Benedict, Alaska - Present Day

A year after moving to Alaska to escape the memory of her kidnapping, Beth Rivers is finally getting into the groove of feeling comfortable in her new surroundings. Oddly enough, she's even getting used to the fact that her father, who deserted Beth and her mother years ago, has shown up in Benedict, and she's not averse to forgiving him, sort of. The nightmare of the days she spent as Travis Walker's prisoner is ever so slowly fading. Able to get back to writing the thriller novels she is noted for, Beth hopes for a full return to her former reality.

Finally comfortable enough to venture out, Beth and her friend (not boyfriend, but...) Tex board a local tour boat to visit the glaciers. But the trip is cut short when, as the boat passes an island, they see a woman frantically waving and calling for help on the shore. As the captain brings the boat in closer, Tex and others on board get off to help the woman. She is brought on board, bloodied and hysterical, telling everyone that she'd been kidnapped and that the man who took her has been eaten by a bear! Tex and the others head out to look for the body, but cannot find anything.

Back in Benedict, Beth helps get the woman, who calls herself Sadie, to Benedict House, a former inn, where Beth lives. Sadie has revealed to her that she is in the witness protection program, although she didn't tell anyone else who interviewed her. Viola, the woman who runs Benedict House is as suspicious as Beth is about Sadie, but both are determined to help her after her ordeal. The more information that comes out, the more curious Beth is about Sadie's history. After discussing the story with the local police chief, Gril, and the librarian, Orin, Beth starts to wonder if Sadie is being upfront with them. But when there is another kidnapping in Benedict, will it be connected to Sadie's, or is it just a coincidence?

LOST HOURS is a page-turning, emotionally charged tale that takes Beth well past her comfort zone. But she is stronger than she thinks, and, with the help from the locals who have taken her under their wings, can she discover just what happened on that island? And can she and the Benedict citizens find the other kidnapped person?

Fans of Paige Shelton’s Alaska Wild series will welcome the fifth installment of the series, Lost Hours, where Beth Rivers, the protagonist, who is a writer hiding (sort of) in Benedict, Alaska after being kidnapped previously and waiting for her kidnapper’s trial. She is on schedule with her latest thriller, and ventures on a boat to see the glaciers when they see a blood covered woman on the nearby island who says she was kidnapped and a bear got her kidnapper. Because Beth and the woman, who is named Sadie, have much in common, they bond, and Beth is instrumental in getting information that will lead to finding the body of Sadie’s kidnapper and clues as to answering the questions as to why Sadie was kidnapped and why she is in the WITSEC program with the government. Things are not as they appear, and when Beth accompanies her father on a fishing tour with the DuPont family and their daughter disappears, law enforcement and others rely on Beth’s help.

Anyone familiar with the series knows that Shelton does an excellent job of developing the characters; Beth’s character is likeable, as are the sub characters, Viola, Gril, Donner, Eddy, Tex, and Gus (everyone’s favorite character). She does a good job with the new supporting characters: the DuPont’s and Sadie, as well as others who help move the story along and solve the mystery.

Shelton is a seasoned storyteller and the story flows easily with ups and downs and building suspense throughout. Readers will get a sense of the Alaskan culture, and will be tempted to visit. The ending is unexpected, as in her previous books.

Readers who enjoy this novel will definitely want to read the previous books in the series, although this one can be read as a standalone since the author gives enough information through the book to make it understandable to anyone.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

While I’m a fan of Paige Shelton’s Alaska Wild series, in my opinion, Lost Hours isn’t the best of the five books. I found it confusing at times, with too many plotlines to keep straight. And, with the cliffhanger ending that I suspected was coming, I don’t know that I’m really excited about the next book.

Beth Rivers has been in Benedict, Alaska for a year now. She fled there after she was kidnapped and held in a van for three days. Now that her kidnapper has been arrested, newspaper articles revealed she writes bestselling thrillers as Elizabeth Fairchild. She’s learned to appreciate her life in Benedict. But, she hadn’t yet had the chance to see glaciers, so she and her “man friend”, Tex, go on a tour boat, only to have the tour interrupted.

The boat has to rescue a woman from a nearby island. She’s covered in blood, and insists she was a kidnap victim, but a bear killed her kidnapper. As a victim herself, Beth agrees to talk with the woman, identified as Sadie. Although Sadie secretly reveals she’s in the Witness Protection Program, something about Sadie’s story seems a little off. Beth accepts it at face value, but feels she has to tell Police Chief Gril Samuels what she’s learned. And, Gril has reservations about Sadie.

When the tour boat turned back, a smaller boat was in its lane, a boat piloted by Beth’s father, Eddy. She still hasn’t decided how she feels about him being there, since he disappeared from her life when she was young. He’s been patient while she decides. It’s Eddy who introduces Beth to a family, the Duponts, including their teen daughter, Gracie. Gracie appears to be a big fan of Beth’s books. When she disappears on a boat trip to the island, Beth feels a little responsible.

As I said, I thought there were too many plotlines – Sadie’s somewhat unlikely story, Gracie’s disappearance, Beth’s connection to her past and the kidnapper. Throw in an escaped prisoner in Alaska, and there are a few too many unusual occurrences for my taste.

As always, the residents of Benedict are my favorite part of the books. They all have secrets. We don’t know all the backstories. But, they come together to support each other and take care of Benedict. That’s the best part of Lost Hours.

I can’t tell you how much I enjoy this series. Every time I open a book in the series I yearn to actually visit Alaska. This one kept me scratching my head and I loved how it was all pulled together. And the ending…well come on. I need more.

Lost Hours certainly aligns with the blurb and is a straightforward first-person narrative. It is exposition-heavy and new to the series readers can easily understand the backstory. The narrative relies heavily on large dialogue swaths for information/exposition dumps. These dialogue batches are tedious and perhaps best suited for a younger audience or a different writing medium (i.e., script). Because of the writing style, the flow and tension buildup suffers because the reader is well-informed about what will happen next - no surprises here. It's an easy read but not very mysterious.

I hadn't read any of the previous installments of this series, so I felt like I was playing catch-up, and I never really felt like I caught up. I was moderately invested in the story, but not engrossed, and none of the characters really spoke to me. Would I have enjoyed the book more if I had read the other books of the series? I really don't know.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for the eARC.
Set in Alaska, this is the first in the series that I've read so I missed the kidnapping of Beth Rivers and the difficult psychological aftermath. Her adorable pooch is a great help! She's almost feeling back to normal and trying to stop resenting her father Eddie.
When a supposedly kidnapped woman is rescued from an island, Beth can't help but get involved.
This was a mildly enjoyable read for me ... I wonder if having read the previous books I would have enjoyed it more?

unputdownable, summer, Alaska, famous-author, family-drama, family-dynamics, pet-dog, PTSD, local-law-enforcement, small-town, small-business, rural, thriller, suspense, friendship, friends, investigations, amateur-sleuth, counselling, kidnapping, lies, secrets, US marshals, witsec*****

I always try to do reviews at 50% so I don't inadvertently do a spoiler but this time i just HAD to keep reading to the end. The complexities kept the story galloping along.
Just to catch you up a little earlier (the book gets around to it, but I hope this helps):
Beth, an author, was hiding out in a remote area of Alaska from the man who kidnapped/traumatized/brain injured/stress disordered her in her hometown of St Louis but he has since been arrested and is awaiting trial. A fiction writer and journalist, she has assumed the local paper and uses its building as a writer's retreat and even uses a typewriter to work on a novel to keep off the grid while staying in a former hotel, now a sort of minimal security women's rehab and only using burner phones. She has confided in the local law and is seeing an interesting man who has more than enough secrets of his own. Each book is riveting/addicting to me.
I requested and received an EARC from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

I really enjoy this series of Alaska Wild books. In my opinion, this is one of the best so far. I really like all the characters in the series and in every book you get to know them better. This was interesting with the woman who had been in the same situation as Beth, or was she? This book had so many story lines and it was interesting to see if they would all come together or stay separate issues. Will Beth stay in Alaska or move back home? I'm betting on her staying and more great books to come. I felt very lucky to receive the arc for this book for an honest review.

I am a fan of Paige Shelton, especially this Alaska series, which this book is a part of. I enjoyed the writing, as it definitely drew me in and kept me engaged. I read the entire book in two short days! However, I found that the whole conclusion was a bit confusing to me as I was trying to put so many different moving pieces and characters in the story together in my mind. I think there may just have been a few too many curveballs in the whole story for my liking. I also was not happy with the way the end of the book was an obvious set up for the next book, that always turns me off. In her other books this was done much more subtly and not so in your face. All that being said, I will still give the book four stars, as it did entertain me, and it was pleasant to rejoin the characters that I knew from other books. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance read copy.

Another amazing book in the Alaska Wild series! I gobbled this book up in less than twenty four hours. I love the bits of action and all of the tension sprinkled throughout. I read the other four back to back a while ago and was worried I might not be as drawn to this one but I was quickly drawn back into the wonderful characters and settings. Ready for book six already!

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of Lost Hours by Paige Shelton from St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

Well.

That was an awfully convoluted-y and—to me—rather boring mystery proper. Which I wasn’t expecting, because I finished the fourth book in Paige Shelton’s Alaska Wild series earlier this year on an up note, after having had not the greatest experience with the third, and was very excited to get an advance reader copy of Lost Hours.

I am still very interested in what’s going on with our main protagonist’s family, and the series through-arc, though, so I will continue with it.

DESCRIPTION
Lost Hours is the fifth instalment in Paige Shelton's gripping, atmospheric Alaska Wild series.

A year after arriving in Benedict, Beth Rivers is feeling very at home in Alaska, even as outsiders are starting to return to enjoy the brief summer perfection. Beth feels like she’s finally let go of most of her demons. She’s even found her father, Eddy Rivers—or, rather, he found her—and she's trying to find the middle ground between anger and forgiveness.

One sunny July day, Beth boards a tourist ship to see the glaciers, the main reason visitors venture to the area, and something Beth hasn’t attempted until now. But when the captain has to navigate to an island, a bloodied woman is found standing on the shore, waving for help. When she’s brought aboard, she claims she was kidnapped from her home in Juneau three days earlier, and that a bear on the island killed her captor. She, however, is unharmed.

The woman, Sadie, finds a sympathetic ear in Beth. She tells her that she’s been in Juneau under witness protection, and that the Juneau police don’t like her. When another kidnapping occurs, Beth and police chief Gril can’t help but think the two cases are interwoven, though the clues to solving them will be harder to unravel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

I can't believe how good this series is. Shelton is such a versatile author. I love her cozy Scottish Bookshop mystery series so much but this series is even better! Beth helps Gril and Viola with a new arrival to Benedict. She also works on her feelings with her father Eddy. After the last chapter I'm impatiently waiting for the next installment.

I was so delighted to return to Benedict, Alaska with Beth Rivers and the quirky characters who surround her. The fifth in series, Lost Hours is a chilling thrill ride with twisty turns and the surprising appearance of Beth's father. I could not put this book down---and read it in one sitting! The tensions run high, as does the suspense, when a screaming, bloody female is rescued from an island as the story unfolds. Eddie, Beth's dad joins the cast of characters as he tries to repair his fractured relationship with his daughter. There are layers to the mystery that I found intriguing. I can't wait to see what is in store for future books.
#LostHours #NetGalley #StMartinPress #MinotaurBooks
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Loved reading about Alaska. The story was great and I couldn’t put it down - finished it in one day! I did not know there were other books in the series and I would love to read more!

Lost Hours is a wild ride and hang on for the ending because it will definitely leave you wanting more. When Beth and Tex venture out to see the glaciers, her plan is foiled when they pick up a kidnapped woman covered in blood claiming her kidnapper was killed by a bear. Tex, a local search and rescue member, hops off to explore the island he found no evidence of such and it leaves everyone with more questions than answers. As the town of Benedict slowly gathers answers about their unexpected guest another kidnapping occurs and it leaves them wondering if it’s all connected somehow.

This ends in a cliffhanger and I’m beyond ready for the next book. I love the life Beth has created for herself in Alaska and I don’t want to see that taken away from her but that’s easier said than done.


Thank you @minotaurbooks @paigebooks and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Even though her kidnapper has been captured, Beth Rivers is in no particular hurry to leave her sanctuary in Alaska. She's grown used to the Alaska lifestyle and made friends, and is beginning to explore her surroundings. Despite the change in her appearance, she's even recognized by fans of her books, including a teenager on vacation with her family. Things start to go awry when Beth finds a woman who claims to have been in witness protection and then kidnapped from her home in Juneau. As Beth gets pulled into the investigation, she soon finds things aren't all as they seem. A solid entry in the Alaska Wild Mysteries.

Thanks to St Martins Press for access to a digital ARC on NetGalley.

A year after arriving in Benedict, Beth Rivers is feeling very at home in Alaska, even as outsiders are starting to return to enjoy the brief summer perfection. Beth feels like she’s finally let go of most of her demons. She’s even found her father, Eddy Rivers—or, rather, he found her—and she's trying to find the middle ground between anger and forgiveness. One sunny July day, Beth boards a tourist ship to see the glaciers, the main reason visitors venture to the area, and something Beth hasn’t attempted until now. But when the captain has to navigate to an island, a bloodied woman is found standing on the shore, waving for help. When she’s brought aboard, she claims she was kidnapped from her home in Juneau three days earlier, and that a bear on the island killed her captor. She, however, is unharmed. The woman, Sadie, finds a sympathetic ear in Beth. She tells her that she’s been in Juneau under witness protection, and that the Juneau police don’t like her. When another kidnapping occurs, Beth and police chief Gril can’t help but think the two cases are interwoven, though the clues to solving them will be harder to unravel.

I started this series because I like Paige Shelton's Scottish Bookshop series so much and now have read every title in the series. Again, she has picked a different setting than most cozy mysteries with some very unique characters. She continues to evolve the characters, and I love the descriptions of the Alaskan scenery. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting my request to read the newest book by one of my favorite writers.

Beth Rivers is settling in nicely in Benedict, Alaska. While on a tourist ship to see the glaciers, a blood-covered woman is spotted on an island waving for help. The woman Sadie states that she was kidnapped from her home in Juneau and that her abductor had been killed by a bear. Sadie bonds with Beth due to
both having been abducted. There are gaps in Sadie's story - is it really amnesia? When a girl goes missing on the same island, Beth wonders if the two are connected. What is Sadie hiding? Will they find the girl before it's too late? Are the cases connected?
Fifth in the series
#LostHours #NetGalley

Lost Hours is the 5th book in the Alaska Wild series. I have loved reading everyone of these books starting with Thin Ice. It takes place in the town of Benedict, Alaska. There are the main characters that make up the town as well as the new characters that add to the story. Beth Rivers is the main character who ran away to Alaska as she had been kidnaped and escaped from a man named Travis Walker and feared he was looking for her. She lives at the Benedict House in town run by Viola who runs the house for non-violent felons. She has lived under an assumed name until Travis was caught and is presently in prison. She has gone back to her real name and has resumed her life as an author.

Beth and her boyfriend, Tex are on a tour boat that went near the island Lillybook which is known for their caves. On the beach is a woman yelling for help. Captain Moorehouse sends a boat to the island and rescues her. They take her to the Benedict House. Her name is Sadie Milbourn who was kidnapped from CT and was put into the Witness Protection Program. Gril Samuels is the chief of police and is informed about her. She tells Gril that a bear was on the island and killed the man who kidnapped her. She did not know how she got the blood on her shirt.

Beth's father, Eddy Rivers, who was not in her life when younger has come to Benedict to get to know his daughter and hopefully make up for his not being in her life. He is now a fishing guide. He almost gets hit by the tour with his customers on it.

Viola tells Beth that Sadie will be staying at the house and might be in danger. Gril wants Beth to go elsewhere for her own safety but Beth refuses. Tex goes back to the island and finds a body which Officer Natno from the Juneau police tells Gril. The man was found with slashes not bear marks.

Eddie asks Beth to join him and his customers, Greg Dupont his wife Barbara and daughter, Gracie on his boat to go fishing. Their daughter is a fan of hers and would like to met her. Beth accepts and goes. She also wants to go back to the island to check it out again. After fishing they go to the island. His customers are taking a nap so both Beth and Eddie go to check everything out and to find a hidden cave. While there they run into two teenagers who are on the island. When they get back to the boat they find out that Gracie has disappeared. They call for help in finding her. The police arrive and all try to find her but she is not to be found. They all go back to Benedict.

This is where the reader is taken on an adventure that I will leave to the reader as it is too much going on to put on paper. The story has so many twists and turns that the reader is taken on a wild ride to the exciting conclusion. The ending is a surprise to Beth when Detective Major, she was originally on Beth's case with Travis, calls and tells her that Travis has escaped and was coming after her. She is on Eddie's boat with Tex and upon telling them they make a plan.

This will be an exciting adventure of the next story which I look forward to reading.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC.