The synopsis does a great job of summing up the story so I won't say any more about that. This is an intriguing story line. A woman, covered in blood, who reveals that she's in witness protection... Then another body, and some other weird occurrences. Beth is a mystery writer and definitely has an interest in sleuthing in her real life. Although hampered by spotty internet and cell phone service, Beth works her contacts to expand her clues and her mind starts to pull the pieces together.

This is a well written, interesting book. There is a lot going on because it's a complex story.

This is the first book in the series that I've read. While I absolutely enjoyed the book, I think I would have enhanced my appreciation with some of the background information that came from the earlier books in the series. Based on this book, I expect that they would be equally well written an entertaining and I recommend reading them first for complete enjoyment.

4 stars - release date 12-5-2023

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is an action-packed mystery/thriller set in the wilds of Alaska. This is book 5 in the series, but it's a standalone mystery that can be read without reading the other books. There was also enough backstory that I didn't feel too lost.

The MC, Beth Rivers, is a gory mystery author that moved to Alaska after suffering a brutal kidnapping in Missouri. She's trying to make a new life, heal, and gain distance from her kidnapper and the upcoming trial. Her long-lost father moved to Alaska to be near her after spending time on the run in Mexico. Their relationship is fragile, but she's trying to let him back into her life.

While Beth and her boyfriend are on a tour boat to see the glaciers, the boat is detoured by a woman on a small island screaming for help. She claims she was kidnapped from Juneau three days before and her kidnapper was killed by a bear, which is why she is covered in blood. She states that she's in the witness protection program, is in fear for her life, and doesn't trust the Juneau police.

As Beth and the police investigate the kidnapping, another person goes missing and everyone wonders if the crimes are connected. Clearly, something isn't adding up, and as the danger intensifies, it becomes more important than ever to get to the bottom of the mystery.

I really liked Beth and the found family she's surrounded herself with. Her hesitant relationship with her father made me feel uneasy, because I couldn't figure out if he was for real or not. Of course, it just adds to the eerie mystery of the book. I also loved Beth's relationship with her landlady. Talk about two badass women! While the overarching mystery was wrapped up at the end of the story, the book ended on a fantastic cliffhanger. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

I read this book in one day, so if you like quick, easy, action-packed mysteries, this is the perfect one to pick up. I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books. All opinions are my own.

Paige Shelton's Alaska Wild series continues to be my favorite, and Lost Hours is another strong entry. This fast-paced mystery gives us the next step in Beth's continuing recovery from her horrifying experience of being kidnapped. She's made friends, she's continuing to write her bestselling thrillers while publishing the local paper, and she's getting to know her estranged father.

One of the things I like the most about Beth is the fact that she has no moments that I call TSTL (To Stupid to Live). After what she's already lived through, she doesn't take unnecessary risks. She's quite happy to let trained professionals do the work, and she communicates with them whenever she has pertinent information. Her strength and resilience are quite admirable, and I enjoy watching her form strong friendships and carve out this new chapter in her life.

The mystery in Lost Hours is multi-layered, and it was a treat to see how all the various elements came together: who was coming and going, the witness protection program, bears, and even how Beth reacts to a teenage fan.

If you enjoy intriguing mysteries with a strong lead character in a wild and often unforgiving landscape, give Paige Shelton's Alaska Wild series a try. A word of advice: Because of Beth, it's best if you start at the beginning with Thin Ice.

Lost Hours is an exciting story from the start. There is so much drama, action and thrills that it is a fast paced and mysterious read. There are so many twists that I didn’t know what was going to happen until the end.

I enjoyed that there is the mystery of the current story but also an evolving storyline involving the FMC’s kidnapping and familial experiences.

Though this is the fifth book in the series, I feel that I had no trouble reading and enjoying this book as a reader that has not read the previous books. I will, however, go back and read the first four books because I enjoyed this one so much.

I have posted this review on Goodreads

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And will post on Amazon after pub date.

This book was sent to me via SMPG Influencer Program

Although the fifth book in Ms. Shelton's Alaska Wild series, it was just as riveting a tale as the previous books. The emotions run high in this addition to the series as Beth has become more attuned to her own complex emotions both due to her kidnapping trauma and to her childhood. The author provided some insights into Beth that I hadn't seen before which only helped me like her even more.

The suspense builds up from the first chapter when Beth witnesses the rescue of a woman who claims that she was kidnapped; but there is more to her story as the drama unfolds. Twists, turns, a history of murder and deceit with multiple persons involved and the increasing suspense provided a comfortable pace for the book. I love the rich details of Benedict, Alaska that Ms. Shelton provides throughout the books. It provides realism to how residents of Alaska may live outside of the few urban areas.

I voluntarily reviewed a digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from Minotaur via NetGalley. All of the above opinions are my own. I am already anxious to read the next book in this series.

The fifth book in Shelton's Alaska Wild series gets off to a quick start, with a bloodied woman screaming for help as a ship approaches the island she's on. She insists that a bear attacked the man who was holding her captive but no bear can be found. She can't remember much because she was drugged and her story isn't making much sense. Is it true she was in witness protection in Juneau??

Author Beth Rivers, who was herself a victim of a kidnapping, is intent on digging deeper into the woman's story. Is someone using the plot of one of her thrillers in their own crime?

Shelton is a master of pacing and building tension as she moves towards the exciting ending. I find the characters very likable and believable and can't wait to see what happens next in the series.

Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new novel via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own. I'll be looking forward to that drink if I ever have the opportunity to meet the author. :-)

Lost Hours by Paige Shelton is book 5 in her Alaska series. Beth is still adjusting & enjoying her life in Benedict, AK and decides to finally go out on a glacier tour. Part way out the captain spots a bloody woman waving frantically from the shore of an island and sends a boat over to rescue her. When she’s brought on board she has a story that Beth can relate to so she quickly gets involved. Fast paced mystery with interesting characters - hoping for more in this series. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Lost Hours by Paige Shelton
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This is book five in the Alaska Wild series. We follow Beth Rivers, who has recently moved to remote Benedict, Alaska after surviving a harrowing kidnapping. In Lost Hours she is on a glacier tour when the boat comes upon a woman on an island requesting aid.
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What I liked:
-I love that all of the books in this series are mysteries on top of mysteries. There is a mystery to be solved in each book, but through the whole series there are the mysteries surrounding Beth’s kidnapping.
-All the people in Benedict are such interesting and likeable people, I love learning more about all of them.
-This mystery was a tricky one and I couldn’t figure any of it out really. Very addicting read!
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to the next book in the series. Also ALL of the covers for this series are gorgeous! 😍

This is an enjoyable small-town mystery with many interesting characters. And while it is part of a series, you don't need to have necessarily read the previous books. Beth Rivers can't help but want to solve mysteries and fortunately for her there are townspeople who will provide her with information. As the story progresses, there are many potential directions in which the story can go but the pieces start to fall into place toward the end. This was a quick, enjoyable read.

I can’t believe this is book #5! A lot has happened to Beth in the last year since arriving in Alaska. This story had a lot of moving parts to it. A kidnapped woman found, a teenager gone missing, strangers in town, phone lines being cut. It was all a little confusing the way all the storylines tied together, but I’m always here for a Paige Shelton book!
I have read one other book that takes place in Alaska, but nobody describes its beauty like Shelton. It’s summer in this story, but winter is coming which isn’t good for Beth who just received some horrifying news at the end of this book. While this book was good, I’m ready to get back to the real reason Beth is in Alaska, and that’s hiding from Travis Walker.

Lost Hours
Paige Shelton
December 05, 2023

It’s been a year since Beth Rivers came to Benedict, Alaska. The lonely, rural town gave her a home in the halfway house under the direction of Viola. At this time the only resident besides Gus,the wayward hound, was Beth. Police Chief Gril Samuels arranged her stay from the get go. Now she felt at home there. When Lost Hours opens we find Beth and beau,Tex heading out for a day cruise on this unseasonable warm day. They hoped to make it to the glaciers. In the amount of time Tex had left her to get coffee for the duo, he received word that it was necessary for him to check out a problem at one of the surrounding islands. Boat Captain, Horace Moore had already turned the boat towards the island. There in the shore’s cold waters stood a woman, covered in blood. Thoughts leaned towards the bears or local animals on the island. Tex manned the rescue ship towards her. All on the cruise stood quietly watching.
Lost Hours will be published by Minotaur Books on December 05, 2023. I was able to read the ARC of Shelton’s latest Alaskan Wild mystery via NetGalley. Having read the four books in the series, I was pleased to be able to conquer number five. Although parts of this series are dark and unexplainable, I fell into it immediately. Lost Hours gave me a closer look at Benedict and the folks who live there and within the surrounding areas.
I encourage detective and thriller lovers to start with part one of the series titled Thin Ice. Reading each selection will allow readers to understand the Alaskan Wild series. I am hoping for a 6th novel to take me further into the journey of Beth Rivers. Do Enjoy!

I’ve been following this series since book one, and I’m glad I have, because I might have been a bit confused if I hadn’t read all the adventures of Beth Rivers. A few years back, Beth had been abducted and kept in a van. She escaped – with grievous injuries – with her kidnapper still on the loose. She headed to tiny Benedict, Alaska, to hide out, more or less on a whim, leaving her Missouri home behind. The “hotel” she found was actually a halfway house, but it suits her, as do the residents of Benedict, who don’t make a fuss but form a solid community around her.

Beth is also a well known thriller writer as Elizabeth Fairchild, and under cover of maintaining the local one sheet paper, she continues to write her novels. One book saw her wild-ass mother, Mill, turning up; the last one sees her long absent father, Eddy, arrive in town. In this outing, Eddy and Beth are beginning to re-form their relationship. Eddy is running a tourist fishing boat business. Beth keeps her distance but it’s starting to thaw.

As the book opens, Beth and her boyfriend, Tex, are out on a big tourist boat to see the glaciers. Before they can see them, though, they’re passing an island and they see a woman covered in blood waving at them from the beach. It turns out she’d been kidnapped and her kidnapper was killed by a bear, so she was able to escape. Because both she and Beth had been kidnapped they form a shaky bond, and the woman is taken back to Benedict to stay for awhile in the same halfway house where Beth lives.

Beth also agrees to go out with her Dad as he takes a tourist family out for a day of fishing – the daughter is a big fan of Elizabeth Fairchild’s books. Beth is a bit weirded out but agrees. Eddy has agreed to stop back on the island where the woman was found, and while they are there, the daughter vanishes.

So there are two stories here. One involves the kidnapped woman, Sadie, who is being watched by law enforcement and is waiting for a federal Marshall to come and get her as she’s in a witness protection program. There are all kinds of moving parts into the investigation surrounding Sadie, and Beth is not privy to all the facts, though as she and Sadie are living in the same place, she does glean some facts.

The other story is the more breakneck hunt for the missing girl, Gracie. As connections begin to appear, Beth is a help in discovering the solution to this mystery. This book had some good parts – all the Alaska parts are wonderful. The way Shelton includes nature and the way she’s set up a community of characters surrounding Beth, not to mention the smooth way she has with suspense. Ultimately, however, I felt the plot was a bit too complicated and convoluted, almost confusing at the end as all the threads of the story are tied together.

However, this is still a fun series (one I think of as cozy adjacent) and I really like Beth and want to see what happens to her next. Shelton is a sly enough pro to leave the reader with a giant cliffhanger for the next book. I would really recommend starting at the beginning, though, as the first novel is spectacular and beautifully establishes the series.

Normally I don't mind when a book has a lot of characters and trying to understand them all is interesting. But it was hard in this book because they were not interesting. I know this was a short book but felt so long because nothing was happening.
I don't if I will try other books from this series.

Beth Rivers moved to Alaska to get away from a situation in which she had been abducted by a stalker. She is an author and is well-known. In the small Alaska town where she has settled, she sometimes works with Gril, the police chief, and solves crimes. She also writes a local newspaper. This story begins with a woman being found on an island where she claimed a kidnapper took her, but he was attacked and killed by a bear. Beth tries to help the woman, Sadie. She and her friends, along with her father, Eddy, who runs a tour boat, try to figure out what happened on the island. Sadie claims to be in witness protection, a fact she probably should not be sharing publicly.

There are other books in this series, but I have not read any of those yet. As such, this one stands alone just fine. I felt like the author caught us up on the details that we needed to know fairly well as the story moved along. We get glimpses of Beth's past and it is enough to keep the reader interested without giving too much information.

The suspense built throughout the story and the ending was really well-done. The twists and turns will leave you guessing until the end. I thought the last few twists were great! I think the ending does sort of set up a segue into the next book in the series, so I may have to start reading the rest of them.

Beth's character is not a detective, but she is an amateur sleuth who takes on a lot of responsibility for investigating the crimes. She enlists others for their help, including her father and friends. I also liked the setting in Alaska. It's a small town, but there are tour boats that regularly go to see the glaciers nearby, so it has a lot of activity. The island was the big mystery. What was on the island? I felt anticipation that the story would finally move to the island, since I wanted to see what was there. Why couldn't they find the bear or the cave?

Overall, a well-done mystery with plenty of suspense and action. Great characters who I would like to read more about.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lost Hours is the fifth book in Paige Shelton's unique Alaska Wild series and is available now. I have read every book in this series, and must admit that the first book, Thin Ice, is still my favorite. It's not quite a cozy series but even though it's often tense and suspenseful, there aren't any gory scenes.

The main character is author Beth Rivers who moved from Missouri to Benedict, Alaska after she escaped from a stalker who had abducted her. Beth learns to live in the extreme conditions of Alaska, edits the local newspaper, cautiously makes new friends, and helps the Benedict police chief investigate crimes. I have enjoyed watching Beth adjust to life in Alaska and forming close bonds with some of the people she meets. Lost Hours starts out strong when Beth gets involved helping a woman who says she was abducted, but was able to kill the man who took her.

The woman is fuzzy on the details and Beth helps law enforcement learn the whole story. That story is way more complicated than expected with seemingly unrelated subplots being folded into the main plot. It is often confusing and the middle portion of the book was a slow read for me as I tried to keep all the various characters straight. However, things pick up again and a development at the very end sets up the next book. Although there are others in this series I enjoyed more, I'm still looking forward to seeing what happens next for Beth!

I received an advance copy of this ebook from NetGalley and Minotaur Books, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

Beth Rivers confronts two intriguing mysteries in the latest Alaska Wild installment. See my compete review at www.reviewingtheevidence.com

A kidnapping, a dead body found, a missing teenager, and a woman in danger are all part of the story. This is the first book that I have read by this author. She does a good concise way of filling in the relevant past from earlier books in this series. I am intrigued enough by this book to read the earlier books. I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher through Netgalley. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. I thought the characters are pretty realistically drawn for people that live in a remote area. This is an excellent mystery. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

I've been a fan of this series but this one this one was a slog for me. It won't be easy as a standalone because the reader is thrown into Benedict, Alaska and Beth's world with only small hints as to her all so critical backstory and, worse, with little info about the other characters. And there are just so many characters. Beth escaped to Benedict a year ago (and so many murders in the last year!) after a kidnapping back in the lower 48. Her mother is off on some sort of quest but her father Eddy's, who had been missing for years, is in Benedict and running a fishing tour boat. Sadie, who claims to be in WITSEC, is found on the bank of an island where she said she was taken by a kidnapper who has just been eaten by a bear. Really? And then there's a teen on Eddy's boat who first fan girls Beth and then goes missing on the island where it seems one of her friends from back home is spotted. Who is Sadie? Where is the teen? How do the stories link up? I admit to fatigue trying to keep everyone straight. This just got too out of hand and away from the pleasure of a small town in Alaska. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Regardless of how I feel about the installment, I'm looking forward to the next one.

Cozy-ish Mystery in which a novelist living in Alaska joins forces with the police chief to investigate two different kidnapping cases that just might be connected.

5/5 stars: Shelton's a favorite author and this fifth entry in the Alaska Wild series doesn't disappoint. Shelton's character work is top-notch. Beth's tough yet incredibly likable and while her backstory is heartbreaking she's finally getting to a good place and I love seeing her character continue to grow. I also like seeing how her relationship with her father's plays out. Additionally, it's great catching up with all the folks of Benedict and of course one must not forget Beth's sweetheart of a dog Gus the Husky. Shelton's descriptions of the landscape paint evocative pictures of the beautiful Alaskan settings that continually draw me in. Most importantly, Shelton's crafted a perfectly balanced mystery with the clues, red herrings and suspects that come together effortlessly and will keep you guessing until the final reveal. This is an excellent series for those looking for something different that has that “Cozy Mystery” feel but is a bit grittier. As this books tackles tougher topics, take care and check the CWs. While you could read this as a stand-alone, you'll gain so much more by reading the series from the beginning; so be sure to check out book one, Thin Ice.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

Beth is finally starting to relax and feel comfortable in her new home in remote Alaska, and even ventures out on a tourist boat to see the glaciers. While navigating around an island, a woman is seen standing on the shore, bloody and waving for help. She is rescued and taken to town – and everything changes for Beth and police chief Gril.

This is book #5 in this series, which I have loved since the first book – no great surprise, since I’m a big fan of Ms. Shelton’s work. The setting of these books, a small, remote town in Alaska, is described so well I can feel the cold and imagine the people who live there. I like Beth and have enjoyed watching her learn to trust again as the series has progressed. Most of the rest of the town’s residents seem like good people, although there are some who I’m not quite sure about yet.

There were several puzzles to be solved in this book, and they seemed to be intertwined, so there were plenty of twists in the story. I eventually gave up trying to figure out what was going on and who might be responsible for all of it and just went along for the ride. Because I was so befuddled, the eventual resolution wasn’t a great surprise, but the book ended with a hook that will necessitate reading the next book in the series. That’s not a hardship, since I would have wanted to read it anyhow, I just don’t like to wait!