Paige Shelton writes several mystery series. Some are cozy mysteries which are my preferred genre. When my sister told me about the Alaska Wild books they seemed way to thriller for me, but when I got Lost Hours from NetGalley I decided to give it a try. After consuming the first four books, because I only read a series in order, I finally got to Lost Hours. The entire series is good and this volume kept up the streak. Shelton keeps the tension tight, but not terrifying. Beth Rivers finally feels at home in Alaska after rough run of being kidnapped and escaping, then being involved in several other murders. While on a glacier sight seeing boat ride, she witnesses a woman covered in blood waving down the boat. Her story has many similarities to Beth's, so once again she is involved in a mystery. Suspenseful without being too much for me, I look forward to Shelton's next volume of Alaska Wild expected in December.

This has become one of my favorite series. Not only do I like Beth Rivers a lot, I love reading about this remote Alaska town. The story drew me in quickly and I didn't want to put it down until I finished it. I stayed up way too late reading this one. I'm already looking forward to the next one in the series.

This is book 5 in the Alaska Wild series. Beth has now lived for a year in Benedict, Alaska and is feeling part of the small town. Her estranged father is also living there and they are slowly building their relationship. While on a glacier tour the boat finds a young woman on an island covered in blood who claims to be a kidnap victim. When a local girl goes missing they think the two are somehow connected. Beth seems to be the connection factor and is trying to help the police. I think that reading some of the previous books might help understanding Beth's life in Alaska.

Beth Rivers is a book author. At the beginning of the story, we find her living in the small town of Benedict, Alaska, where she ran away to a year earlier after becoming the victim of a very public kidnapping. Scarred by trauma and troubled by a complicated relationship with her father Eddy, she is slowly starting to reclaim her life knowing that she will eventually face her abductor in trial. When she witnesses the rescue of a woman named Sadie claiming she is the victim of a kidnapping, she immediately empathizes. But there are questions about the veracity of her story. As Beth starts to investigate on her own, matters take a turn for the worse when a young woman goes missing close to the place where Sadie was found. Are these incidents related? Is Sadie’s story true?

Thoughts:

The fifth installment of the Alaska Wild series is a cozy mystery with an interesting premise, but I struggled to feel connected to the characters and engaged in the story. This is not a stand-alone book; there is not enough backstory to help in understanding Beth’s world and most of the people around her. The pacing drags for a little over half of the book, but the mystery increases in complexity and leads to a surprising unfolding of events. However, Beth's involvement with the local authorities did not seem plausible. On the other hand, the author did a respectable job of capturing the isolation and the beauty of the small Alaska town and its surroundings.

The story ends in a cliffhanger that paves the way for the next book in the series.

Overall, this book did not appeal to me, but it might be of interest to fans of the author’s Alaska Wild book series, and to lovers of cozy mysteries and of remote Alaska settings.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in return for an honest review.

#NetGalley#bookstagram#booktrovert#booklover##bookstagrammer#bookreviews#goodreads

I received this eARC from NetGalley ages ago and, because I like to read a series starting at the beginning, that is what I did last year, searching for the books at the library and I think bought one. Then I forgot about this 5th installment until recently.

I was captivated when I first began by Beth River's story of arriving in Benedict, Alaska on the run after escaping a horrible kidnapper back in Missouri. The first few books were riveting and I loved the setting as well as the characters in the small town that Beth got to know.

This fifth installment seemed different, all over the place in terms of plot with some rather unbelievable developments and, honestly, if I hadn't read the prior novels in the series, I would have not liked it much at all. There is some attempt to convey the relevant pieces of the backstory but not enough, in my opinion, to clue a reader in who hasn't followed along on Beth's Alaska journey.

I rate this really as 2 1/2 but rounded up to a 3. It did end with a bit of an interesting cliff hanger so I might read the next book, if there is one. Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read Lost Hours.

Well written and interesting read. The main character is in a position to help someone who says they’ve been kidnapped. The story is trying to solve to why has she been kidnapped and who did it. Throughout the journey new clues seem to be popping up that contradict her story. Now everyone is determined to find the truth.

This could have been an interesting mystery if I understood what was happening. Too many people with who we didn't know and didn't know the details of their past with the main character. The ending was a bit abrupt. Maybe if I had read all the previous books in the series I would have liked it better. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc and no pressure for a positive review.

Loved the setting and enjoyed the story. I didn’t read the others and felt a little lost but it all worked out. Part family redemption and part mystery.
Thank you Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Beth doesn't have to be so circumspect in her hideout in Benedict, Alaska anymore. Her kidnapper has been caught in Missouri and awaiting trial. Her father Eddy has settled and is taking tourists on trips on his small boat, while trying to rebuild Beth's trust. A woman covered in blood on a nearby island, telling a tale of kidnapping, brings Beth into yet another mystery in Benedict. The police used their shared trauma as a tool to get more information from the reticent Sadie. There were a lot of threads and red herrings going through this story, I was surprised how it all tied together.

Mystery set in a small town in Alaska. Author did a good job with the characters and atmosphere. I really liked the remote setting and reading about life there and the importance of community. This book is #5 in a series and I thought it worked fine as a standalone. I enjoyed the characters enough that I'd be interested in going back and reading the previous books in the series.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

I’m such a fan of this series. As I read this book, I felt this isolated place in Alaska all around me. Both the good and the bad the isolation forces are evident with knowing those around her and the proximity of any strangers that give danger to the town. The quirky characters that make up this town seem inviting and I love how they take care of each other. There is such a quiet closeness among them.

I think of this series as a darker than usual cozy mystery. There isn’t any lightness or humor, but the mysteries aren’t gory.

Beth, the main character, is flawed and I think that is what makes her so relatable to both me and the other characters. This is book five and she’s made progress of letting go of her past and learning to trust those around her.

The story itself of a potential bear attack had me on the edge of my seat. And that ending has me wondering if I can wait until book six comes out.

Suzy Althens does a terrific job of bringing Beth to life. Capturing her hesitancy and curiosity. I’m glad I was able to listen to part of this one. It made a terrific walking distraction.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. Book 5 in a series that I hadn't read any of of. Defiantly mentioned earlier things often (kidnapping) but did okay as being a stand alone.

This is the 5th book in Paige Shelton's Alaska Wild Mystery Series. I enjoyed the mystery, the setting, and the main characters, Beth and Police Chief Gril. A few intertwined mysteries are going on all at once which makes the story even more interesting. I love the Alaska setting that the author has created. I have not read the first books in this series, but I am downloading them now. I can't wait to return to Benedict Alaska and see what other mysteries Beth has helped solve.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a digital ARC. All opinions are my own.

I didn't realized that this book was a part of a series when I started reading it. Even though I didn't read the previous 4 books, I was still able to enjoy this story. Beth is a writer and is hiding out in Alaska. She seems to have build a good base of friends. While out on boat sightseeing glaciers, suddenly get pulled into a rescue mission for a lady who was kidnapped and is covered in blood. This leads Beth and her friends to a mystery with many twists and turns. There were several story lines and I was impressed with how they all tied together at the end. It was a good read and I'd be interested in reading the books that came before it. The book ended with a cliff hanger so there will also be books after it.

This is the 5th book in the Alaska Wild series. Beth Rivers escaped from her kidnapper and went to Benedict, Alaska to hide. It’s been a year and she’s settled down a lot until someone is spotted oa glacier island. They rescue a woman who says she was kidnapped, supposedly her kidnapper was eaten by a bear. When a tourist’s daughter disappears, Beth is convinced that someone from her past is out there and wants to hurt her.
I think this is the best book in the series, 4 stars.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

Suspense writer Beth had no other ambition than seeing the glaciers in Alaska, where she has been living since escaping a captor. But a bloody woman flags down the ship and Beth finds herself trying to help the traumatized woman, Sadie, who quickly offers she is in the witness protection program. As Beth and other residents of Benedict, Alaska try to help the woman recover her memories, a couple and their young daughter, Gracie, ask Beth to accompany them on a fishing charter led by Beth's semi-estranged father, Eddy. When Gracie goes missing, Beth begins to suspect there might be a connection between Gracie's disappearance and Sadie's appearance.

This cozy mystery is part of a series, and I found myself lost as to Beth's backstory. The plethora of characters with strange names quickly overwhelmed me and the plot was way too contrived. But despite these flaws, the setting was perfect and Beth a surprisingly relatable character. I will go back and read earlier books in the series to see what I've missed. #LostHours #NetGalley

I think this is a series that you can’t start in the middle. With so many characters and the backstory of the main character, I felt like I was pushed into cold water and told to swim like hell to catch up.

I did enjoy the mystery but with so much time spent on trying to get some background info I couldn’t get into it as much as I hoped.

I would still pick up the books of this series though! Loved the setting in Alaska

Paige Shelton has given us another excellent mystery set in a small town in Alaska, Lost Hours, the fifth book in her Alaska Wild series. The stories all take place in Benedict, a small town that isn’t far from Juneau, but is rather isolated, near the famous Glacier Bay. There are a lot of references to how hard it is to get a cell signal - and just forget about internet access, other than at the library and a couple of other places around town.

The main character, Beth Rivers, is a well-known writer of mysteries/thrillers. She is living in Benedict under her real name, rather than her pen name, recovering (mostly psychologically) from a terrible experience, having been kidnapped by a stalker-fan and held in a van for a number of days before she escaped. But it’s been about a year and Beth is feeling quite at home in Benedict these days. The action takes place in the middle of Alaska’s busy summer tourist season.

There are a couple of mysteries in Lost Hours, a complex story with a lot of interesting aspects. Beth is on a boat with her father (he has moved to Benedict to try to repair their fractured relationship) to finally see the glaciers, when the boat is hailed by a distraught woman on a small island. She is covered in blood. That sets off a series of events that wind up involving many of the town’s mainstays as well as a tourist family. It had me puzzled as to how things would eventually work out. Small clues for the attentive reader are dropped along the way and I kept changing my mind about the mystery’s solution.

Lost Hours can be read as a standalone, as the author does give a decent amount of backstory, and it doesn’t really impact the mystery in this book much. The story ends with an indication that there is at least one more book in this series to look forward to!

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book, although I am just a bit late to it. I bounced between the ARC and the published audiobook, courtesy of my public library. The narrator, Suzie Althens, did a good job with the various voices and accents. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed the story and liked the characters. This is the first book in this series that I have read, but I will be going back and reading the previous books. Beth is living in Alaska. She has kind of been hiding in Alaska. There was a woman discovered, with blood on her, on an island, a missing teenager and an escaped convict. They seem to be separate incidents, but Beth thinks they are connected. As she had previously been kidnapped, she had a sympathetic ear for the woman from the island, but she isn't so sure that her story rings true. When the girl goes missing, Beth thinks back on the things the girl told her and begins to think that there was a plan for all of this. Add in the escape convict that the woman from the island seems to know, and you have a really good mystery.

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for my honest review.*

Beth is settling in well in Alaska in the 5th installment of this series. And after a woman is found who claims to have been kidnapped, she is helping law enforcement again with finding clues and solving the mystery.

I really enjoy this series! Reading the books, I can feel immersed in the Alaskan weather and wilderness and isolation. It's enough to make me glad to be in the lower 48!

I also love how Beth's parents have been coming back into her life in their own ways and how the investigation and trial of her kidnapper are progressing. Very happy to know that another book is coming!