Kendell Beck is an FBI agent working with missing and exploited children. She has just caught a case with a missing five year old girl. She finds the girl but suspects that there has been sexual abuse in her home.
But everything is put on hold when her own roommate goes missing. Gwen and Kendell have been best friends since college and when Gwen needs to borrow Kendell's car, she is quick to oblige. But Gwen does not return from her restaurant and a few days later is found dead. Kendell takes time to be with Gwen's family.

Adam Taylor of the local police catches Gwen's case. He wonders if it is related to the cases of other missing women or if it is personal. Gwen owns and runs a successful restaurant with her fiancée who is the chef. Gwen wants to expand; he wants to stay small. Some of his actions look suspicious and his alibi doesn't quite hold up. Some of the other employees have issues as well. Adam is attracted to Kendell but knows that this is not the time to try to do anything about it. So he works the case hoping to catch a break and find her killer.

This is the novel in the Kendell Beck series. Kendell is a strong woman who has faced much adversity in her own life. She fits in with the men she works with but isn't interested in romance at all. I listened to this book and the narrator did an excellent job. Her pacing was quick enough that it lent suspense to the action being narrated yet pleasant for extended listening pleasure. This book is recommended to mystery readers.

FBI Special Agent Kendall Beck is a survivor with many scars.
When her friend dies, she'll do whatever it takes to bring the killer to justice.
This book is layered with complex characters. I loved the mystery and police procedural atmosphere throughout.
It did feel a little busy at times, and even though I did guess the twist, I enjoyed reading along to see how it all played out.

With The Wrong Woman, new to me author Leanne Kale Sparks introduces us to FBI agent Kendall Beck in a new series. Years ago, Kendall was the only surviving victim of the Reaper who terrorized Denver by murdering young girls. While trying to help one of the victims, Kendall was shot and left for dead. While working on a missing child case, Kendall’s attention is blind sighted when her best friend, Gwen disappears and her body is found days later in a lake. Initially, I struggled to keep the numerous cases straight and how, if at all, they are connected.

Kendall partners up with Denver Detective Adam Taylor to assist with the investigation into Gwen’s death and the subsequent arrest of Gwen’s fiancé, Ty. I liked Adam and found him to be an interesting character and happy to see that he will continue in the next book. Adam and Kendall have great chemistry, but there was no hint of a blossoming romance here, which I actually liked. Let’s keep our eye on the ball, people, and not muddy up the waters even more with the romance nonsense.

Where Kendall has a temper that gets her in the hot seat, Adam is more methodical and purposeful in his process. I enjoyed how he works the clues that come up with focused intent, assuming everyone, including Kendall, is a potential suspect in Gwen’s murder.

Secondary characters made this story more interesting as I tried to figure out who the killer is. Of course, my vote was completely off the mark and when the killer’s identity was revealed, I initially felt it was too convenient. The final showdown, however, was nail-biting intense. Kudos to Ms. Sparks for drawing me to the edge of my seat, unable to press pause on my iPod. Major thumbs up also go to the narrator, Erin DeWard, for her stellar performance. Her ability to convey to the reader the feelings of the characters gave me more opportunity to empathize and care about what happens to them. Additionally, her performance also gave me a nervous anxiety in regard to the killer and his methodical stalking of Kendall and his victims. Please, people, don’t leave your vehicle unlocked while you are pumping gas!

My Final Verdict: You may or may not be surprised with the outcome of this story, but the journey getting there will leave you breathless. I highly recommend this book to fans of mysteries and thrillers as well as readers who like strong protagonists and creepy antagonists. Fans who enjoy seeing the villain get their comeuppance will root for Kendall and Adam all the way.

When I went in the app to give feedback, I had to look back to see what this book was about. First, I finished it … so that says it wasn’t terrible. However, it was just okay and very forgettable unfortunately. I read a lot of books for personal enjoyment and as a Librarian who manages our collection. I won’t be ordering this title unless a patron requests specifically.

The Wrong Woman is a fast paced and intense detective thriller. I thought it was a great debut filled with packed action and compelling characters. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job. It was easy to get transported into the world of both the victims and the investigators. The ending wrapped up the story nicely but still left room for a potential series.

Thank you to NetGallery and to Dreamscape Audio for giving me a copy for my honest review.

I love this book. It flowed so easily and it kept me engaged. It had so many interesting twists, just when you think you figured it out, you’re wrong. The main character is great, you will love her.

In her debut novel, Leanne Kale Sparks shows what happens when you mess with the Wrong Woman:

FBI Agent Kendall Beck, is on the one of the toughest cases, a missing child case that turns into a child abuse case and Kendall will stop at nothing to bring justice to the victim. But everything is de-railed when Kendall's best friend and roommate goes missing while driving her vehicle. Kendall wants to be part of the investigation but it is out of her jurisdiction, and when Gwen turns up dead, Kendall drops everything, she needs to find the killer as it seems to be connected to Kendall’s past.

I feel like you can tell that this is a debut novel as Kale Sparks tries to take on too much in one book. There are three very different stories/cases presented in this book, all of which could have been their own books. I think this is why the story felt unfocused at times.The book starts out very interesting with the separate cases and you do not know how the investigations are going to intersect or how the investigators are going to work together and it takes around 20% of the book to get there.
I felt like for the most part of the story she did not focus on the child abduction/abuse case, like it was not important enough for her and solely wanted to help/focus on her friend's disappearance. It was like she forgot about her actual job/case to the point that it felt like Kale Sparks forgot about the other case and the direction she wanted to take the story. It is not till the end that she seems to finally remember she had a case she was supposed to work. I think that Kale Sparks just didn't know what type of book she wanted to write, so changed focus many times.

I liked Kendall as a character when you first meet her and she does what I think a lot of people would do with a child abuser but after that point I felt like i she didn't grow as a character or as an investigator.

I think that Kale Sparks has the ability to write and does have great ideas for stories to follow with her characters presented here, but i think there needs to be follow less is more. There does not need to be multiple cases happening at once in order to captivate their audience. A good who-done-it does not need this. However, I look forward to seeing how Kale Sparks matures as an author.

Cheers!!!

The Wrong Woman by Leanne Kale Sparks is a great mystery/thriller. It was a little confusing in the middle but everything came together in the end.

I requested this book through Netgalley for a couple of different reasons. I am a huge mystery & thriller book fan, this is the genre that I like to listen to the most. Secondly, I really liked the book's title, "The Wrong Woman", and the cover also drew my attention. The cover is dark and eerie. Thirdly, I liked that the book was based in Denver as that is my hometown. Lastly, I liked that it was an FBI case. I used to want to be an FBI agent and actually studied Forensic Psychology in high school. As you can tell there was a lot about this audiobook that drew my attention.

The story immediately jumps into the disappearance of a 5 year old girl, Emily Williams. FBI Special Agent Kendall Beck's investigation into the little girl's disappearance is quickly derailed when her best friend and roommate, Gwen Tavich has also gone missing. Gwen is later found to be dead. Kendall teams up with Denver Detective Adam Taylor to find her killer. This redirects all of her attention from Emily's case to Gwen's.

Both of the cases are quite interesting and it is clear throughout the story that Emily's case takes a backseat to Gwen's. I was disappointed that there was not a lot of background information though on Kendall being the only survivor of the notorious :Reaper" serial murders. The books description clearly states that this is one of the reasons why she seeks justice for victims of abuse. This is not to say that the "Reaper" case does not become part of the story. just wish we learned more about Kendall's experience.

I was there had been a trigger warning for this book at the beginning before the story started. f you are sensitive to crime's against children, specifically sexual abuse then this story may be difficult to get through. I certainly struggled with the sections surrounding the child sexual abuse crime, especially the detail, which was not super in depth but it was enough that it made me cringe and want to cry at times.

As far as the narrator goes, I really liked her. I thought that she narrated the story well. She does a good job in the changing of her voice for each character, which made it easier to follow and identify who was speaking at the time. She also did well in displaying each character's emotions, which I felt helped bring the story to life.

I am giving it 3 out of 5 because I thought the storyline was good, however, felt like there was certainly a disconnect between the two cases. I also wish their had been a trigger warning for the child sexual abuse.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the audiobook. This is my honest opinion.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Pretty good and entertaining read, liked the characters and the twists were good, the ending was a surprise for sure lol

The Wrong Women
By Leanne Kale Sparks

Thank you to Dreamscapes Media and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this audiobook.

This story started out a little hard for me to get my head into and get consumed in. I felt like the two stories going on in the main characters life were chaotic & somewhat hard to follow them both. About half way through, I started to really enjoy the story as a whole and it’s characters.
Kendall Beck is an FBI agent who is investigating a kidnapped child but when she finds the child in the neighbors garage, something seems off. What really happened to this child? How and why did she get here? Freezing in this garage?

While investigating the case of the missing child, Kendall’s best friend, Gwen, goes missing and ends up dead? Gwen never came home after work Saturday night. Worse yet, Kendall didn’t have suspicions until Monday when Kendall needed her car that Gwen borrowed because her Jaguar was in the shop yet again. The police wouldn’t do anything about it so Kendall had no choice but to report her car stolen. That’s when she starts getting the answers she’s been looking for.

How are the two cases related? Who killed Gwen and why?

Once I got into this story, I did enjoy listening to it. The narrator did a great job & made it a nice listen too.

Again, thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

This was a really great thriller - not really for me, but it was very solid!!

I don’t typically read detective stories so I should’ve known I would struggle at times with this, but I’m so glad I went with the audiobook. The narrator did an amazing job!

I really enjoyed this novel of suspense & mystery that has a bit of a detective vibe to it. The fact that there are two law agencies working sort of together in this book was interesting to me - the FBI and the local detective teaming up, in a sense.

I was immediately intrigued, wanting to know what would happen in this case. I think it was a bit challenging to connect with the first victim since we never actually saw her interacting with the main character but I did grow to care for the whole situation.

What brought it down a bit for me (rating wise) was the ending (more so like the climax). I won't spoil it but it was much too easy of a wrap up for me. Kind of like "really?" in my mind. It didn't spoil the whole book or anything, but it kind of made me tilt my head and think...I don't know if I believe it.

Still, I'd recommend this to fans of mystery/thriller looking for a good escape book.

My rating: 3.5*

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Thanks to NetGalley for a gifted audio copy. All opinions are my own.

3.5⭐️
The Wrong Women was impressive right out of the gate! A missing girl, an unknown serial killer and a missing women. Now all I needed was a great detective and that would be Adam. It seemed like he knew what he was doing and then there was badass Kendall to round out all the characters.
I really like it and it held my attention well. I chose to listen to this book on audio and was narrated by Erin DeWard. She did an excellent job.
The only problem I had was the rushed ending. I feel like I’m missing something. Is there going to be another book? Just wondering.
Thanks Dreamscape Media via NetGalley.

This book seemed to have to many coincidences for me to get into this story it was ok but nothing that will stick with me. The story follows Kendall an FBI agent that was working a missing kid case that turned out to be a child sexual assault case . While working this case her roommate and friend Gwen goes missing Kendall meets Adam the officer working Gwen’s case. Kendall helps look into Gwen’s case when Gwen shows up dead questions start coming up that Ty, Gwen’s fiancé, is having trouble answering. We also follow Adam as he is also working a murder rape case but these cases start coming up with some similarities.

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator she made it easy to pick up on who you were following and kept you engaged. My issue with the story was it did not seem realistic there were to many coincidences to make the story believable. I also wish they would have just followed one case instead of three it made it seem unnecessary at times and I was mostly interested in Gwen’s case. It was an ok thriller but nothing that really stuck with me. I would like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for an opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

Thrilling and chilling. A serial killer on the loose and when FBI Special Agent Kendall Beck's roommate is found murdered, she teams up with Denver police detective Adam Taylor to find the murderer. Gwen's fiance does not have an alibi and is charged but the investigation has them spinning. This was a twisty and chilling tale and kept me listening long after I should have put it down and gone to sleep. Definitely a good sign of a great tale!

The Wrong Woman captivated my attention from the very beginning. It's not often I get right into a book; often times it takes several chapters to really pull me in.
The author painted a picture of each character in such vivid detail it's like I could see them, their expressions, their actions. The main character, Kendall Beck, is a badass FBI agent. She's exactly what we would want in a strong female lead in a story. Smart, strong and also very likeable.
Kendall takes on the case of a missing little girl that turns into so much more in a plot full of twists and turns and the unexpected.

The way the story flows, chapters that aren't too long, helps to separate the different scenes and perspectives in which it all unfolds.

If you're looking for a story that's fast-moving and finally brings closure to a plot, this one is it!

I'd like to see more of Kendall Beck.

Kendell Beck, a FBI agent, is investigating a missing child case when her roommate goes missing, and is eventually found dead. These two cases bring back memories of her being the only survivor of the Denver "Reaper." As the three cases evolve it is clear that there is more to the situation than what meets the eye.

This book had its ups and downs. At times it was fast paced while at other times it was slow. The three cases wrap up nicely in the end. The title does give away a lot of the plot, but not enough to ruin the book. The narration of the audiobook was great! The narrator knew when to put different inflections in to keep the audience hooked.

I would like to thank NetGalley, and Dreamscape Media for the electronic Advanced Reading Copy (eARC) in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Special Agent Kendall Beck is struggling to find out why 5 year old Emily disappeared. While she is knee deep in this investigation, her best friend, Gwen, is missing. This sends Kendall into a tail spin. And it sends her right onto the track if a serial killer!

Now, this novel has several different stories moving around. And at the end it all falls into place very neatly. A bit too tidy, if you ask me. It is almost rushed. But, I needed this on a boring drive. It hit the spot. The intensity and the hunt for the killer kept me entertained and guessing! The narrator, Erin Deward is excellent. She has the perfect voices for the characters!

Need a quick, fierce read…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

I must say that this book was FANTASTIC. It was everything I was looking for these past few months, an intense mystery with a badass & smart MC! I absolutely adored Kendall!! I felt so attached to her and her personality. She didn't take crap from anyone and stood her ground when the situation demanded it.

At first I was not expecting much from this book, as I've had bad luck with mystery/thriller books lately. But this lovely gem got me out of my reading slump! I burned through this audiobook in 4 days and it's 10.5 hours long! The narrator was perfect and changed their voice a multitude of times to differentiate an entire cast of characters which I appreciated.

The only thing keeping this from a 5 star for me was that the pacing was a bit slow at times, some lines/ideas were repetitive, and the ending was not as cliff hangery as I would've liked! Other than that, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a GOOD mystery book that has good plot twists and plenty of action. Some of the crimes may be gruesome, but I loved how our protagonists fought for justice.

This book is a solid 4 and I might snag a physical copy in the future to reread it! I hope this book will have a sequel or even a series sometime in the future because the characters were so well built! I felt like I knew them personally and I loved the bond between the two MCs. Surprisingly, their connection felt really natural and authentic.

4.5 Stars!