What is it about a cold case that quickens the imagination? Grocery store manager Grace Harper is a leading member of an amateur sleuth group called the Grave Diggers. Their mission is to solve “dead cases, gone cold so long that most others have forgotten about them or given up.” Grace believes the Lovelorn Killer is still alive: her mad research skills persuade her that the infamous killer has a tell-tale modus operandi.

I’ve been walking the streets he walked, looking in the same windows. Sometimes I think I catch a glimpse of his reflection in the glass, at least what I imagine he must look like. I bet he’s got the same wall of photographs that I have, but his are kept private where no one else can see. His newspaper clippings must be yellowed and fragile, so old that they look like ancient history. He surely believes he got away with it. But I’ve checked the weather reports for all seven murders, and now I know where to find him.

Grace Harper’s motive is to reclaim the humanity of the seven victims—to force people to remember that “Shauna Atkins played Maria her senior year in West Side Story, or that Lauren Gardner wanted to be a foster mom.” If she can entice the Lovelorn Killer out of twenty years of hibernation, she can realign the scales of justice so that the lives of seven women are honored. Unfortunately, Grace is all too successful at luring a serial killer out of the shadows—she becomes his eighth victim.

Chicago detective Annalisa Vega is “making talk so small she needed a microscope to parse it,” when she gets a Code 10-54 text from Dispatch. Farewell blind date.

A body. “Oh,” she said with what she hoped sounded like regret, “I’m sorry, I’ve got to go. It’s work.”



“Work? Even at this hour?”



She was already gathering her things. “Homicide doesn’t punch a time card,” she declared, maybe too cheerfully.

What were the odds her commander would pair her up with her ex, Nick Carelli? Yes, she told Zimmer it was an amicable split, “ancient history” even, but as the saying goes, “of all the gin joints.” The detectives are horrified at the sight of Grace Harper’s body: “She lay nude and facedown, her hands bound behind her back and yoked to her feet and neck in a complicated series of slip knots. Her pale flesh was discolored around the neck, and the ligature around her throat suggested this was the cause of death.” Nick and Annalisa are transfixed by the photos above Grace’s desk: “Dead women, all of them strangled by ropes.” The brunette in the center is a dead ringer for Grace.

Annalisa gulped in air and stared wide-eyed at the picture, come to life right out of her dreams. Twenty years dissolved around her. She felt dizzy, sick.



“It’s like a murder shrine,” Nick breathed in fascination. “And someone went to a lot of trouble to stage a rerun. Look at that one—it’s the same number of knots, same position of the body.”



“He’s back.” Annalisa swallowed twice in quick succession to bring back her voice. “We’re going to have to tell her son.”



“Her son? I thought the vic lived here alone.”



She reached out and stroked the picture of the other dead woman. It took all her power not to rip the photo down and hold it to her chest. “Not Grace Harper’s son. Hers.”

The seventh victim was Katie Duffy, Annalisa’s childhood neighbor and the mother of Colin, Annalisa’s first love. Since Nick has recently returned to Chicago after ten years in Florida and doesn’t know much about the Lovelorn Killer, Annalisa brings him up to speed.

“He killed seven women over a period of a few years in the late ’90s. Then he dropped out of sight around Y2K. He murdered Katie Duffy on Halloween night and then nothing since. I think most people thought he was dead or locked up somewhere.”

Annalisa minimizes what Colin was to her when she speaks of him: “He’d been the sun in her sky once, the first boy to notice she was a girl in a family full of brothers.” Gone for Good is the perfect title for the first Detective Annalisa Vega mystery—as much as we might want to, as the poet Wordsworth so poignantly phrased it, “nothing can bring back the hour of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower.” Vega honors the dead by painstakingly following the abundant clues Grace Harper left behind. For instance, why were the weather conditions at the time the victims were murdered significant? Annalisa’s investigation is grounded in her childhood: she and Katie Duffy were neighbors in Chicago’s Norwood Park. Gone for Good is sprinkled with vignettes of Chicago, like Wicker Park, one of Annalisa’s go-to spots for food.

Whatever you were hungry for, whether it was fine dining with starched napkins or a grungy bar with greasy burgers, you could find it in Wicker Park. She loved the Middle Eastern at Sultan’s Market, fresh sushi at Enso, carnitas tacos at Big Star, and a big steaming bowl of ramen at Furious Spoon.

There are three strands to the story. First, Annalisa’s childhood memories of the death that ripped apart her neighborhood, second, Grace Harper’s copious computer notes about the past and present of the Lovelorn Killer and third, the all-hands-on-deck investigation of the killer’s return. The strands coalesce into a finger-biting, race-against-time thriller. The killer has his eyes set on Annalisa: can she bring him to justice before he kills again?

Annalisa Vega is bold and courageous. She takes chances, follows her instincts, and protects the innocent. Two men, her first love Colin Duffy and her work-partner (and ex) Nick Carelli, are dear to her heart. Kudos to award-winning author Joanna Schaffhausen for giving readers a fantastic kick-off to her new series featuring Detective Vega.

Gone for Good by Joanna Schaffhausen is a mystery about Detective Annalisa Vega and a serial killer that may be back. The Lovelorn Killer murdered seven women and then stopped killing. Twenty years later an amateur sleuth group tries to figure out who the killer could be, but a member of the group is killed. Is the Lovelorn Killer back? Or is someone else playing his game now? This is the first book in a new series, and I thought it was a terrific start. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

The Lovelorn Killer had stalked Chicago twenty years ago, leaving behind the bodies of women who were intricately bound and choked to death. The killer then wrote letters to the newspapers, telling the victims how much he loved them and how sorry he was to have murdered them.

Detective George Vega was a cop on the Lovelorn Killer case, but was shunted aside when his friend and neighbor Katie Duffy - wife of a fellow cop - became a victim. The Vega and Duffy families were good friends and George couldn't let it go, dabbling at the edges of the case and roaming the streets looking for the murderer.

The police didn't catch the killer but the murders stopped, the theory being the perp was in prison or dead.

It's now two decades later and the Lovelorn Killer appears to be back. A grocery store manager named Grace Harper is found bound and choked to death, just like the original victims. This time Detective George Vega's daughter, Detective Annalisa Vega, gets the case - and she's determined to solve it for her father, the dead women, and the Duffy family.

Katie Duffy's murder twenty years ago tore up both the Duffy and Vega clans, and Annalisa's boyfriend - Colin Duffy - left town and didn't come back.

The Lovelorn Killer's new victim, Grace Harper, belonged to an online detective club called the Grave Diggers. The club had been looking into the Lovelorn Killer, and Grace had tacked up pictures of all seven victims, along with a map showing the locations of the crimes, a police artist's sketch of the possible suspect, and other information she'd unearthed. Grace also left behind a journal with entries about her detective work, and excerpts from the diary are interspersed through the story.

As Annalisa reads Grace's observations, she suspects the killer may have targeted Grace because the amateur sleuth was getting close to identifying him.

Annalisa is joined in the investigation by her cheating ex-husband Detective Nick Carelli. In addition, Annalisa's old boyfriend Colin Duffy - who's become a photojournalist - returns to Chicago to help the police. Annalisa's situation gets even more complicated when the Lovelorn Killer starts to phone her, and seems almost jealous of the other men in her life.

A cat and mouse game develops between Annalisa and the perp, which leads to more attacks and additional deaths. This ends in an exciting climax, where Annalisa does something EXTREMELY foolish. (I don't like when authors resort to this trope.)

Additional characters add interest to the story, including the people in Annalisa and Colin's families; the amateur sleuths in the Grave Diggers club; Annalisa's neighbors; Annalisa's boss and colleagues in the police department; and more.

This is the debut novel of Joanna Schaffhausen's new series, and I look forward to the next Annalisa Vega book (despite my quibble mentioned above).

Thanks to Netgalley, Joanna Schaffhausen, and Minotaur Books for a copy of the book.

The first book in a new series! I liked Annalisa, even though I have to agree with the serial killer, she does have poor choice in men! Back story (and love triangle) aside, the book was suspenseful and the right amount of creepy until the end.

I read furiously because I wanted the mystery to be solved and then it was. And some other little mysteries were solved too. Once it was over, I was left scratching my head and wondering if that would have really happened or even been possible.

Overall, I like this book and found it interesting enough to want to finish it even if I was afraid to look out of my windows at night!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

Gone for Good
August 26, 2021
Book Review
Gone for Good
Joanna Schaffhausen
reviewed by Lou Jacobs

readersremains.com | Goodreads

A riveting police procedural that transitions to a taut psychological thriller when a dormant serial killer is goaded back to the killing fields. Featuring Chicago homicide detective, Annalisa Vega, who in fact was the teenage daughter of one of the investigating officers of the original case involving the Lovelorn Killer. Her teenage boyfriend, Colin, was the son of the seventh and last victim, Katie Duffy.
In the 1990s, the killer terrorized and paralyzed the city with a string of gruesome murders. All the victims were found facedown and bound in a ritualistic fashion: hands bound behind their back and yoked to their feet and neck in a complicated series of slip knots, with the end result a slow and progressive strangulation and asphyxiation while the killer watched the lights of their eyes wink out. To complete the humiliation, part of his signature was to send a “love letter” about the victim to the local newspaper.
The killer went underground for twenty-one years after the seventh victim, who happened to be the wife of a local police officer. Grace Harper had not answered her phone for several days, as reported by her best friend, and in fact had missed her last shift at the grocery store. This prompted a wellness check at the request of her friend. The investigating officers were met with a gruesome scene. Annalisa was called in to investigate, finding Grace murdered and bound in the same ritualistic fashion. In one of the adjacent rooms, Annalisa was surprised to see a wall of photos of seven dead women, all strangled by ropes in an identical fashion, bound up like a Christmas turkey. She immediately recognized one of the photos, that of Katie Duffy, her family friend and neighbor. Her immediate reaction: “He’s back!”
What follows is a grueling investigation, entailing extensive interviews, as well as forensic investigation which yielded nothing of value. As Annalisa delves deeply into the investigation, emotional and disturbing memories of the past are revealed.
Extensive field work revealed that Grace was an active member of an amateur sleuth club that tackled cold cases, that they felt were not adequately resolved, hoping they could uncover new leads. Grace was in fact very interested in the case of Lovelorn Killer, and continued to delve into the case and practically pestered the other members of the Grave Diggers to continue, as well, In the course of the investigation, all of the other members were interviewed. There was some dissension with a few of the members, and some said that she actually had some “new theories” pertaining to the case. At Grace’s urging, one of the local newspapers actually ran a new story about the murders.
To complicate things further, Annalisa’s new partner, Nick Carelli, was her ex-husband (and philanderer) and their acquaintance was renewed over the corpse of Grace Harper, which seemed a fitting metaphor. Chapters alternate between Annalisa’s insights while pursuing the investigation, with those of Grace Harper’s. These are in the form of sequential “Grace Notes” from her electronic journal on her laptop computer, that was naturally absent at the murder scene. It provides a complicated and intricate deductive process of reasoning and thoughts and insight considered by Grace. Which may or may not be true, but apparently prompted her death. Some are useful clues, while others prove to be red herrings. Annalisa starts to receive anonymous calls, which both taunt and tantalize, and suddenly she is the next target.
Schaffhausen crafts a compelling and twisted narrative that sequentially ratchets up the suspense with multiple unexpected reveals that creates a page-turner with an explosive and unexpected denouement. Both the characters of Annalisa, and the Killer, as well as multiple minor characters are well fleshed out, which adds to her gritty and concise prose. This first volume in this series, nicely complements her excellent previous four novels featuring Boston PD Detective Ellery Hathaway. Hopefully a second chapter in the life of Detective Vega will follow shortly.
Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s – Minotaur Press for supplying an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.
Published at Mystery and Suspense Magazine ( at readersremains.com)

The first 80% of this book was really slow. It took me a very long time to get there, which is not typical of me with thrillers. However, the last 20%, especially the very end, was enthralling and unexpected. It went from 3 stars to 4.

I have read and enjoyed the author's Ellery Hathaway series so I was excited to read this new series from her. This did not disappoint. This fast-paced story has a number of plots that interact. The twists and turns of this story are unexpected and unpredictable. In most books I can guess the villain, but this book kept me guessing until the end. And, it did not disappoint! Her characters were unique, vivid and believable. I'm a sucker for second chance first love.

I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Joanna Schaffhausen for a copy of "Gone for Good" in exchange of an honest review.

What An Impressive New Detective Mystery!

Detective Annalisa Vega is called to the scene of a brutal crime scene of an innocent woman who lived alone and worked as a clerk at her local grocery store. The first thing Annalisa notices is the crime has all the earmarks of a serial killer known as the "Lovelorn Killer" whose last murder was twenty years ago when he destroyed many lives including viciously killing Anna's boyfriend's (Colin) mother. A copycat killer or the real "Lovelorn Killer" striking out again, that is what the new investigation must discover and solve this time because too many women needlessly lost their lives and all other women were left living in fear for many years believing that he would be back and come after them. Why now after two decades? Anna will have to be extra cautious on this case because it seems this crazed killer has his sights on her this time and will not let up until he finally gets what he truly desires.

This story was just too good. The storytelling, the writing and the characters were deliciously dark and creative where I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. The author was able to put a spin on this book that kept it fresh and very interesting from start til finish. I was hooked and just wanted more and more and the writer gave it to me. So, I thought I had the ending figured out but "No I Did Not". Wow! What a rollercoaster of twists and turns in the last 30/40 % of the story. Stellar Writing! I can't wait until the second book comes out next year and I highly recommend this book if you enjoy detective/mystery/thrillers or you just want to read a dark mystery. Please, don't miss out on this novel!

I want to thank the publisher " St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books" for the opportunity to read this wonderful story and any thoughts and opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given this book a rating of 4 1/2 DARK AND DISTURBING ⭐⭐⭐⭐🌠 STARS!!

This 1st in a series introduces Detective Annalisa Vega as she tracks down the Lovelorn Killer, who murdered 7 Chicago women, then another - 20 years later.

The new victim was a keen member of an amateur sleuth group, Grave Diggers. She had convinced herself that the serial killer still lives where he hunted, and tried to find him. He found her first.

There are more deaths and Anna herself becomes a target, but the Lovelorn Killer has finally messed with the wrong woman.

Yet the story doesn't end there and the grand finale hits Annalisa hard close to home.

This is the first book in a brand new series. Detective Annalisa Vega is involved in the search for a serial killer who has resurfaced after twenty years. With the killer on the loose, is it finally going to solve the cold case, or is a copy cat looking for attention.

Excellent mystery and can't wait to read the next book in the series.

This is the first book in a new series about Detective Annalisa Vega. In this installment, she is involved in the search for a serial killer who has resurfaced after twenty years. The case is made more interesting by Annalisa's connection to one of the victims and an amateur crime-solving group whose interest in the case not only is responsible for the killer remerging but is also crucial to solving the case. Annalisa is a feisty likable heroine. The story is interesting. The plot has some surprising twists. Even when it seems like it is wrapping up there are still more shocks to come. All in all, this is a good introduction to this new series, and the ending of the book definitely leaves you wanting to know more about what is going to happen next in Annalisa Vega's life.

This book introduces us to Annalisa Vega, a Detective with the Chicago police, something her father had been before her. A group of amateur cold case investigators are looking into a case that had been cold for two decades, a person had killed several women over a period of time then suddenly quit. Grace Harper, one of the members, thinks she has spotted a lead that had been missed. Notes from her are interspersed between chapters, building on the suspense. Anna is sent to a crime scene, the dead person is Grace, she has been tied with ropes in a fashion that strangles her as she struggles. This rope device is a trademark killing manner of the Lovelorn Killer, the very same case that Grace and her group, The Grave Diggers, were investigating. Anna has a bit of a complicated backstory, her ex husband is also a detective with the Chicago PD and they are assigned to work together. In addition she had dated Colin the son of one of victims, who makes an appearance when she requests he come back when questions around mom's killing come up. There are a significant number of twists in the story, the author does a good job of creating and sustaining suspense, I could not figure out who the bad guy was, even when revealed I was taken aback. The last part of the book really points to Anna's nature as a do the right thing regardless of who is impacted by her decision. I would recommend. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I am so excited to see that Detective Annalisa Vega is going to continue on because I really enjoyed her character in this police procedural. Gone for Good was well done and had all my favorite aspects of a mystery/thriller. I personally was able to figure out the major twist at the end, but for me this was still a solid four star read. I would definitely recommend this to my fellow Mystery lovers.

One of my FAVORITES of 2021!🎉
Gone for Good introduces us to a new female detective! Annalisa Vega, who is trying to uncover the truth about an unsolved case. A Case that’s been cold for too long, but when a too familiar crime scene occurs, Annalisa finds herself also uncovering old wounds. There’s a killer on the lose, maybe two when Annalisa wonders if they are dealing with a copy cat, who may have been obsessed with the killings from long ago.
As the story builds, tensions get higher, the suspense is on every page, and I could not put the book down! Annalisa’s character was easy to like, and root for. The narrative was clear and descriptive.. the journal entries were a great addition to a very important character, (Very, very important).
The plot twist this one headed into required me to take a step back, and take a moment to say.. “What. Just. Happened?” and I LOVE when a book just gives my brain a good way to try and piece things together in such a way where the reader is still wanting to read more even after the last page. And I am soooo happy that this is just the first in the series!! There WILL be more, and I Cannot wait!!

Compulsively readable, I was holding my breath a few times.

I will definitely read more Vega books! I'm excited for this to read a series.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

In the 1990s, the Lovelorn Killer killed seven women and disappeared. The last known victim was Katherine Duffy, the wife of a police officer, who was killed on Halloween. After twenty years, many wonder if he's gone for good. But a group of amateur online sleuths, known as the Grave Diggers, don't think that. They take on cold cases and investigate them. One of these Diggers is Grace Harper, a grocery store worker. Grace is sure the Lovelorn Killer is out there, blending into the same neighborhoods he hunted in. Detective Annalisa Vega's father--also a cop--was partnered with Katie Duffy's husband back in the day. Her murder was a defining moment in Annalisa's life. When Annalisa is called to the scene of Grace's murder and realizes she was killed in a similar manner to the Lovelorn Killer, she wonders if the killer is back. Investigating will mean dredging up Annalisa's childhood memories and giving everything she has to catch a murderer.

"With each passing year, the Lovelorn Killer recedes into history and people shrug at the mention of his name. Looks like he's gone for good."

This is an excellent mystery--honestly no surprise when it's by Schaffhausen. I love her Ellery/Reed series, and I'm excited that there's a new series from her. This is a dark read and Annalisa's personal ties to the case and investigation only strengthen this book. It's wonderful reading a story with a strong female detective (and a female boss). Annalisa is a new detective, struggling with the fact that she must work with her ex-husband, Nick Carelli, the established detective on the force. But she doesn't let that, or anything, stop her. Schaffhausen is so good at writing a police procedural; she writes about the processes and force dynamics so well. You feel a part of the investigation and Annalisa's police family superbly. Same with the city of Chicago. She captures the city perfectly. As someone with Chicago ties, this book is so Chicago. I cannot wait for my parents, who grew up in the Chicago suburbs, to read it.

Told from Annalisa's perspective and interspersed with excerpts from Grace's journal, GONE FOR GOOD is tense and crackling with suspense. It's a fast moving read that keeps you guessing from the very beginning, which opens with Grace's death. Yet Grace always feels like another living character in the book, and she's integral to the plot. This is truly a dark read, with a lot of death and murder, and a "bad guy" who is quite bad. I'm always impressed at how Schaffhausen can write stories that permeate with evil and tension.

Overall, I loved everything about this book. The unification of old and new cases and way the Internet sleuths added to the cases. How Annalisa's personal life intertwined with the investigation. GOOD is well-written and keeps you guessing until the very end. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Review posted to blog: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend.com/

Taut, Tense, and Terrifying!

A serial killer re-emerges after 20 years. Now it’s up to Detective Annalisa Vega and her partner (and ex-husband) Nick to find and stop him.

Unfortunately for Annalisa, she has a direct connection to the Lovelorn Killer - as his last victim was someone very important to her.

Now, the Lovelorn Killer has taken another, someone who was investigating him. Grace Harper, an amateur sleuth, and her snooping is what got her killed.

Catching this killer will be no easy feat and much to Vega’s chagrin, will force her to go head to head with the monster itself.

Though I did guess a few plot points, I enjoyed Gone for Good nonetheless. A well-done mystery suspense from an author whose novels I have come to enjoy. While I didn’t like this one quite as much as her Ellery Hathaway series, I quite liked it and am looking forward to the next book in the series.
3.62 Stars

A buddy read with Kaceey.

Thank you to Minotaur Books via NetGalley.

Published on Goodreads and Twitter.

When Grace Harper, an amateur sleuth, is found murdered in the same way as the victims of the Lovelorn Killer, Detective Annalisa Vega is called into the case. The Lovelorn Killer, a serial murderer active twenty years earlier had the residents in Chicago afraid and alert. He murdered seven women by tying them up, strangling and reviving them over and over until finally choking them to death, but he stopped killing leading police to think he either died or went to prison for another offense.

Annalisa is no stranger to the facts of the cold case since his last victim, Katherine Duffy, was a neighbor, and mother of her first love, Colin. Soon after a grief-stricken Colin left breaking Annalisa’s heart in the process. Her own father, a retired police officer, investigated the crimes as well, but the crimes grew cold and were never solved.

Grace was a member of the Grave Diggers, a group of civilians looking into cold cases, had become obsessed with the Lovelorn Killer case and found new information that made her think she could lure the killer out and catch him. Is this the case of a copycat or is the original killer back?

Annalisa is thrust into the middle of the investigation while having to deal with her past when she’s assigned to work with Detective Nick Carelli, her ex-husband. There’s a lot of personal issues for Annalisa to deal with: her family, Nick and Colin, and things are a bit messy. I’m not sure which guy to root for yet, there are pros and cons with either one, but I’m eager to see how it plays out in future books. I want Annalisa happy!

As far as the case, for the most part I was on board with Annalisa. She did make a reckless decision that made me want to shake her, but I guess it could be chalked up to her feeling like she had no other choice. The ending left me reeling a bit. There were breadcrumbs, so I wasn’t completely blindsided, but it definitely made an impact! I look forward to the next book!

As I write so often here, yay! another series. Set in Chicago, this police thriller has it all. We have a likable heroine with a complicated past. She cannot forget the serial killer from her childhood who killed her boyfriend's mother and then disappeared. She isn't the only one. An online sleuthing group is also looking into the 20 year old case. When one of them ends up dead, the police fear the killer is back. The crimes themselves were interesting enough to keep the story going. The author added some complicated relationships-exes and families-that add to the suspense instead of taking from it. The ending was complicated but satisfying. I am looking forward to more from these characters.

The first two-thirds of the book was a disappointing muddle, then suddenly, the intensity picked up, leading to a mad scramble to the killer's identity -- which was too quick and abrupt. But with still ten percent of the book left, it did not make sense. Where was Joanna Schaffhausen going next?

An author shouldn't need that much time for family and boyfriend issues, so what did she have up her sleeve. Well, that would be a part I had figured all along was nothing but filler, a forgotten case the Grave Diggers were working. Which that too was tied up too quickly. Then there was one last thing. What was her father trying to tell her before his surgery? What was that one thing which will now upend her life, her family, and her career?