This psychological thriller is set in the wild and isolated Everglades, FL. A woman reluctantly returns to her hometown when her ex’s young daughter goes missing. Secrets from her past come back to haunt her and make her wish that she had never returned. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I loved the setting and the fact that the protagonist had an unusual medical condition that caused her not to feel pain or hunger. It threw an interesting and unique challenge into the mix. The very twisty conclusion was both unexpected and satisfying. I look forward to reading more from this author.

This is a fast paced, return to small home town mystery with a very unique main character. Noa has a medical condition that prevents her from feeling pain. This sounds like a great thing, but it’s actually dangerous. She returns to her hometown to help find a missing child. I had a little trouble connecting with this story fully, but still a fun read.

Thank you Netgalley, Crooked Lane Books and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book is available for purchase on August 9, 2022.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Noa struggles with returning to her small home town to help out her old friends and ex boyfriend when his child goes missing. But she does. To make the situation worse she has a disorder that makes it so she doesn’t feel pain. Yet everyone thinks she has grown out of it. Definitely slow at parts and a little difficult to read with the child violence but had me guessing until the end. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Who took Skye, the daughter of Noa's ex Zack and her former BFF Taylor? That's the question Noa has come home to answer, home to a place she left and never wanted to see again. Oddly. despite the interesting potential, this was a miss for me because of what was missing. It's set in the Everglades but the atmospherics are few. I was more interested, to be honest, in Noa's inability to feel pain, which, also, btw, is resolved too easily. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

Ten years ago, Noa Romwell left the small-town gossip and heartache of Everglades City for Miami. However, now that six-year-old Skye Flynn has been kidnapped, Noa feels an obligation to return home and help the search party efforts.

“It’s not just the Everglades that are dangerous, it’s the tongues of those who dwell here- those tiny members that deliver pain even I can feel.”

Narrated in third person, the flavor of south Florida is well established from the beginning. With a contrast between the cities, this carries over into Noa’s past and present. Given her rare condition, Noa has to take certain precautions, but with her choices and what occurs, her physical and emotional limits are tested.

Even though I knew pretty early who is to blame, it didn’t detract from conjuring other theories or liking/disliking certain characters. Noa is a sympathetic character due to her circumstance and also because of the heartbreak by her high school boyfriend. Though her tenacity is admirable, it also made for cringeworthy moments. With a cast of colorful secondary characters, the story pivots and builds tension until it all comes together in a smashing crescendo.

Girls Without Tears is about obsession. This book would appeal to those seeking a crime thriller.

I listened to the audio version and the narrator was awesome! The book itself, I have mixed feelings about. The main character is just ridiculous. She’s supposed to be late twenties but is so self centered and immature that she seems more like a bratty teenager. I enjoyed the mystery portion however, it was an interesting storyline with lots of twists and turns.

I just couldn’t get into the book, this felt like reading a life horror movie with me screaming at the main character to stop being so stupid. DNF @43%

This was a good, entertaining book. It didn’t blow me out if the water but I think it’s because the ending became pretty obvious which was a bit disappointing after getting into the first half of the book that always had me changing my mind on who was behind everything. I think in the end the writing was good and I liked most of the characters although a couple left something ti be desired.

Ooooof. This one kept me on my toes. I had more theories than I care to admit. Noa goes back to her hometown, the one she ran away from so long ago, to help her ex boyfriend and his new wife look for their daughter that has gone missing. (I'm not sure I would be so nice, but Noa is a better woman than I) In going back, she has to face her family and friends that she left behind. Some are forgiving and some aren't as much. Jamie is Zack's best friend and was Noa's best friend as well, he is thrilled to have her back and has always wondered why she left him too. The truth was it was to hard to stay connected to the town at all. She has CIPA and cannot feel pain. That stigma has lived with her and people in the town either didn't understand her or pitied her.
I thought this medical condition was very well done and researched. I have read another book where the character had this condition and I feel like I understand it better now.
I didn't trust anyone in this book. At one point, I thought it could be literally anyone. I did figure out a few of the twists early, but it didn't take away from the overall feel of the book because there were twists and turns galore.
Thank you to Crooked River Books, Netgalley and Traci Finlay for an early copy.

A fun, fast paced, return to small home town mystery. Excellent for mystery lovers and an ideal page turner read to help you get out of a slump!

A strange medical premise of the heroine (intolerance to pain), a hometown return and a search for an ex's daughter. Didn't live this one. Maybe i felt like it was too contrived and unbelievable? I made it to the end but wouldn't recommend.

I could have sworn that there's some site I read where top-reviewed stuff gets the label "We really liked this one!" However, a casual goog reveals nothing. I bring this up because that's my first response to talking about this book: I really liked this one! Maybe it's because I'm also a curious gal from the swampy South, but I don't think it's just that. It was just a compelling story, especially the faint suggestion that our narrator might not be as reliable as we think.

I didn’t know what I was expecting going into this book but it definitely blew past all of my expectations! We get to understand and connect with the main character in such a great way while the main plot/story line is unfolding. I feel like there was a great balance of character development and plot pace through out the book. I always like guessing the twist and this one was able to surprise me even though I was able to connect some dots myself along the way. Also, I love that this book had a great opportunity to use a cliche that probably would have taken some enjoyment out of the read and even though it was hinted at it, it steered clear or falling into the cliche! Really enjoyed the read!

4.5 ⭐️’s! I really enjoyed this book. I had a feeling about someone at the beginning, then Traci has you second guessing yourself! All of the suspense makes you want more!
Towards the end of the book I felt what was written on the pages. The words and descriptions used was like I was there myself. I totally recommend this book!
Thank you Crooked Lane Books for the Arc

𝔾𝕚𝕣𝕝𝕤 𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕋𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕤

Author – T.L. Finlay
Rating - ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ / 5
Genre – Mystery & Thrillers
Publication Date - 08/08/22
Pages - 336

YES! Finally a book that had a plot that I COULD NOT PREDICT AND WAS SHOOK OVER! What did I just read? I swear this book took me on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

I knew who did it, jk I didn't! OH WAIT, I think I finally figured it out.....oh, I was off again. - my inner monologue until the very LAST PAGE!!

……


What I liked :
✨ SO MANY TWIST!
✨ There was so drama and some tea on all the relationships...
✨ A really interesting insight on people who have CIPA (Congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis)
✨ Small town, everyone knows your business, people eating popcorn while watching you help your ex bf search for his daughter...(emoji here)

What I disliked :
👎🏻 I think that the story drug on for too long. I was ready for the book to end but things kept happening that I don't think REALLY needed to happen (maybe but not a long explanation about it)
👎🏻 THE GASLIGHTING (I mean it added to the story but still yucky!)
👎🏻 THE DRAMA. I felt like there might just be a little too much drama for a thriller

Y’all, seriously. This book is SOOO much better than I anticipated! I assumed the storyline would be a little cheesy with the addition of the protagonist’s medical condition but boy, was I wrong! I devoured this book in 2 days!
Once it got to the halfway mark, I didn’t know what else could happen but I quickly lost that worry because the story went into overdrive. The ending had me completely shocked! I cannot Wait to buy a physical copy in August when this one hits the shelves!

I recommend this book to anyone who:
- Likes one narrator throughout.
- Enjoys chapters a tad long but still keep you flipping pages to find out what happens.
- Likes suspenseful thrillers

I really enjoyed this one. Noa was one of the most unique characters I've read in awhile. The mystery was full of tension. I figured most of it out fairly early but there were a couple surprises that still threw me. I REALLY liked the ending. I read it three times! I could see a series following. Noa was just that interesting.

Parts of this novel really worked for me and parts of it seemed a smidge to prose-y, bogged down in details, for me. That being said, I love that this debut really goes for it.

Girls Without Tears | T.L. Finlay
Genre: Psychological suspense, mystery, thriller
Pub Date: 09/08/22
Rating: 4.5 stars

Girls Without Tears is a standalone suspense by author, T.L. Finlay (also known as Traci Finlay).
The story follows Noa, who has not been back to her small hometown in over a decade when she finds herself drawn back following the abduction of a small child in the community. The child is the daughter of her ex-boyfriend and the woman he left her for. As Noa becomes pulled back into small town life and the hunt for a kidnapper, she finds that her own life might also be at stake.

The thing that made this book more than just another mystery thriller was Noa’s Congenital Insensitivity to Pain. I’m both horrified and fascinated by this disorder and it made me want to read more to learn about what it is like for someone living with this and how it impacts their life.

The book itself was well written, suspenseful and had some good twists and turns. I enjoyed the fast pace and it kept my interest the whole time. I read it across two sittings. The small town Florida setting and small community is not something I have experienced so was interesting to read about.

This was my first book by this author, but will definitely be keeping my eye out for further thrillers by her. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book.

Girls Without Tears
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Thriller
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 8/9/22
Author: T. L. Finlay
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Pages: 336
Goodreads Rating: 3.47

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing a copy of the book for me to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: When six-year-old Skye disappears from Everglades City, Noa is hesitant to return to her hometown to help with the search effort. Skye is the daughter of Noa’s ex, Zack, and Taylor, the girl he dumped her for. Going home also means facing the townspeople who have always misunderstood Noa’s medical condition, Congenital Insensitivity to Pain, and dealing with more of their ignorant comments. As Noa gets closer to the truth of who kidnapped Skye, she starts to uncover secrets about her hometown that she didn’t expect. Nothing and no one are what they seem in this small Florida backwater—and any good friend can quickly become a deadly enemy.

My Thoughts: With Florida being my home state, I was very excited to dive into this book. Unfortunately, the descriptions of the area was not detailed as you usually see, it fell a little flat for me. However, Noa’s condition intrigued me. This starts out face-paced and then turns into a slow burn for me throughout the book. It did have some twists but still slow moving. The character development was okay, I understood who everyone was and their role, but was left with wanting more. There were twists in the book, however,some were predictable. I believe the concept the author wanted to achieve was amazing, it just fell a little flat for me.