Hidden Pieces by Mary Keliikoa is so tense, atmospheric & has all the right ingredients for a super unputdownable suspense thriller. I loved the setting, the town, Jax & all other characters in this book! While I quite figured out the whodunnit the narration, plot were thoroughly enjoyable! The various twists were not big surprises but did the job just right. I ended the book wanting to know about Jax & the going ons in Misty Pines. Such a beautiful & suspenseful place to be! I look forward to reading the next book in this series & the next too!

Thank you NetGalley, Level Best Books & Mary Keliikoa for the arc!

Complex, complicated and intense novel. Following troubled protagonist sheriff Jax Turner as he investigates the disappearance of a teenage girl.
I liked the character progression of this one and the story had so many twists and turns that were unexpected I found the police investigation to be engrossing and liked the way it unfolded.
I will definitely be picking up the next book in this series.

4 stars!

I feel like this book is so underrated! I think the only thing was that the ending got a little bit too outlandish. That being said I was definitely hooked by the missing teenager mystery and I was sucked in from the very beginning.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely loved this book by Mary Keliikoa, the first in the Misty Pines series. I was hooked from the first page and could not put it down. If you like a good mystery and thriller I highly recommend you read this. Thank you Netgalley for this arc.

Cover: Meh. It’s an anonymous cover, as nothing stands out. A real shame, it doesn’t do the book any justice at all.

The story is inversely proportional to the cover. While the cover is nothing to write home about, Hidden Pieces is a delightful thriller—posing me with a bit of a problem, haha. It’s hard to write a review when a book is good and has no real flaws; gushing gets old fast (j/k, I’m happy when I find 5 stars novels! :D)

First thing first, the ending. Wow. I saw tiny clues scattered here and there as I was reading, but they were so subtle you had to pay close attention to pick them up. Red herrings were a bit more in your face, so! Well done! That’s how a thriller should work.

The story itself, while not a pinnacle of originality as it deals with a missing person, is captivating, probably because of good, well-rounded characters. Jax Turner, the MC, has a past troubled enough to elicit sympathy, but that doesn’t tip him into over-the-top brooding territory. I also liked the relationship he has with his ex-wife—I’m happy to see a civil relationship for once rather than hate-filled ones.

Third pov done in a marvelous way, good grammar, a pleasant rhythm supported by a lot of dialogues; I couldn’t ask for more.

5 stars on GR and well-deserved.

A mystery that sort of turns into a thriller, not sure if the twist is 100% believable? I did like the police detective and the way his past/emotions were portrayed. For that reason, I would read more in this series.

Hidden Pieces is a solid mystery featuring a the disappearance of a teenage girl. The unfolding plot reveals similarities between her abduction and a similar case in the past. The local sheriff has long been haunted by his failure to save the first victim. This new case drags him out of a severe depression, one brought on by the cancer death of his young daughter and his subsequent divorce. The story is well-plotted and well+written. If I hav any complaints, they would be that it’s a little too long and maybe has a few too many moving parts and characters. Still, the story is highly engaging with a surprise at the end. Recommend!

A dark and twisted story, really enjoyed the believable characters and how the story developed. I look forward to reading more from this author.

He's the Sheriff is looking for a missing girl. He's divorced and lost his 4 year old girl to cancer, so he has his own problems. When he got the call on the missing girl, he was thinking about suicide.
Level Best Books and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It has been published and you can get a copy now.

He doesn't realize how bad this case is going to be.

One of the women involved has two personalities. He doesn't find this out until almost the end of the book.

The killer was someone he trusted and troubled him to find out he wasn't all he thought he was.

It is a very interesting mystery with lots of trauma and worry. But the Sheriff does his job even with the shocks coming his way...

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! Loved it! It was full of twists that kept me guessing. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series. I rate the book a 4.1

Wow !! A delicious dark and twisty thriller that you won't soon forget ! Thanks to NetGalley and Level Best Book for the opportunity to read and review this book ! Opinions are solely my own ! #NetGalley #LevelBestBook #HiddenPieces

This is a fantastic mystery novel that I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a good suspenseful read The plot is engaging and intricate, with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing.
Many thanks to Level Best Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Read this one via netgalley and I was excited for it. The story sounded intriguing and there was a character with my first name! Unfortunately, I read a LOT of thrillers, and possibly because of this I predicted two major "twists." That left me pretty disappointed as I like to be completely surprised and blindsided by twists. There were a few too many characters without enough story. They seemed to be there just to try to keep you guessing. Overall it was a good story and fairly well written.

Thank you for the ecopy of HIdden Pieces! I always love a good mystery thriller and this one hit the spot. It did start off a bit slow but after about half way through it got better. The story was very well written and flowed really well.

Hard to believe but this is my first book I've read from Mary Kelilikoa and it won't be my last. This is the first book in a new series about Sheriff Jax Turner. A divorce, the death of his daughter, nothing is going right and he has just given up. Then a young teen girl disappears and he needs to do something about it. The case reminds him of a case when he was a rookie that was never solved. Too many similarities to ignore. We meet a lot of possible suspects from the town who I'm sure will be more developed as the series continues. Looking forward to the next book!

Jax Turner is a complex character. The case takes him on a wild journey. Full of suspense and twists I never saw the way it plays out coming. Just when I thought I had it figured out the author threw a jaw dropping surprise my way and I couldn't read fast enough. This is quickly becoming my favorite author for thrillers. Wow!

oh my god.

where to start?

this book took the biggest cop out ever and called it a plot twist. like no, that's just lazy wtiting.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2023 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2023/01/2023-reading-list-announced-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

Such a great, twisty novel for any lovers of plot-twists! I really found the narrative easy to follow but it still kept my guessing and had me on the edge of my seat! I highly recommend to any lovers of mystery novels

A Very Intense Child Abduction Novel

The novel opens with Allison Krueger being offered a ride to school by someone she knows just before her school bus crests a hill. Allison never makes it to school. The sheriff, Jax Turner, is sitting in his sheriff's vehicle on the beach. He is holding his gun and contemplating ending it all because his life has been a failure since his daughter died ten years earlier. He is about to act when his dispatch radio informs him about a missing teenager. He tries to hand it off to his deputy, but he is reminded that his deputy is on vacation. He responses to the call. Hopefully, it won't take long so he can finish what he came to the beach to do.

The main storyline is centered on the investigation that that branched out like the tenacles of an octopus. Where Allison Krueger lives is rural, but right next door is a commercial farm. Three potential viable suspects work or live on that farm are identified. Other illegal activities are discovered that could be motive in the abduction. Then, the stonewalling begins first from the farms manager, then a viable suspect's father who also the city commissioner who already is at odds with Sheriff Turner. Next, his investigation starts to interfere with an FBI investigation that is headed by his ex-wife. Lastly, Sheriff Turner finds a connection with a 25-year-old abduction and murder investigation with which he was involved. The author weaved these threads into an intense and captivating novel that kept me engaged with the novel all the way to the end.

Sheriff Turner starts the novel on that beach in a pit of despair that he has been digging for ten years. His despair also has affected his performance as the sheriff. He has survived by the people working for him have covered for him. Through the novel, the reader will see how Sheriff Turner struggles with this issue. A protagonist pulling a 180 is common, but what I liked about this one was how he handled his inexperienced deputies during this investigation. Sheriff Jax’s interactions with his returning experienced deputy, the city commissioner and his wife added more insight into his character. The B-storyline enriched my reading enjoyment of this novel.

For the aspects that some readers find so objectionable that they will stop reading a novel, first there are not any intimate scenes. The level of vulgar language is minimal, while it is more rude language. There is some violence described in the more edgy as it occurs, but this level of violence is quick than action. For me, these aspects not an issue at all for me and, I suspect, would be for most readers.

What I enjoyed most about this book, was what I call a literary tsunami because after it occurred, my entire understanding of what has happened was washed away by this twist. My largest problem was that the complexity of the investigation may turn some readers off before it captures their attention. This book does require more engagement than an action/adventure novel. There were not any loose ends in the main storyline at the end of this novel. There are plenty of B-storyline threads that can continue in further novels. This is the first novel by this author that I have read. I do not rate an author until after reading a second novel, but I am interested in reading further books or series by this author. I enjoyed reading and recommend reading this novel. I rate this novel with four stars.

I received a free prepublication e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from Level Best Books. My review is based only on my own reading experience of this book. I wish to thank Level Best Books for the opportunity to read and review this novel.