This was a great read. Fast-paced but still well developed. Definitely a crime thriller. I will recommended to friends!

This was a great mystery/thriller. It kept me hooked on both the plot (hunting a serial killer) and the characters. Anna Lisa’s relationships with her friends and family really were the best parts of this book. I look forward to reading more Detective Vega books.

I was excited to read this story since is like the 4th novel I have read from this author. They’ve all been good, so the bar was set kinda high. This a first novel featuring detective Annalisa Vega, the latest female bad ass. Following in the family footsteps Annalisa gets the call when a bad homicide that echos a series of unsolved homicides that are about 20 years old now. It appears the mysterious killer known as the Lovelorn killer has resurfaced to claim a fresh victim in Grace, an amateur armchair detective who had taken an interest in the cold case. This time around the Lovelorn Killer is freshly emboldened and seems to have set his sights firmly on Annalisa. If she survives to solve this case, there is no telling what other cold secrets she may scare out of the hidden corners of the past. An exciting ride with all the elements: murder, secrets, and at times heartbreak, Joanna Schaffhausen is on top of her game with a fresh new female lead who is tough as nails. Review posted to Goodreads, Facebook, Litsy, and LibraryThing.

Grace Harper has a keen sense for trouble and alarming behavior.. As an amateur sleuth she has made it her business to track down these behaviors. She met her match when she convinced her crime group to tries to track down the lovelorn killer. Grace harper dies for the truth and Detective Annalisa Vega is on the case. Good or Bad, she is actually close to the case because her childhood best friends mom had been murdered by the same killer many years ago. What Grace uncovers through the evidence is astonishing and makes her choose between family and law enforcement. Great book to read, full of surprises.

Gone for Good is the new detective series by Joanna Schaffhausen. It combines amateur sleuth groups, cold cases and the threat of a serial killer’s return.

Detective Annalise Vega must grapple with her past when a body is found that links to her childhood, a case that was never closed, and a killer who was never found. With this new case, her past loves come to town. One to help solve the case and one looking for answers.

The mystery in Gone for Good is great. It’s a quick, compelling, and satisfying read.

I was first introduced to Schaffhausen through her amazing Ellery Hathaway series. In Detective Vega, Schaffhausen delves into Chicago, past and present, and creates a great new lead who readers will love to get to know as the series progresses.

See my GoodReads review for full details on my impressions of this psychological thriller. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4019155911

Gone for Good by Joanna Schaffhausen is the first in a new series featuring Detective Annalisa Vega. A cold case is cracked open again, decades after the Lovelorn Killer murdered seven women. The ritual killings included leaving them bound to die and following up with gruesome love letters sent to the local newspapers. The Lovelorn Killer stopped and disappeared for twenty years, leaving people to believe the serial killer was dead, or incarcerated. Except for Grace Harper, who was a grocery store manager who spent her free time participating in an amateur sleuth group investigating cold cases. Grace believes the Lovelorn Killer is alive and well and still in plain sight in the neighborhoods he terrorized. Grace goes rogue and starts using her own skills to figure out how the killer selected his victims, hoping to bring out his true identity.

Detective Vega lost someone to the killer twenty years ago. When she is called to a murder scene, that of Grace Harper, who lies bound and dead by what seems to be he Lovelorn Killer, Detective Vega now has the chance to finally catch the killer of her families nightmares from two decades before. Grace left behind clues of what she uncovered, and with Detective Vega’s thinking back to her memories from childhood, She never expected to uncover secrets of the past which will now put her in a position no person should ever have to be in.

This novel was excellent. I was completely surprised by who the Lovelorn Killer was, and even more surprised by the ending. It was an adrenaline rush, impossible to put down, and downright frightening. Detective Vega is a smart, investigator with so much to prove being a woman in a predominantly male field. She is a true bad ass. I look forward to other books in this series and will be sure to read each one. Well done!

I would like to thank Netgalley, Minotaur Books and Joanna Schaffhausen for an advanced reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. It is a new favorite of mine.

Gone for Good is a story about a cold case when suddenly the killer appears to strike again. A woman is murdered, seemingly by a serial killer who has not been heard from in 20 years. Truly Amazing, I appreciated the whole story. I highly recommend this one.

The first book of a new series.

The main character is a divorced Chicago cop/detective who is assigned to work a case with her ex husband.

Their complicated dynamics surround solving the case. Add to that, an amateur detective insinuates herself into the drama in the race to stop a killer.

This book was a bit slow to start as their was quite a bit of background information needed to get to know the characters.

I hope the second book is more straight forward.

Thanks St Martin Press and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book. Annalisa, a cop in Chicago, ends up partnering with her ex-husband to solve a case very similar to one that happened years ago in Annalisa’s neighborhood. The book was a bit annoying at first because, since this is the first in a series, the author needs to give you a bunch of background. Here’s the annoying part—Annalisa and Nick were married! They should know something of each other’s past. Also, and this is a small point, Annalisa’s neighbor had peonies. They are a shrub. You cannot grow them indoors. They need ants to open. If an author is going to include things, there should be research done. The book picks up and the end is predictable. That being said, it’s an ok read. If you have something else on your TBR pile, go with that. You aren’t missing much

This is the second mystery I’ve read by this author and I enjoyed reading her books. I recommend these mysteries to all readers looking for someone new. Her lead characters have their own personal stories that also keep you interested. A story about finding a serial killer in the neighborhood is always a good read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

I really enjoyed this. It was well written and fast paced. I never had time to get bored because the story was always moving. I'm glad to see it's part of a series because I'd like to see more from the characters.

I am definitely in the minority with my review of this book. At the risk of ruining it for future readers, let it suffice for me to say that I thought it was poorly written. The dialogue, of almost all the characters, was absurd. The cops were depicted as inept. I really did not want to finish the book but since I was given the opportunity by the publisher, I felt obligated. Thank you NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for the opportunity to review this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the ARC of Gone for Good by Joanna Schaffhausen
Main character Annalisa is following in her father's footsteps as a cop, she's out on a date that's not impressing her when she gets the call, duty calls. She reports to the scene of a crime, looks like a serial killer from the past has resurfaced. And who shows up to help with the investigation, her ex husband...
This novel takes us through Annalisa's personal life and her work life. It's full of twists and turns, hints and clues, and finally who dunnit and the effect that uncovering the criminal or criminals has on Annalisa and her personal life.
Well written novel, characters are well developed and described, lots of moving parts without being confusing. I really enjoyed this book and would read more from this author. Did not want to put it down

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read and write an honest review of this book.

I really enjoy a good mystery or thriller, and I could tell from the very beginning that this book was going to have me hooked.

This is a really fun read. Twists, turns, and a satisfying conclusion, all the boxes were checked for me.

This is the first book in this series and I am looking forward to reading future installments!

This is my first read from this author and I must say I'm impressed. This was a tad bit of a slow start for me, took awhile to get to know all the characters and their background. Love the suspense, love the wondering of who the killer is. Keep me on edge till the very end! Can't wait to read more from this author

Annalisa grew up in a cop family in Chicago and she always remembered having cops around her home. She also remembers when seven women were murdered and her father was assigned to hunt down the serial killer.

For more than 20 years the case remained unsolved and it looked like it never would be. That is until an internet group decided to look into the case and try to see if they could crack the case. When one of the members of the group ends up dead in a similar manner to serial killers MO the police are scared that the serial killer might be back. It’s now up to Annalisa to work the case and find the serial killer. The only problem is she finds out a whole lot more about her past.

So I seen some great reviews on this one and was excited to pick it up. I found the early part of the story was somewhat slow and went into depth on character development. The second half really picked up quickly and I finished it in a few hours. The ending was very unpredictable and I like how the story wound up. I believe this is going to be turned into a series and I am interested to see where the author takes the Annalisa character next.

This was a fast paced read and really good once you got to 20% of the book. Couldn’t put it down. Can’t wait to see what the rest of the series will look like. Great job

Wow such a really great and intense murder mystery novel I honestly my favorite part I think was just the characters and learning about them. I really loved annalize and kind of admired her character.

It was definitely a quick read that will keep you guessing I feel like lately the endings of thrillers and crime books have been rather dull or you see It coming nearly from the start this one was pleasantly surprising and unfolded really well the whole story did as a matter of fact.

This well written and well-developed story really has it all. There's of course murder but cold cases has a lot to do with love childhood dreams, good police work

I'm looking forward to reading more by this author everything was so well formatted but you still were kept on your toes and had to figure things out for yourself. I felt challenged but at the end of it as I have already said multiple times it all came together really well.

It feels like Joanna Schaffhausen flies under the radar and she shouldn't. Gone for Good, the first book in her new Annalisa Vega series, is just as fantastic as the Ellery Hathaway series. Schaffhausen does such a great job of teasing the reader with clues dropped in as the story progresses, so much so that I'm not even tempted to cheat and look to see if I've guessed the killer right before I reach the end. This is definitely the case with Gone for Good, where Annalisa, a Chicago detective, finds herself at the center of an investigation of a serial killer that haunts her from her childhood when a local cold case enthusiast is killed and appears to be another victim of Mr. Lovelorn. There's such a great balance between her job, a romantic love triangle that involves her partner and the son of one of the earlier victims, the family dynamics of Annalisa's family, and a decision as a professional to take the observations of amateur crime enthusiasts seriously. And when the killer starts stalking Annalisa and the people she cares about it just gets better. The clues are there but the ending is still unexpected and the author leaves the book with an unexpected twist that should lead the second book in the series in an interesting direction. One of my favorite mystery crime writers!