So I almost DNF'd this book before I hit the 10th page. The writing felt a little too stiff and almost cliche - especially when the main character referenced his ongoing fling with the gorgeous medical examiner. But once that first chapter was done everything shifted. It was like the author relaxed or got traction and the book stopped feeling like a cliche of a procedural and the pages started flying for me.



A lot of time characters in police procedural type mysteries are incredibly dysfunctional. Like bottle of bourbon in the desk drawer, haven't had a relationship that lasted for longer then a day in 20 years, are barely keeping a job level insubordinate dysfunctional with a hefty helping of self sabotage. And while Rena and A.L. both have their troubles I found both of their characters fairly relatable and realistic. Rena is struggling with infertility and the effects it has had on her marriage. A.L. is dealing with the challenges of co-parenting with his ex and just having a 16 year old daughter in general. They're both dealing with a change in leadership from a trusted long term police chief to a new guy who is far more interested in image and politics then in actual police work. All of this never overshadowed the investigation but it did make me feel connected to the characters.



As for the mystery - well that kept me turning the pages! We start the book just as the 4th victim is found and just about nothing is known about how the victims are chosen or who the killer could be. I really enjoyed the investigation and the dead ends and the search for Tess. This wasn't a hold your breath in suspense type read but it was definitely one where one chapter became 5 and I just didn't want to put it down. I'm glad I got past page 10 because the remaining 99% of the book were so much creepy fun!

Ten Days Gone by Beverly Long is the first An A.L. McKittridge Novel. Ten Days Gone is a police procedural mystery set in Baywood, Wisconsin. We follow Detective A.L. McKittridge (we do not get to find out what A.L. stands for) and Detective Rena Morgan as they search for a deadly killer. Four women have been murdered in forty days. They were murdered ten days apart with them just discovering the latest victim. Our duo has ten days to find the killer before he strikes again. The killer is smart enough to leave to no forensics. They cannot find a connection between the four women. The detectives work on questioning the latest victims’ husband, co-workers and friends to see if they can find any connection to the other three victims. The point-of-view switches between McKittridge and Morgan. McKittridge is divorced with a sixteen year old daughter who is acting out (dating a man who is over twenty-one) and skipping school to drink alcohol. Rena Morgan is wed, and they have been trying to conceive for years unsuccessfully. It is taking its toll on their marriage. Rena is worried that her husband is cheating on her. The detectives’ personal lives are woven in with the investigation. I thought the detective’s lives are realistic. They work hard which affects their personal lives which are complicated (just like real people). The mystery was representative of a real police case. Television makes police work look exciting, but, in real life, it is tedious. They must ask questions, follow up leads, fill out paperwork and deal with bureaucracy (like a new pompous chief). Identifying the guilty party was effortless. There is suspense and tension especially as they were getting close to their prey. There were some areas of the book that lagged, and I was put off by the amount of foul language (I do not understand why people feel they need to use such offensive words). Ten Days Gone will appeal to readers who enjoy suspenseful police procedural mysteries. Ten Days gone has a mysterious murderer, a conceited chief, disconsolate target, and two determined detectives.

A serial killer strikes every ten days !! Yikes !! A mesmerizing serial killer thriller that will keep you guessing till the end ! A great read that I highly recommend ! Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin , Mira for the opportunity to read and review this book ! All opinions are my own ! #Netgalley #Harlequin #Mira
#TenDaysGone

Four dead women, two detectives, and one serial killer on the loose. Beverly Long’s latest novel, Ten Days Gone, grabbed me from the opening scene.

Ten Days Gone is a police procedural set in Baywood, Wisconsin. It features Detectives A.L. McKittridge and Rena Morgan. These two characters are thoroughly developed. While McKittridge and Morgan search for the serial killer, Ms. Long also gives readers glimpses into their personal lives; she made them interesting, imperfect, and empathetic.

The story is told in a third person narrative. The point-of-view alternates between the detectives. The plot tension steadily ramps throughout the story, and I was keenly aware of the sense of urgency in finding the killer before he or she could strike next. The story is very realistic and the dialogue is authentic. The clues are openly shared with the reader, but that did not make the killer’s identity obvious.

Ten Days Gone is a highly suspenseful read with an intense denouement. This series starter will appeal to fans of Shetland where there is ample character development, suspense and action.

Ten Days Gone by Beverly Long
A.L. McKittridge #1

Detectives McKittridge and Morgan have developed a partnership that allows them to tackle the most recent murder case that comes there way and they do so in a very professional manner. They know that another woman’s life is at stake and that they must find the serial killer within the ten days or another woman will lose her life.

What I liked:
* McKittridge: knowledgeable, fit, intelligent, experienced policeman with a dream for his future that does not include the politics of moving up to a higher position
* Morgan: smart, loves her job and does it well, works well with McKittridge and has a dream for the future.
* Getting to see McKittridge and Morgan as people outside of their job and seeing that they are people with human problems to contend with
* Following the clues
* Glimpses of the power structure within the police department
* All of it except…

What I did not like:
* The whack-job that was unearthed as the killer – but then – I was supposed to not like that person, was I?

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Mira for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars

I did not finish this one. The characters are one dimensional. I did not connect with them well at all. The story was slow, especially at the beginning.

This is a police procedural with a lot of humor and insight into police detectives who have a human side that they aren’t afraid to show. Detective A.L. McKittredge is a divorced father of a teen girl who is “spreading her wings” and showing her independence. Detective Rena Morgan wants to have a baby but she and partner Gabe are having difficulty conceiving. Add to their personal problems the fact that a serial killer is in their small Wisconsin town, killing a new woman every ten days. When they think that they have figured out who the next victim might be, A.L. and Rena are determined to keep the new possible victim safe and to catch the killer. The action is fast-paced, the plot is full of suspense and the characters/suspects are realistic and totally fleshed out. In my opinion, the author did a wonderful job of creating characters that will keep readers wanting more in the series for years to come. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, especially following the clues all the way to the surprising conclusion, and I am sure that mystery/police procedural fans will want to read this intriguing start to a new series.

Ten Day Gone, by Beverly Long, is a highly entertaining mystery/thriller. It has a great, small town setting filled with many interesting characters. The two main characters are complex which makes me want to get to know them more. And the plot is fast-paced, with plenty of twists and turns.

What I Liked:
Setting:

The setting, a small town in Wisconsin, is the perfect backdrop for the many characters that the author has in the story. Everybody knows everyone (and everything) in this community. And yet, there are also many secrets that people keep hidden. Many of those secrets are revealed in the novel, which makes the people highly interesting.

I also liked that the author highlighted people with lots of family connections. Often characters are shown in a vacuum, never showing family obligations or gatherings. I loved that both of the main characters had complicated lives outside of their jobs.

Characters:

The two main characters, A.L. McKittridge and Rena Morgan, are police detective partners. Their relationship is purely professional, yet they do occasionally talk with each other about their private lives. I liked the realistic presentation of these two people. They both have strengths and challenges. But they always respect each other.

The supporting characters are also very realistic and interesting. From the various suspects reluctance to speak to the police, to the detectives respective families, they all were characters I wanted to know about.

Plot:

The plot centers around a serial killer who is killing women every 10 days. I liked learning how the detectives could deduce who the possible suspects were and following them along as they close in on the killer.

As the novel progresses, McKittridge and Morgan figure out who the next victim could be. I loved learning who this person was and how they dealt with learning they were a target.

The resolution of the story was well executed with lots of roadblocks to make the outcome uncertain. This kept me reading and wanting know who the killer was and if they could stop them!

This is the first book in a new series by the author, Beverly Long. I enjoyed this book and really look forward to seeing the characters again in the next novel in the series.

Take Note: There is an explicit sex scene in this book. If you are looking for a "clean" novel, you may not want to read this.

4.5/5⭐
Ten Days Gone is the start of a new detective mystery series by Beverly Long. It follows detectives A.L. McKittridge and Rena Morgan as they hunt down a serial killer and attempt to protect his next potential victim.

The last procedural type mystery I read was a hard miss for me, so I was a little apprehensive going into this book, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The detectives are trying to find connections between the victims and the way they filtered through information and pieced it together didn't come of as factual. I genuinely looked forward to them figuring out the connections.

Character wise I was fully invested in both McKittridge and Morgan. They both had such real problems going on in their personal lives that you couldn't help but feel for them and their struggles and want things to work out for each of them. The book did a really great job at weaving their personal stories into their investigation work. The personal stories and main plot didn't feel distinctively separate but flowed together smoothly. Also, the direction that their personal stories went was really satisfying.

Overall, I really enjoyed Ten Days Gone by Beverly Long. Great characters and intriguing story line made for a wonderful read. My biggest complaint is the ending, I wanted MORE, and I'm anxious for the sequel which thankfully is expected for June 2020.

A Serial Killer Strikes Every Ten Days

Detectives A.L. McKitteridge and Rena Morgan are under the gun. Baywood, Wisconsin women are terrified. Four women have been murdered at ten day intervals. There are no clues. The killer has been careful to leave no forensic evidence, and there is nothing connecting the four women. In another ten days another woman will die unless they can find the killer.

This is a police procedural with a plot that will keep you guessing and likable detectives that have real lives beyond the police station. A.L. is divorced and worried about his teenage daughter. Rena has been married for awhile and is trying to get pregnant. It’s taking a toll on her marriage. The interaction between the police officers is realistic. They would make a good team for a series.

The book is fairly slow paced in the opening chapters. We get to a crime scene, but mostly we get to know the detectives. However, toward the end, the pace speeds up and the tension rises as the detectives get closer and closer to the deadline. They think they’ve identified the next victim, but can the get to her in time.

If you enjoy police procedurals, this is a good one. I’m looking forward to the next book featuring these detectives.

I received this book from Harper Collins for this review.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: 10 Days Gone

Author: A. L. McKittridge

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Publication Date: February 18, 2020

Publisher: MIRA

Pages: 384

Recommended Age: 18+ (some language, violence, gore, murder)

Synopsis: They know exactly when he'll strike... They just have to find him first.

In all their years working for the Baywood police department, detectives A.L. McKittridge and Rena Morgan have never seen anything like it. Four women dead in forty days, each killed ten days apart. With nothing connecting the victims and very little evidence, the clock is already counting down to when the next body drops. A.L. and Rena will have to act fast if they're going to find the killer's next victim before he does.

But identifying the killer's next likely target is only half the battle. With pressure pushing in from all sides, a promising breakthrough leads the detectives to Tess Lyons, a woman whose past trauma has left her too damaged to appreciate the danger she's in. Unwilling to let another woman die, A.L. and Rena will put everything on the line to keep Tess safe and end the killer's deadly spree once and for all--before time runs out again.

Review: I thought this book was very fast paced and well written. The book was intriguing and the plot kept me hooked from beginning to end.

However, I did feel like the characters were a bit flat and I just wasn't drawn to any of them. It was probably just personal taste but I just couldn't get along with them. I also predicted the ending, but again I'm really good at that.

Verdict: it was a decent suspense novel!

They know exactly when he’ll strike next…they just need to find him first. Detectives A.L. McKittridge and Rena Morgan are on the hunt for a serial killer: over the past forty days, four women have been found murdered, ten days apart from one another. With the clock running out fast before he strikes again, they need to not only determine how the women are connected, but who is next, and most importantly, where do they find the killer?

This is the first in a new series and a really strong start! I was intrigued right from the get-go – every 10 days a woman is killed – and was as eager as the detectives to figure out how the women are linked and how to stop the killer from striking again. Long gave her detectives pretty substantial backstories, particularly Rena who’s struggling with fertility issues, that I’m sure will only been expounded upon in the following books. One quibble: A.L.’s name bugged me the entire time! I kept calling him Al before I finally noticed they were initials! At one point he’s asked what the A and L stand for and so far he’s tight-lipped. That’s one case I’m looking forward to cracking in the next book!

Reading this book was like eating my favorite comfort food. It is my go-to genre; dead people and mysteries, cops and coffee, plenty of legwork and problem solving. Just the right amount of drama among characters, a little too much romance for my taste (but any amount is too much for me), it was perfectly entertaining. The mystery draws you through the story effortlessly, keeps you guessing, and delivers in the end. I would definitely continue on with this series and look forward to reading the next installment.

I've been looking for a new police detective series since we lost Sue Grafton and I think I found it here with Beverly Long's A.I. McKittridge series. Great characters with detectives McKittridge and his partner Rena Morgan and the characters display a wonderful sense of humor as often found within the pages of Grafton's Kinsey Milhone series. The town of Baywood is a medium size town, not too large that people don't run across each other in some settings. Here in Ten Days Gone the town is seeking to find a serial killer before they strike again. They know that the killer strikes every ten days, but they are struggling to find what connects the victims together. The clock is ticking as they race against time in their investigation.

Baywood, Wisconsin is a small city with the feel of a small town, and there had never been major issues. Detectives A.L. McKittridge and Rena Morgan are part of the task force investigating the deaths of four women in town, each spaced ten days apart with no obvious ties between them.

Ten Days Gone is the first in the McKittridge series of novels, but it has the feel like we're in the middle of a larger work. The relationships between the people involved have such nuance and layers, reaching into the past. That definitely evokes the small-town feel, though the city has over 50,000 people in it. We see not only the investigation as A.L. and Rena move through it, but their personal lives. A.L. has an ex-wife and a teenage daughter that they try to co-parent, as well as a sister who left inpatient alcohol treatment early. Rena and her husband desperately try to have a baby, and she fears he's having an affair. It feels cluttered in a way, but realistic and adding to the tension of the main story. They're juggling all of these things at once, giving us an insight into their characters that we wouldn't otherwise see if it was purely a police procedural.

My heart went out to Rena as I read of her personal struggles, because it's hard to push through the professionalism and still retain her roles as wife as potential mother. A.L. wants to be a good father and is wholly aware of his limitations as a husband. It gives them a humanity that straight procedural stories don't have, and makes it easier for me to see why they push so hard to try to catch this killer, even as it takes them outside of their normal jurisdiction into neighboring states and delving into the past to catch the killer. I enjoyed it a lot, losing track of time to try to get to the end of the book. Sorry, not sorry! I can't wait to see where the series takes us for their future.

Here I am being disagreeable again. I was so bored with this book.

Ten Days Gone is a slow moving police procedural with a heavy dose of personal drama. In fact, about half of this book focuses on the two detectives' personal lives, and not about the crime at all. Rena's character follows the incredibly annoying trend of females who excel in powerful positions but are weak, bordering on pathetic, in their personal lives. A.L. is a divorced man whose parents apparently put only initials on his birth certificate. I just started calling him Al in my head.

A romance pops up that's way too sudden, odd, and totally unprofessional.

The serial killer case has potential but gets swallowed up within the personal drama. Why are women being killed every ten days? I don't even care.

It's all forgettable.

I gave this one a few days. It was an Ok procedural. Maybe the characters will grow on me in the future but I mostly didn't care about them. The underlying serial killer mystery kept me reading, but it wasn't something I felt pull me in.

I thought this police procedural was really well crafted. I enjoyed the characters and getting to know them on a personal level as well as detectives. I liked that the author set up the mystery so you had several different suspects to consider before finally revealing who-dun-it.

I do feel that the characters developed as if this were a book in an well established series. Rena and A.L. were presented to the reader as if you already knew them and their backstories. The author does a good job presenting their personal lives so you get to know them in this book, but they had a feel as if you should have already known them. As far as the mystery is concerned, this isn't overly grisly or graphic if that is a concern. They track down leads as detectives should and interview various people. Because this didn't have a ton of action the plot was a bit slow. I find that can often be the case with procedural type crime novels, especially if there isn't an active crime or thriller element happening as the investigation is taking place.

Overall, I found this entertaining and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I was invested enough in the characters to continue and I like the way the author set up the investigation. I'm looking forward to finding out what A.L. stands for and how he and Rena tackle their next case.

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book from Netgalley for review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
The clock is ticking down. A serial killer is targeting women; killing every ten days in this gripping new thriller from Beverly Long. Detectives A.L. McKillridge and Rena Morgan are doggedly looking for evidence, a connection between the victims and interviewing those close to the case. Once the connection is made, the search is on for the next victim. Can they find her in time?
Quick read, well developed and likable characters. The detectives have personal lives that impact the professional. This is a fine addition to the thriller library. Most enjoyable experience to read.

AUTHOR: Beverly Long
#BeverlyLong
Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Published: February 18, 2020
https://amzn.to/38wdWtM

Normally I do not like cop procedural books as much as other mysteries and thrillers. However, I enjoyed this one a lot. It kept my attention through each little turn and I hardly knew who to guess as the killer. I am glad to see that it is the first in a series, because I really liked the characters a lot.

Plus I really appreciated that the ending gave closure and left me satisfied. This also makes me think that each book in this series will have a different case separate from each other.


Short Synopsis (abbreviate from Goodreads):
They know exactly when he'll strike... They just have to find him first.In all their years working for the Baywood police department, detectives A.L. McKittridge and Rena Morgan have never seen anything like it. Four women dead in forty days, each killed ten days apart. With nothing connecting the victims and very little evidence, the clock is already counting down to when the next body drops. A.L. and Rena will have to act fast if they're going to find the killer's next victim before he does.But identifying the killer's next likely target is only half the battle. With pressure pushing in from all sides, a promising breakthrough leads the detectives to Tess Lyons, a woman whose past trauma has left her too damaged to appreciate the danger she's in. Unwilling to let another woman die, A.L. and Rena will put everything on the line to keep Tess safe and end the killer's deadly spree once and for all--before time runs out again.
*****
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Received from Netgalley.