of the earth...could she have made a new identity for herself and changed the course of her life..but why is she now missing with her husband... jessie has only a couple of weeks to find her

a young woman wants jessie to find her mother,who she believes is alive...evidence previously says the husband kiilled her and went to jail for 10 years but released

and we finally find out who ben is as he remembers

what a storyline...kept me hooked right to the end...some very clever twists and turns

cant wait for the next book by this author, even if this series has ended...this one knows how to keep you reading right to the end...

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So another quick and easy read, that has a decent story, so it is not too light, but also not too heavy to go through, either. I really enjoy the Jessie Cole books, where I never really did the Lizzie Gardner books.

Ben Morrison painted to be a very complex character, and while he is, he is not too intense. The romance between Colin and Jessie is sometimes really flat, in the sense that it is not really anything, but Ragan keeps bringing it up to humanise Jessie or something? I don’t know.

Zee is also still an interesting character. She definitely has mental health issues, and they are explored, but again not in depth. I think Ragan likes to touch on subjects, but never gets too involved with anything, so the read always feels lighter.

The one issue there is with these books is that they don’t really have anything that sets them apart from each other, defining them. I look at how I read these two one after another, and thoroughly enjoyed them, but neither stood out on its own. They blur together, though I liked them well enough.

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There being so much wickedness in the world, war, disease, suffering and death, would the good-love, laughter, health, not be as meaningful? Did it take the depravity of humankind for people to appreciate everything else?

Jessie Cole a private investigator, girlfriend to Colin, friend to Ben, mother to sister's daughter Olivia, and boss to Zee has another round of nail biting, page turning, what the heck is going on cases to solve.

A young woman's father has spent nearly 10 years of life behind bars for the murder of her mother. She comes to Jessie's firm to find answers and a box of love letters to her mom from her father. She can't believe that her father would kill his wife. No body was ever found. His wife's parents testimony has put him behind bars. Jessie being tied up with another case, has Zee handle the case of the missing mom and conflicting testimony. I love Zee and her multiple personalities as she argues in her head her next step and the voices in her head telling her what is wrong. She believes the clue to find the missing mom is the parents. What are they hiding? and Why.

Jessie being short on funds for the month has taken a case of a missing young woman and her husband. A $25,000 bonus if she can find Lacy in time. No one has seen them since they left for their anniversary dinner. Lacey the missing young woman has a terrible past that she has escaped from and is now buried deep in her husband's cruelty and a psychopath bent on revenge. Will Jessie find her in time and what lengths will Lacey's abductor go to revenge the husband that Lacy did not know and now learning what kind of man he really is.

Ben and Colin are now at odds with each other. Jessie and Ben have a connection to her sister and Colin and Jessie's boyfriend can't help but feel the bad vibe that Ben seems to emulate. When an accused coach of sexual abuse goes free and ends up dead, Ben questions if he may have something to do with it. His amnesia of who he was in the past continues to haunt him and Colin knows its a matter of time before the truth comes out. This relationship is complex because you want to believe that Ben is a good man and that there is something that is missing from his past that he cannot connect to. One being why were Sophia (jessie's sister) and him together the night she died. Was he helping her or did he have something to do with her death?

The series always ends with cases being tied up but more questions left unanswered. Truly love all the dynamics of all the characters. Waiting for book 5.

A Special Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

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4.5 stars

Private Investigator Jessie Cole is back along with Zee, her schizophrenic assistant and budding PI, her boyfriend, Detective Colin Grayson, and her good friend, Ben Morrison, a crime reporter for the local newspaper.

Zee does well as long as she takes her medications, but the three distinct voices she hears never really go away. She thinks she'd actually be lonely if they did.

Ben was in a car accident 10 years ago. He's lost all memory of any time before that. But he does have visions/hallucinations of extremely violent crimes. Are these just in his imagination ... or are they showing him a glimpse of his life pre-amnesia?

Jessie is having a busy day. A woman wants her to look for her mother who has been gone for 30 years. Her father was accused of killing her although her body was never found. He spent 10 years in prison and has always said he was innocent.

A call from a different state asks for her help in locating a young woman who they can't locate. It seems her grandmother left her a sizeable amount of money.

And then there's the suspected suicide of a man who should be behind bars. There have been several complaints from the families of young girls and no one .. I mean no one .. wants him loose. When he is found hanging, there are plenty of suspects.

A family with secrets, a woman and her husband who are kidnapped, a man who can't stay away from young children .... kept me riveted to the story. The characters are all credible ... and memorable. There are lots of twists and turns to keep the reader entertained.

I really enjoyed seeing more of the personal side of Jessie and Colin, and especially of Ben.

Even though 4th (and maybe final) in this series, it is easily read as a stand alone, but I highly recommend starting from the very beginning. Excellent series!

Many thanks to the author / Thomas & Mercer Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

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What a nightmare. Just thinking about being buried with no way out and then finding out the not so nice things about you husband made med squirm. A great last book in an amazing series with all my questions answered. Highly recommended and five stars.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer!

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Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Buried Deep by T.R. Ragan that I read and reviewed.
If this was the the last book in the Jessie Cole series I can honestly say that I am very sad to see these characters go. They have grown on me with each book and they all feel like family and I am going to miss them a ton.
Now for this book as I said it was a great way to end the series if in fact it is the end. Jessie had a great case to solve that touched her and made her face some of her demons so it was fun seeing her character come full circle.
Zee got to go out on her own and have a real case and it was fun watching her in action. I love her character because she has gone through so much throughout the series and in my opinion she is the one that has grown the most and the one that is the most fun to read about.
Then there is Ben. He finally gets his answers but I am really mixed about how that comes to an end. No spoilers here but let’s just say I loved and disliked him and how his story may have ended I am not sure how I feel.
This was an excellent book that I could not put down. Truthfully, it may be the best of the series.
Buried Deep gets five out of five stars.

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Buried Deep – T.R. Regan

I was fortunate to receive this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an objective review.

Private Investigator Jessie Cole is back and this time she is tasked to find two women – one who walked out of her home thirty years ago, never to be seen again, thought to have been killed by her husband, and a second young woman who left a traumatic home as a teenager, and stands to inherit her grandmothers estate if she can be located. Jessie delegates one case to her quirky assistant Zee, while she begins the search for the long missing heiress.

Meanwhile, Jessie’s friend and local reporter Ben Morrison continues his struggle to remember who he was before a car accident took his memory from him years ago. Now married and with a young daughter, he sees and hears glimpses into the past that make him apprehensive of what he doesn’t remember, and yet desperately wanting to know…

And lastly, a young couple has been kidnapped and forced into an underground box of sorts by an unknown captor, and it will take all of their resourcefulness to gain their freedom. As time elapses they learn some surprising things about one another…
Jessie, Dee, Ben & Jess’s boyfriend Colin work to bring each case to fruition, they do so with surprising and not necessarily happy results, and the murder of a local child molester has Ben searching deep inside himself in fear of what he might find…

Another fabulous read from T. R. Ragan! I loved the interval character development of both Zee and Ben, as well as Colin’s sixth sense regarding Ben. I anxiously await the next in the series as we learn more about Zee and about who Ben really is…or was…

Great read!! Great series!!

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This thriller doesn't delve into just one riveting storyline, but three. PI Jessie Cole suddenly has more work than she can handle. Lacey's disappearance is on a short fuse with a potential bonus if she can find her within two weeks. Her office has also been put on the pursuit of a mother (Arlene) who disappeared thirty years ago and the daughter (Penny) is sure she is alive. Zee, a major support character with schizophrenia, will be tackling the latter case, her first.

Ben, an amnesiac linked to Jessie through her sister, is struggling with trying to piece together the bits of flashbacks that might reveal more of his life prior to that deadly automobile accident. He is a newspaper investigative reporter and is currently involved in a case with a pedophile who later shows up a questionable suicide.

I loved the way the author weaves these three storylines into and through the narrative keeping you on the edge of your seat, heart-thumping. It's unputdownable. The cast of both main and support characters work very well, including Colin (Jessie's main man) and Zee (Jessie's right-hand woman). Zee has a continual battle with those three voices in her head. Ben confronts a discovery readers have long suspected. Dialogue is taut and leading. Definitely more development with several of the secondary characters this time, although for a complete picture you may wish to begin with Book 1, Her Last Day. Still, if you love thrillers, you'll love this one.

The action-packed climax neatly wraps most loose ends leading me to wonder where the author may take this next. Talk about intense! I absolutely plowed through these pages! I was thrilled to receive this ebook download from the publisher and NetGalley and totally appreciate the opportunity to read and review. Ragan's writing will get into your head. She has a masterful style that keeps you glued and looking for more!

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The fourth book of the Jessie Cole series finds Jessie handling two missing person cases. One involves a daughter searching for her mother while the other involves a woman who stands to inherit money. Jessie delegates the first case to Zee, her assistant, while delving into the second case. Ben Morrison, meanwhile, continues to have doubts about his past. This book is intriguing throughout and leaves the reader with a huge cliffhanger regarding Ben.

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3.5 Stars
In ‘Buried Deep’ Private Investigator Jessie Cole is pretty busy. She’s got a missing married couple to find as well as trying to help a daughter figure out what happened to her mother 20 years ago. And Jessie’s friend crime reporter Ben Morrison isn’t having the best of time either. He’s dealing with being a suspect in a suspicious suicide as well as still trying to come to terms with his past.
I enjoyed catching up with Jessie, Zee, Olivia and Cole. A bit more of the mystery surrounding Ben’s past is also revealed. Overall a good read.

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There are three mysteries here, not the least of which is the continuing question of Ben Morrison, Jessie's friend and investigative reporter who doesn't really know much about his own past but is piecing things together. Don't worry if you haven't read the earlier books- I've only read one and I was fully engaged with this one. Jessie is trying to locate Lacey, who disappeared years ago. Why did she run and who is she now? She's due a lot, a lot of money. Jessie put aside the hunt for another woman, and that's picked up by Zee, a great character with a mental health issue. It will all make sense in the end. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Well written and entertaining, this is a good read.

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** I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for this opportunity**

I am a huge fan of the Jessie Cole series. I've read the three previous books and really enjoyed them. Jessie Cole is a PI with a cop boyfriend, a amnesia riddled reporter friend, and an amazing schizophrenic office assistant (I think she might be my favorite character in the series). There are multiple story lines in this book including two missing persons and an apparent suicide.

Ben Morrison is a reporter suffering from amnesia due to a car accident ten years earlier. In BURIED DEEP, we get some answers (finally!) to who he was and is now. I really enjoyed his chapters in this book as the case continues against his daughter's soccer coach. I also really enjoyed seeing the dynamic between him and Colin Grayson, the cop boyfriend.

When Jessie is hired to find Lacey Geiger, the case becomes complicated quickly. We also get Lacey's POV in this storyline and I loved her and her gumption. Her character arc was absolutely fabulous and I looked forward to every one of her chapters. Jessie's chapters were good, but honestly, in this book, I liked all the other perspectives more. *shrug*

Zee gets to work her first missing persons case and i loved every mistake she made. She is unique and her chapters had me smiling/grimacing throughout the book. The voices in her head were fun and engaging and is it too much to wish for a spin off series for Zee?

There was a lot going on in this one but it was thrilling and a quick read. I would definitely recommend reading the first three before hitting this one. While the author does a terrific job of revisiting each story line for each character to keep you from getting lost, there is a lot of backstory for each character and its worth it to read the others.

Final thoughts are that this is a solid thriller with wonderful characters, fast paced story, and complex plot. I would absolutely recommend the series to anyone looking for an exciting thriller read.

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Buried Deep was a thrilling read with several engaging storylines and some great development for the characters.

For PI Jessie Cole, having more work than she knows what to do with is never a bad thing. When approached by a young woman looking for her mother who disappeared thirty years ago, Jessie agrees to help the woman as she knows what it’s like to always wonder what if. But in the middle of that case, Jessie is offered a job with a nice bonus if she can find a woman who has inherited quite a bit of money. The only problem is, the woman disappeared without a trace over a decade ago. While Jessie is busy tracking down the two missing women, Ben is struggling with bits and pieces of memories of his life prior to the accident that left him with amnesia ten years ago.

Of the three cases in this book I found the story of Lacey Geiger, one of the missing women, to be the most interesting. There are actually chapters in this book that follow Lacey and I was definitely interested to know how she ended up in the situation she did. The ending of Lacey’s storyline was very well done and I liked how Jessie tied into it. As to the other missing woman, Zee is actually the one who actively works that case. I liked how Zee’s approach to her work was different than Jessie’s and getting to see how much Zee enjoys her work. The suicide case, which is the one Ben is involved in, was the least interesting to me. I ended up guessing the outcome to that one rather early which was a bit disappointing, but I did like how that storyline led to some revelations about Ben.

With two big cases on her plate, Jessie relies more heavily on Zee than in previous books. I’m enjoying the friendship that has formed between the pair and how much working with Jessie has changed Zee. We get quite a bit of Colin in this book which I loved as I really enjoy his interactions with Jessie. I was definitely happy to see them move their relationship forward and I’m looking forward to seeing the pair spend more time together in future books. There were also quite a few scenes with Olivia, Jessie’s niece, as well some appearances of Olivia’s adorable dog Higgins.

We finally get confirmation in this book of some things from Ben’s past that I have long suspected. I’m curious what direction the author is going to take Ben’s character and how the discoveries he made in this book will effect him going forward. One thing that surprised me was that Jessie and Ben didn’t interact at all in this book. There were a few scenes where Colin was with Ben, but for the most part Ben’s storyline was completely separate from Jessie’s.

Overall Buried Deep was just as fantastic as the rest of the series and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in future books. I would definitely recommend the series for anyone looking for thrillers with a strong female lead.

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Thank you Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of Buried Deep, the fourth book in the series.

T.R.Ragan has done it again. This series just keeps getting g better and better. Jessie Cole is super busy now with several cases open when she gets two more cases added to the load and they just happen to be missing person cases. Can she solve theses cases especially when one has a two week time limit on it? This was very well written with the same characters we know and love! I would recommend this book to everyone who enjoys mystery/thrillers. It kept you guessing to the very end!

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Buried Deep is the fourth outstanding book in the Jessie Cole series written by author T. R. Ragan. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for the advance copy.

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I would like to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of Buried Deep, the fourth novel to feature Sacramento PI Jessie Cole.

Jessie’s business is keeping her occupied so when two new cases turn up she’s unsure if she can cope. Her solution is to let her assistant, Zee Gatley, loose on the Penny Snyder’s desire to find her mother who went missing 30 years ago while she takes the big money case, the hunt for heiress Anne Elizabeth Corrigan who must be found within two weeks to claim her inheritance. In the meantime Jessie’s friend, journalist Ben Morrison, is still trying to piece together his pre-amnesia past.

I thoroughly enjoyed Buried Deep which is a good, entertaining read with plenty of twists and turns. Despite the title it is not a particularly profound novel and there were several points where I expected twists to develop but turned out to be straightforward plot devices, like the call out of the blue to find Elizabeth Ann Corrigan. Instead it depends on these straightforward plot devices to generate excitement and suspense, which it manages to do well. The novel is told from various points of view, Jessie, her boyfriend Colin, Zee, Ben and most importantly the kidnapped and imprisoned Lacey and Jason Geiger who provide much of the tension. This should sow confusion and inattention in the reader but the simple plot lines and well defined roles make it quite compulsive. It helps that Jessie is the common denominator in all but Ben’s story.

There is a lighthearted warmth to much of the novel, mostly due to Jessie’s caring personality and Zee’s conversations with her schizophrenic alter egos. Lacey and Jason’s struggles to free themselves are darker but still optimistic but Ben’s story is a counterpoint, getting darker as the novel progresses.

To me there is a sense of finality to this novel with several things changing and discoveries made. Either the author is going to take the characters in a new direction or that’s it. Who knows?

Buried Deep is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

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First of all... is this the end??? Because I. Am. Not. Ready. It’s been a hell of a ride with Jessie Cole and her crew! This 4th book had everything I expected! (even the ending somehow). This time the killer buried alive a young couple and they have to find they’re way out. Jessie’s new assignment is to find them before is too late. We also enjoy a little bit more of Ben Morrison (which we know can’t remember anything of his past and was with Jessie’s sister when she died) and Zee and her voices, oh Zee...my favorite character!! Laughed so hard with her! Loved it!

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Absolutely loved this book, what a cracking read! It had me hooked from page one and didn’t let me go until that magnificent ending, wow what an ending that was! It was full of drama and tension, fear and despair, it was really well written and got the emotion across to me. This is TR Ragan at her best and truly deserves 5 stars it was a bloody brilliant book.

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Buried Deep I see the 4th book in the PI Jessie Cole series and I certainly hope not the last...but it felt like the end. TR Ragan writes such fantastic, addictive stories with characters that feel like family. I have been a fan of her book since I picked up Abducted, the first book in the Lizzie Gardner series which I devoured and was also sad to see end. Jessie Cole and her niece Olivia, boyfriend Cole, Zee the schizophrenic work college and Ben the newspaper writer have all become dear to me and I love picking up the next instalment. If this is the end then I am looking forward to what comes next.

As this is book 4 in this series I highly recommend that you start from beginning of the series. So much happens to all the characters in each book and you really need to know all of this going into Buried Deep. They are all available on kindle unlimited so you really have no excuse not to read them all!

Again we go on a roller coaster ride in this book with 3 cases all happening at the same time. Jessie has been asked to assist in locating Lacey Geiger who disappeared many years ago and is thought to be living under a new name in Sacramento. Zee is working on her first case trying to find Arlene, Penny's daughter who until recently was beloved to have been murdered by her husband. And then there is Ben who is still trying to piece his past together. He is working on follow up stories to cases from his past and memories start to flash back. When suspected paedophile Roger Willis is released on bail and later found dead, Ben is one of the top suspects.

There is. It a chance to relax when reading this book, you will want to know what is happening next in all these storylines. As always I powered through this book and read it in 2 sittings. I love this series and any fans of detective novels will do too.

Thanks to Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased

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Buried Deep is the 4th book in the Jessie Cole series. I recommend reading the previous books to get the back story, especially on Ben and Zee.

There's a lot going on in this book. Jessie, the Private Investigator, is looking for a woman that vanished years ago. Zee, is investigating a mother that was allegedly murdered years ago, and Colin is investigating a suicide/murder. As always, Ben is struggling with his past and lost memories.

The story was well written with likable characters. It was fast paced with lots of suspense. I recommend this series. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for a copy of T.R. Ragan's "Buried Deep" in exchange of an honest review.

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