Gone For Good is the first in a new mystery series from award-winning author Joanna Schaffhausen, featuring Detective Annalisa Vega, in which a cold case heats up.
I like this new series a lot. The protagonist is not your typical flawed detective trying to redeem herself....there is much more to her story. The cold case itself is creepy and the story is well told until it gets closer to the end. Without offering a spoiler, there is a bit of a plot hole and the ending was just too neatly wound up and didn't make a lot of sense. It was also not much of a mystery since it was easy to figure out the bad guy. Other than that I am looking forward to another book in what I hope will be a long series. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

It has been twenty years since the Lovelorn killer claimed his last victim. A cold case, mostly forgotten, except for Grace Harper and the amateur sleuth group she belongs to The Grave Diggers. When Grace is murdered, Detective Annalisa Vega is stunned by this brutal crime; the MO belongs to the Lovelorn Killer.
Annalisa remembers the last victim and the case quite well. The victim was her boyfriend's mother, the wife of a cop, and a very close friend of her parents. Not only did Analisa lose her sense of security that night, but she also lost her first love. Everyone assumes that the Lovelorn Killer must be dead or incarcerated for another crime. But Grace must have been close to figuring out his identity, which means Annalisa will have to use all of her skills to finally unmask this killer.
There were so many things I liked about this book. Annalisa has a complicated backstory; her family, her first love, her ex-husband, and her work relationships were all explained in-depth, but not in a way that felt overwhelming. The narrative worked seamlessly between her personal and professional issues, and I actually felt as though this must have been the second or third book in the series(it is not, this is the first). There were enough twists, turns, and red herrings to keep me guessing, and even though Annalisa did more than one thing that had me rolling my eyes, it didn't take away from my wanting to know the who and the why. I was wrong about one twist, and I managed to figure one out, a good day for my super sleuth reading superpower! A page-turner and one that when it ended, left me wanting more. 4.5 stars.

Detective Annalisa Vega is on the hunt of the reimurgence of the Lovelorn Killer, who murdered and tortured 7 women, and left love notes. One of the victims was Kathy Duffy, a neighbor and family friend. Killer never caught . 20 years later the killer comes back again and kills Grace Harper, a member of internet sleuths The Gravediggers. Grace thinks she found out who he was, which got her killed. Annalisa tries to solve these 2 cases and discovers secrets no one saw coming.

I really enjoyed this. A little slow start but really picked up with many surprises.

My thanks to Net Galley for this arc to review.

I’m not sure what it says about me that I’m reviewing a book about a serial killer called the Lovelorn Killer on Valentine’s Day, but it’ll give me an excuse to go cheer myself up with chocolate afterwards so … here we go.

Annalisa Vega was 17 years old when her neighbor, Katie Duffy, the mother of her boyfriend, Collin, and wife of her cop dad’s partner became the 7th victim of The Lovelorn Killer, a serial killer who courted the attention of the media by writing love letters to his victims after their deaths. After going dormant for 20 years, he suddenly reappears with a new victim, Grace Hopper, a member of an online amateur sleuthing club called The Grave Diggers, who started re-examining his cold case.

When Annalisa, who is now the newest detective on her squad, and Detective Nick Carelli, who just happens to be her ex-husband, get partnered to solve the case that no law enforcement agency from local cops to the FBI have been able to for 20 years, it gets the attention of The Lovelorn Killer, and becomes an increasingly dangerous cat-and-mouse game, with Annalisa becoming the Lovelorn Killer’s newest “mouse” to play with.

I loved this story. Annalisa is a great character, with a nice combination of hard and soft personality qualities to keep her balanced. There were twists, turns, red herrings, misdirects, and constant suspense as the Lovelorn Killer gets closer and bolder in his efforts. There’s even a big reveal AFTER the main big reveal that added an interesting avenue to explore in later books. There’s a little bit of romance, but not in a distracting way, with the big three characters: Annalisa, Nick and Collin forming a potential love triangle that will be a lot of fun to watch as the series continues.

A couple things in the final stretch of the book that knocked this down from a sure 5-star to a 4-star read is that I was able to predict who the killer was pretty early, and I felt the reveal went just a wee bit silly in its execution, including one major gaping plot hole that I’d love the author to explain to me. I also had hoped for a happier ending than I got, but seeing as this is the first book in a new series, I think it makes sense not to wrap things up in a neat, happy bow.

Do I wish the ending had been more of a surprise? Yes. Am I disappointed? Only the teeny tiniest bit. I was all in for this book, and I can’t wait to see what Joanna Schaffhausen thinks up next for Detective Vega!

★★★★ ½ (rounded down to 4)

GONE FOR GOOD (DETECTIVE ANNALISA VEGA, #1)
BY JOANNA SCHAFFHAUSEN

I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed, Joanna Schaffhausen's new mystery called, "GONE FOR GOOD." I went into this totally blind and not knowing what to expect and as I was reading the final pages I said to myself what a great series this book could make. I couldn't have been more thrilled to see that when I was preparing to write my review that, in fact, this is book number one in a new series. This was my first time reading this author and I absolutely loved that she could craft a mystery where a charismatic duo of homicide detectives that are a divorced couple could work so well together. Annalisa Vega and her ex-husband Nick are perfectly paired up together. They seem to have a mutual respect for one another and neither one of them pulls rank on each other even though Nick has been working on the job longer than Annalisa. I thought that the setting for this story to take place almost seemed like one of the character's which is Chicago. There were a lot of scenes that described a rainy but also a windy city making for power outages with electricity happen and described as it were so frequent that it was to be expected. Everything about this beautifully written novel seemed to ring with authenticity. As much as one can call a crime genre novel about a main character trying to solve a case where a serial killer who has been off the grid for the past twenty year's and just resurfaced beautiful--this one manages to pull it off.

I was skeptical whether or not this one was a case of a mistaken request for me--something that I seem to be doing far too often, lately. I was so happy that this wasn't written with descriptive, gratuitous violence. I do not like reading anything with a blow by blow long and detailed sadistic narrative about torture etc. This one while outlines the ritualistic way the females were killed it does so in a minor way which for me worked out for the best. I have a low tolerance for reading about how some poor fellow human being gets tortured by some depraved and sick minded killer gets his psychopathic needs met. I do enjoy mysteries and a great thriller every once in a while but I prefer that there isn't a heavy emphasis on the mechanics of the murder. This one while I could tell what the serial killer's methods were, it was short and just mentioned a few times throughout the whole novel.

Annalisa Vega is going to make such an excellent series. She is such a warm, likable, and honorable main character. She is brave and in dealing with some unfortunate revelations towards what I thought of her family being so loving and perfect towards the conclusion (no spoilers): Let me just say was an extremely clever plot device that I never saw coming. It makes me wonder in her family's arc in revealing what it did, how the series will continue. I sure am looking forward to the next installment in this wonderful start of such a lovely protagonist who I felt was multifaceted and just brilliant and stunning. I am definitely going to check out some of this talented and newly discovered Author's other novels. Five Stars all of the way! Highly, highly recommended.

Publication Date: August 10, 2021

Thank you to Net Galley, Joanna Schaffhausen and Minotaur Books--St. Martin's Press for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#GoneforGood #JoannaSchaffhausen #MinotaurBooksSt.Martin'sPress #NetGalley

This first book in a news series by Schaffhausen is a fast-paced and shocking mystery. Detective Annalisa Vega is the daughter of a cop in her hometown of Chicago. When she is called to the scene of a gruesome murder, she has two surprises. First, her ex-husband Nick (back on the job in Chicago) shows up to work the homicide with her. Second, the murder victim's body shows the same traits of the Lovelorn Killer, a serial murderer from the past that many thought was dead or incarcerated. Obviously, he is back or has a copycat, Vega's dad worked the case in the past until the murder of a neighbor and close friend, when he was removed from the case because of being "too close." Now, the Lovelorn Killer has put his focus on Vega, and she is in a race for her life and the lives of those close to her. The investigation stirs up long dead memories, involves Vega's reunion with her long lost high school love, and family secrets. The ending contains more than one surprise and leaves me wanting to know what will happen to Vega.

I received an ARC of Gone for Good from NetGalley.

This is a mystery thriller about a group of amateur sleuths (who call themselves the Grave Diggers) trying to crack unsolved murder cases of women victimized by an apparent serial killer. These murders have remained unsolved for twenty years, until suddenly a new similar murder takes down a woman from the Grave Diggers, just when she seemed to be close to solving the cold cases.

Onto the scene comes Annalisa Vega, a police detective and the new star of a series of mysteries the author plans to write. Annalisa is divorced and a highly committed professional sleuth. She takes charge of the new case and studies the history of the previous work of the serial killer. Is the new case the same guy?

There are lots of characters in this book. As a reader, one becomes suspicious of all of them. Because there are so many characters, none of them except for Annalisa are memorable. There are odd twists and turns at the end.

The author writes clearly and strategically adds clues along the way and builds suspense. A solid first effort at a mystery thriller.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. A serial killer murdered several women years ago. Detective Annalise arrives at a crime scene that looks similar to the lovelorn serial killer. Annalise will have to confront many things to help solve the murdered. This book kept me entertained from the first page.

Unbelievably good! This tight, tense mystery about a cold case with a craven killer who goes after neighborhood women and tortures and kills them in a particularly and singular signature way features the entire spectrum of humanity - from good to evil, with not much gray area in between the poles. An outstanding female detective takes on this once believed to be cold case when the killer, after a long absence, kills again. Annalisa Vega partners with Nick, her ex, also a cop, and together they attempt to unravel the web that the killer, who is literally hiding in plain sight, to ground.

I am not sure I breathed while reading this marvelous book. All of the characters, good and bad, are portrayed so expertly they practically leap off the page. I finished this book on a dark and stormy night, sitting in my living room where the blinds don’t fully reach the sill. That’s a hint but it’s not a spoiler.

Truly outstanding thriller; highly recommended.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

Wow!! This was a fun and fast-paced read. I liked that I wasn't able to guess the killer and the book left me on the tips of my toes the whole time!

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC copy of Gone For Good.

Really, really, really good! A lot of twists and turns. I did guess part of it before the end and there were few parts that I felt dragged on, but overall, a definite must read.

Can't wait to see what happens next with Detective Vega.

Thank you #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Shaffhausen did it again. She crafted a mystery that gripped me from the moment I started reading and never let go. It was seriously hard to stop reading, so I hope you clear your schedule when you pick up this book. I have thoroughly enjoyed every single book from Schaffhausen and so I was ready for another gripping read, and she didn’t disappoint.

Introducing a new character, Annalisa Vega, Schaffhausen weaves a suspenseful mystery that has the tension of a thriller but is still grounded as a procedural mystery which strikes the absolute perfect balance for me. The Lovelorn Killer, a serial killer who has been dormant for two decades, was assumed to be either dead or incarcerated until an amateur detective investigating him suddenly turns up dead in the exact same way as his victims. Detective Vega has a personal connection to the case that turns all the more personal when he decides to start up his cat and mouse games again. The devious serial killer comes roaring back to the surface and one has to wonder if evil is ever really gone for good.

Absolutely delicious thriller...

Twenty years ago the Lovelorn Killer went into hiding.

Now an armchair detective digging into the cold case is dead and the detective assigned has her own connections.

Is he back or is someone else up to no good?

This twisty and surprising book is ah-may-zing and not to be missed.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview Gone For Good by Joanna Schaffhausen. This is really a very good twisty book. If you like a good mystery with a strong female lead, this one is fo ryou. Great characters and you can tell this will be a series.
Hard to put down and sometimes down right scary. Very good. Recommend.

Holy buckets of goodness.

This book is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

If I could give 6 stars I would.

Annalisa Vega is just 17 when her boyfriend’s mother is brutally murdered by a serial killer, The Lovelorn Killer. Lovelorn goes dark, yet the neighborhood will never be the same after they’re idyllic community was touched by the devil himself.

It’s 20 years later and Annalisa is now a detective in her hometown when the serial resurfaces. Annalisa now must face the ghosts of her pasts, and not just Lovelorn. As she investigates she also has a new partner to adapt to.. who happens to be her ex-husband. Her high school boyfriend comes back to town to aide police and rehash the past with Vega. On top of all that her family is dealing with her former police officer father’s diagnosis with Parkinson’s and other family drama.

This book is the perfect combination of thriller, mystery, and romance and will have you drinking it up and asking for more.

Such a great thriller guys! This has to be up there for me! I was scanning through these pages and never wanting this book to end!
Perfect quick read for quick night! This thriller will have you wanting more!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

This book checked off everything for me. As an avid true crime documentary/podcast lover, I was drawn right in. And every mention of real cases of serial killers and even a quick mention of missing person Maura Murray, got my brain excited. I am a grave digger myself so I felt like I new victim Grace Harper.

The lovelorn killer killed multiple women 29 years ago and then vanished. Cops presumed he probably died until Grace Harper ends up murdered in the same manor. Maybe a copycat killer? Maybe he’s back?

I loved it. It’s hard to give more details without spoiling anything but I almost knew who the killer was. I had the right idea if that makes sense. And the second twist, I also knew but was also partially wrong as well. I predicted a possible second killer but had the wrong guy/motive. So I will continue to be an armchair detective and not the real deal!

There’s a serial killer that has resurrected after a 20 year breather. Why? There were lots of theories and people chasing them down but interest all faded away until an amateur group of detectives came along. This group looked at old cases and chewed on them again….. and sometimes with successful results. They started on the Lovelorn Killings when a new murder with the original characteristics of the serial killer had surfaced and it all started over again. Detective Vega, in charge of the case, has a personal past history with this killer. Her dad, a policeman at the time, worked the original cases. The last victim of 20 years ago was the mother of her then boyfriend. They were all from the same neighborhood full of cops and were very close group. Too close. Her young lover left soon after his family imploded and he never returned until he got a call from Detective Annalise Vega seeking information about his mom’s case. His return to town opened up old memories for both of them. This provides an interesting look into how the mind of a serial killer works. Their lust of fame, egotistical personalities and planned behaviors were well presented in the storyline. Getting too close by an intense and insightful amateur sleuth and a resourceful detective fuels his desire to kill and results in numerous new victims. The Vega family have their share of problems ——health, marital, financial—— but none as grave as their association in the reappearance of this serial killer. The story hinted at some questionable behavior of members of the Vega family along the way but this family would back each other up till the painful end. Maybe.

Fast paced and well-written, Gone for Good draws you in and keeps you engaged until the end. The amateur detective group was interesting and helped tell the story from a different perspective. I can see people who are a fan of true crime documentaries and podcasts enjoying this one. I'm looking forward to reading more Detective Annalisa Vega books.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A perfect murder mystery that does not completely unfold until the book’s end. I thought I had it all figured out , but I did not! Many twist and turns until it all comes together. A great read!