Dark Highway by Lisa Gray.

When a young artist, Laurie Simmonds, goes missing and her camper van is found abandoned at the Twentynine Palms Highway two months later, Jessica Shaw and Matt Cooper are brought in by her parents to investigate what happened. They discover two other women have gone missing with similar connections. When the identify of a body is discovered in a shallow grave off the highway, this story takes a sharp turn and secrets begin to unravel.

Dark Highway is a fast paced, mysterious thriller with twists that kept me guessing right up until the end! This story is centred around revenge and grief but all is not what it seems. This novel is told through alternating perspectives and different timelines. I enjoyed the engagement between the different character stories, it was well scripted, overlapping but not confounding.

The characters are excellently portrayed, well drawn and distinguishable. The story line was full of suspense and I loved watching the stories come together, I couldn’t put this book down! It has everything you want from a gripping, mysterious read.

I have to admit that this is my first book from the Jessica Shaw series but I will most definitely be adding the first two books in the series to my list!

4/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for allowing me to read and review Dark Highway.

Dark Highway is the third book in the P.I. Jessica Shaw series. It started well but about half way through I started to lose interest. The missing women's characters started to merge and I couldn't get back into the book. Struggled to finish it, I much prefered the previous Jessica Shaw story.

Third book in Jessica Shaw P.I. series.
Jessica is employed by the parents of LA artist Laurie Simmonds to find what happened to her on the 29 Palms Highway.
Jessica discovers there’s are another two women missing from the same area and she and her partner Matt find out these are linked to a group of old college fraternity friends.
Well written, pacy story with likeable main characters (with a few flaws).
This is my favourite so far.
4 Stars.
Thanks to Netgalley For allowing me to read this in return for a fair review.

Promising beginning! Who were these guys and what did they do?? Then it changes to Jessica and her story. I didn't really relate to her .As I went on, I forgot the beginning of the book, which was actually really important in the end. There were so many different timelines it got a little confusing and tedious. I probably made a mistake by reading this book without reading the first two in the series. I would have realized that these are probably not really the books for me. But I got a free copy and felt I should finish it and review it so I started skimming parts of the book. so I could find out what happened. I'm so glad I did- the end was really good. I was so surprised! I wish I had been able to get into the book better and had taken the time to savor the whole book. Maybe I'll try again at a later date.

DARK HIGHWAY....Lisa Grey
Her pleas had gone unnoticed as Nick, Junior, and Zee stood by and watched frozen in fear of Dusty. Cade had been sweet on her and had persuaded her to come, it changed when Dusty came, it turned deadly.
Renee, the mother, Jessica and Matt, as private investigators, yet none would say that Laurie Simmons may not be alive.
Deserted strand of highway along twenty nine palms, her van was found, no personal items in it. With the news that 2 others had gone missing in this same area, Story showing that the criminals are going on an about their lives without a thought of the nightmare that had taken place out there. The romance between Jessie and Matt seemed out of place when they should be focus on working the case.
The plot was good and flowed well, giving us a good mystery. As well as showing the love for a child, you want to continue searching till found.
Given ARC by Net Galley and Amazon UK for my voluntary review and my honest opinion

I haven't read any previous Jessica Shaw books but that didn't put me off at all, and I was invested in this story right away with no confusion. Very well paced and I liked the characters. Will be checking out the rest of the series for sure

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I have read the previous Jessica Shaw PI books so that is very helpful. The mystery of 3 seemingly unconnected missing women is tackled by Jessica Shaw and her new boss Matt Connor. There's still chemistry between Matt and Jessica although he is hiding something from her. The mystery and various pov / timeliness weren't confusing to me at all. While I tried to guess things, the plot moved along at a fast clip. I enjoyed it and would read the next one.

Book 3 in the series sees Jessica logging hours towards her California PI license, this time working with Matt Connor. When a missing person investigation comes up, Jessica is drawn to the case, and quickly finds that it's bigger than it seems. Jessica is an engaging character, and you can't help but root for her.

I have read Lisa Gray’s books before and she never disappoints. This book drew me in from page one and didn’t let me go until the very end. The characters are strongly drawn and I loved the dialogue, which added such colour to the story. There are many good mysteries out there - this one covers the full range of key ingredients, from suspense to technical detail to characters in whom you can really invest.

Jessica Hired To Find a Missing Girl, But That Number Keeps Growing

The novel opens with four young men driving down a deserted desert highway with a dead woman in the trunk. The atmosphere within the car isn’t any better. As directed by Dusty the driver stopped alongside of the road. Dusty grabbed two flashlights and popped the truck. He told one of them to grab the shovel and start digging.

The storyline switches to Jessica Shaw on her first day of work for Matt Connor with whom she worked in the first novel of this series. Jessica and Matt are sitting with a Laurie’s mother in a restaurant. Laurie has been missing for two months. During the interview, Laurie’s mother told Jessica that her van was discovered on the shoulder of the Twentynine Palms Highway. Also disclosed during the interview were the identities of two other women who disappeared on that same highway. While hired to find one woman, there are now two additional missing women.

The main storyline proceeds with trying to link these three cases as it can’t be a coincidence that all three disappeared along the same desolate highway. I would like to say that the main story line had many twists and turns, but for the first part of the novel, there seems to be only dead ends. My interest was maintained during this part of the novel by flashback chapters in the voice of the victims that describe their interaction with a mysterious individual. There are flashbacks with the victim from the prologue that provides the background leading up to her death. Also, there is another thread in the voice of what appears to be an abductor working on a new abduction. Otherwise, the story is told in the voice of Jessica and Connor. You may have the feeling that all the different voices past and present would cause this novel to be difficult to follow. I did not find that to be the case. In fact, it solidified the grip on my attention.

The B-storylines are centered on Jessica and Matt. From their few days together in the first novel, she found him to be equal parts infuriating and arousing, and he was a frequent liar. As Jessica still needs more hours to qualify to a PI license in California, she asked for a job from Matt. Since less is known about Matt, his B-storyline is a little richer. Their interaction was quite entertaining, especially when a literary grenade exploded! LAPD Detective Payne, Jessica’s father’s old friend, makes an appearance in the B-storyline and a cameo in the main storyline.

As for aspects of the novel about which some reader may object, there was a detailed description of a rape in the voice of the victim so it was more horrifying than titillating. Otherwise there are not any intimate scenes though there was a close call. There is a measurable level of vulgar and questionable language, but it did not rise to an objectionable level for me. In the last chapter when Jessica was driving off away from the sunset, there was one significant loose end that was not tied up. I was starting to be upset. Then, I discovered that there was an epilogue that tied up that loose end to my relief.

I really enjoyed reading Dark Highway. In my opinion, it is an excellent addition to this series. If you liked Thin Air or Bad Memory, you should read Dark Highway. If you haven’t read the those previous novel, you can start reading with this novel as adequate background is provided so you should not feel that you are missing anything. I rate this novel with five stars.

I have received a free e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from Thomas & Mercer with an expectation for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

I absolutely adore this series. Jessica Shaw is the quintessential damaged PI and she is charming and relatable. I hope that this series goes on forever!

This is the first book i have read by Lisa Gray so I wasn't sure what to expect. I really enjoyed the book, a fast paced storyline that had me gripped from the first page .There was a few red herrings along the way to trick you but it all comes together at the end. I will definitely look to read the other books in this series and future books by Lisa.

Dark Highway is a perfect detective mystery. Three women have been missing over a period of a few years and their only connection is a remote California highway. Jessica Shaw and her work partner have been hired to find one of these missing girls. The book is written with the perspectives of various characters all somehow connected to this mystery. As the reader you get to know the victims, the murderer and his motives and the detectives work progress as the story unfolds. What seems to be just a serial killer on the loose attacking women on a lone road turns out to be deeper than what we see at surface level. The main victim in this book will stay with me for some time because of how tragic and eloquent she was described by the author. Lisa Gray did an exquisite job in creating strong relatable characters that as a reader you instantly connect with. I will be interested to see the next installment of where the road leads Jessica Shaw and her detective skills.

Jess Shaw is back in this 3rd novel of the series. Working towards getting her PI license, Jess is working with Connor, but this decision may be problematic, given their brief but intense history. The two of them are hired by a wealthy woman to find her missing daughter, who seemed to have disappeared into thin air. As Jess and Connor begin their investigation, they find 2 cold cases involving similar disappearances of young women, but there is no obvious connection among the 3. However, more detective work unearths a woman's disappearance 2 decades old, yet this body has been recently found in the barren land along the Twentynine Palms highway. Just as they're making headway, the husband of the woman who hired them orders them they are fired. Jess, though, cannot stop. As she unravels the complicated tapestry of the missing women, Jess finds the connection and solves the case. However, in the midst of the investigation, she gives-in to her feelings for Connor only to find out her trust has once again been misplaced. It will keep you guessing until the end. I still wish that Jess could find some happiness -- maybe in the next book.

PI Jessica Shaw and her boss, Matt Connor are hired to find Laurie Simmonds, who disappeared 2 months ago in LA. They soon realise that Laurie isn’t the only woman to have disappeared, she may be connected with at least 2 others. As the investigation continues, more leads come up but the PIs are suddenly told to drop the investigation by Lauries father. Needless to say, that’s not going to happen, if Jessica has her way.

I really enjoyed this book, it’s well written and intriguing. It’s told from different perspectives, which adds to the tension. It’s fast paced, and even if you think you’ve guessed who dunnit, there is still a twist I don’t think you will see.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book

I really enjoy Lisa Gray's thrillers. Her characters are well developed. The plot and subplot are both clear and interesting. The tension is real. Jessica Shaw is a PI in Dark Highway. Her romantic involvement with Matt Connor is fraught with ups and downs. They set out to locate a missing woman and stumble on more than one missing. As the story develops the disappearance of the women takes on a life of it's own. Even at the end the question remains -- which choice did they make?
Highly recommend.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author has a nice style and flow to her writing and characters are well developed. I love that the main character, while being an intelligent, passionate woman, is also flawed. To me, it makes her more real, more relatable. As a woman, it's nice to see strong, intelligent female lead characters, especially in roles such as Private Investigator. I liked the fact that she doesn't feel the need to tie herself to one location, but instead gives herself the freedom to move around when she feels the need to.

Rather than a straight run through the sequence of events, it tends to jump backwards and forwards in time throughout the novel. That is something I've always enjoyed, though I know that style isn't to everyone's taste. It means you find out about the ultimate reason behind the kidnapping at different points, it develops slowly, giving you glimpses into the villain's mind.

It is somewhat formulaic, but that doesn't detract from the novel at all. In fact, despite guessing the overall arch and who had done what before I was halfway through, the book still kept me interested enough to read the entire thing in one sitting.

I've been reading many domestic thrillers lately and needed a change from killer husbands and psychotic boyfriends. Dark Highway was a terrific detective mystery and I'll be thinking about the twists and turns of the plot for some time.
Three women have been missing over a period of a few years and their only connection is a remote California highway. Detective Connor and his new recruit Jessica are determined to solve the cases, while working out their own tentative relationship.
I read this book in two days and stayed awake both nights to finish just one more chapter. Three quarters through the book I had solved part of the mystery, but there was so much that I had not guessed and a great final twist.

After the last Jessica Shaw book, Lisa Gray has completely redeemed herself in my mine with this follow up book! I felt like this book was more of the quintessential Jessica and had an interesting mystery and story. i will say that the ending had me queasy just a little bit, and I've never been the victim of a sexual assault. So if you are, or that bothers you, you might want to skip a few pages. I wish she had explained more of Connor's story that happened near the end of the book but hopefully she will cover that more indepth in the next installment!

Thank you to both NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for providing me the opportunity to review Lisa Gray’s latest novel, Dark Highway.

Dark Highway is the third installment in the Jessica Shaw series. It is not necessary to read the first two before diving into this one. All the reader needs to know is that Jessica Shaw is a private investigator who handles missing persons cases in Los Angeles, California.

Jessica and her work partner, Matt Connor, have been hired to find a wealthy woman’s 24-year old daughter. During a preliminary interview, the woman reveals that her daughter is not the only woman missing from the community.

The novel alternates between different timelines and perspectives, starting with Jessica and continuing with a new character every other chapter. From the quirky octogenarian and block captain, Mrs. DuBois, to the meticulous stalker and primary suspect himself, Burden, the reader learns more about the missing women and their backstories.

Initially, their connection seems tenuous at best, linked only by the desolate Twentynine Palms Highway. As Jessica and Matt get deeper into the investigation, a patchwork of clues reveals a strong connection: all of the women know someone who attended the since shuttered Palms University.

Just as Jessica is starting to connect the dots, the client fires her and Matt. Ignoring Matt’s command to drop the now unfunded case, Jessica doggedly pursues the answer to what happened to those women. When a stranger breaks into Jessica’s motel room and leaves behind a significant thread of evidence, she knows she is on the right track.

The novel is fast-paced and keeps the reader guessing the entire time, down to the shocking twist in the epilogue. Although there was some odd phrasing and strangely arranged syntax, the overall flow was gripping and I found myself wanting to turn to the next page. I think it helped that she chose to make each of the women’s backstories the bulk of the novel, as opposed to learning about them through straight procedural work done by Jessica or Matt.

Ms. Gray certainly has a knack for telling stories and I am glad I stuck with her series. After the first book left a bad impression, I wasn’t sure whether I could return to her writing, but it has steadily improved with each new novel released. Book three is easily my favorite of the series and I genuinely believe the author has hit her stride. Cannot wait to see what she does with the fourth Jessica Shaw novel.