Is there such a thing as a good sociopath?
That's the tag line for this Annalisa Vega book. Annalisa has left the force and is out on her own as a private investigator. She is asked to investigate a local heroic surgeon who has been featured in a book about "Good Sociopaths" but happened to live nearby to a woman who recently died or was murdered. When the surgeon catches on to the investigation a battle of wits ensues! .#stmartinspress #allthewaygone

This is the 4th book in a series, and I have not previously read the 3 prior books, therefore my thoughts are based on this book alone.

Apparently, Annalisa was a police officer in the prior books and now she is not, she has opened her own PI firm. Annalisa's first client Mara Delaney who has written a book, The Good Sociopath, insists that some sociopaths are beneficial to society, where she explained her findings. However, the star of this book is Dr. Canning a very good surgeon who people trust who also lives in the same building as a young women who falls to death from the 14th story balcony while supposedly trying to hang windchimes. Mara hires Annalisa to investigate Dr. Canning the author Mara has concerns of his involvement in the untimely death, and hires her to ensure he wasn’t involved for the sake of potential book sales.

It seems Dr. Canning could be involved in the murder but he isn't the only one who would have motive for murder. You also meet Annalisa's husband, Nick's, teenage daughter Cassidy in this book which seems to be a story in itself. Annalisa and Nick try to work on the death of the young girl while also welcoming his daughter into their lives.

The plot seemed to be all the place at times and seemed to be a bit slow paced for me. In my opinion it was more o a learning base about sociopaths and different psychology topics then a thriller. The book didn't have me on the edge waiting to see what happened next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Janna Schaffhausen, Saint Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Publishing Release Date scheduled for August 13, 2024

This was my first book by Joanna Schaffhausen. WOW. I loved every page of this. I look forward to reading more in this series.

Schaffhausen gathers up all the characters, puts them all in one bag and shakes them up until she has crafted a thriller that will leaves the reader with a "WOW WELL DONE" ending. Annalise & Nick are back, finally as a married couple and once again they join up to solve 2 cases. Thanks for the advance read!

Book Title: All the Way Gone
Series: Detective Annalisa Vega #4
Author: Joanna Schaffhausen
Publisher: Saint Martin’s Press- Minotaur Books
Genre: Psychological Thriller aka Sociopath Thriller
Pub Date: August 13, 2024
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pages: 352

Is there such a thing as a ‘Good Sociopath’?
Annalisa Vega, a famous Chicago Detective is now a PI, and has taken over Sam
Tran’s cases. Her first client is Dr. Mara Delaney an Associate Professor of Psychology at a local university who has written “The Good Sociopath’ soon to be released. The subject of her book is Chicago neurosurgeon Dr. Craig Canning whom she describes as a good sociopath. She insists that some sociopaths are beneficial to society. As in the case of Dr. Craig Canning who has saved hundreds of live-does it matter if he has no feelings for them as he is a sociopath.
Mara wants to be assured that Dr. Canning is not responsible for the death of Victoria Albright who fell from her fourteen story balcony and lived in his building.

However the more Annalisa investigates Dr. Canning, the more suspicious she becomes of him and his overly charming yet narcissistic personality.

There are several stories going on – which kept me curious as I was sure they were somehow related.
In addition to Dr., Canning, There is Cassidy Weaver -Annalisa's step-daughter- Nick Carelli's daughter who is becoming more a part of their lives as her mother Summer’s illness progresses. (BTW: Police Detective Carelli and Annalisa’s are once again married yes she divorced the cheating Nick earlier but they back together.)
Cassidy’s best friend Naomi needs a kidney transplant; however, no one is a match. Naomi’s mother Elizabeth left her when she was a toddler and is nowhere to be found. Cassidy figured as a detective’s daughter she must have some skills and sets out to find Naomi’s mother -which is far more dangerous than she thought.
There is Ruth Bernstein an elderly woman who lives in the same building as Craig Canning and was Vickie Albright’s next door neighbor. Ruth’s cat went missing the same night Vicki died;
Last but not least- what’s going on with Mara Delaney and her husband?

This was indeed a WOW read!

This is my seventh novel by Joanna Schaffhausen and my fourth Detective Annalisa Vega.
In " Gone for Good" which was first in this series, we learn that Annalisa is a gifted police officer and the daughter of an ex police officer. Annalisa is well known for being the daughter who turned in her father for his role in a murder.

About the Author: Joanna Schaffhausen - She has a doctorate in psychology, which reflects her long-standing interest in the brain―how it develops and the many ways it can go wrong. Previously, she worked as a scientific editor in the field of drug development. Prior to that, she was an editorial producer for ABC News, writing for programs such as World News Tonight, Good Morning America, and 20/20. She lives in the Boston area with her husband, daughter, and an obstreperous basset hound.

Want to thank NetGalley and Saint Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books for granted me this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for August 13, 2024

I was lucky enough to win an advance copy through NetGalley.
If you remember from the last novel, our heroine Vega decided to leave the force and start her own investigative agency. We pick up where the last novel left off where Nick and Annalisa decided to re-marry. Nick was caught off guard when a daughter (Cassidy) he never knew he had from a previous one night stand. Nick is trying to make things right with Cassidy. Cassidy wants to become Annalisa’s first employee by volunteering for the front desk job.

Annalisa meanwhile is asked by Mara to investigate a subject prior to her book release. The majority of the book is spent on whether Dr. Canning is capable of murder. While Annalisa is investigating this case Cassidy is off trying to find her girlfriend’s mother who is the only one that can possibly save her girlfriend who needs a new kidney. I do feel like there was no character development between Cassidy and her girlfriend as the book just jump right to their relationship. I’m not sure if this was too satisfy the crowd.

While this book has it moments, what I found I enjoy about Annalisa is that while she is investigating these case the issue that always come up is would she do the right thing even though it won’t be popular or will she do the wrong thing morally if it means she’ll be popular. This book does not bring that subject to the forefront.

I’ve enjoyed all of Annalisa’s book though it was enjoyable I did not think this book was up to par to her previous 3 novels which set up standard. I will continue to read future Annalisa’s book as I’m curious to see what will happen with the cliffhanger in book 4.

This book is set to release on August 13, 2024. Thanks again NetGalley and the publisher for allowing an advance copy for me to review.

All the Way Gone opens with the question "Is there any such thing as a good sociopath?" and takes off from there with the mysterious death of a young woman. Former detective Annalisa is now a PI and she quickly discovers that more than one person wanted the young woman dead.

Annalisa's first client, Mara Delaney, insists that some sociopaths are beneficial to society and she has even written a book titled The Good Sociopath, where she explained her findings. The problem? The person in her case study may have had something to do with that young woman's death. No one will buy her book if he's not "good" after all!

The pace was FAST in All the Way Gone and the storyline was filled with murder, a battle of wits, and even a bit of arson thrown into the mix! Not everything was 100% believable, and the plot seemed a wee bit scattered at times, but the ride was so much fun that I didn't care! (And the kitten, Jack, made up for any shortcomings!!)

BIG thanks to both #MinotaurBooks and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of #AllTheWayGone. This book is #4 in the #DetectiveAnnalisaVegaSeries, with the expected publication date of August 13, 2024.
#JoannaSchaffhausen

All the Way Gone was my first introduction to Joanna Schaffhausen and I was not disappointed. I found this book to be very fast paced with twists I did not see coming. I look forward to continuing this series and reading more from this author. Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Joanna Schaffhausen, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

Thank you to Minotaur for an ARC of this book!

This is the first book of this author for me and I definitely enjoyed myself. This is the 4th in a series, but can definitely be read as a standalone. However I want to go back and read the other 3, because the references to it sound so good!

I loved the premise - is there such a thing as a good sociopath?

I feel like this book moved quickly and kept me engaged the whole time!

THE PLOT

Is there such thing as a good sociopath? Annalisa Vega is a new PI who's first client, Mara Delaney, insists that some sociopaths are beneficial to society. Mara has written a new book focused on Craig Canning, a neurosurgeon she's convinced is exactly that. A young woman was found dead in Craig's apartment complex and it's up to Annalisa to investigate Craig, per orders of Mara, to see if it was him who was behind it after all before her new book comes out. After being pulled into a chase and catch game with Dr. Canning, Annalisa doesn't know what to believe. However, time is running out, and not everything, or everyone, is how it seems to be.

MY THOUGHTS

This is my first book by this author and I must say, it probably won't be my last! I had a fun time reading this, but it was okay. As someone who reads quite a few thrillers, this didn't really stick out to me as something extraordinary or entirely unique. However, it was really fun to tag along with everyone as the plot goes on. This is told in third person and you follow Annalisa mostly, but you also follow Ruth, a neighbor to Craig and Cassidy, Annalisa's step-daughter. The plot was really easy to follow and it was written very well, so I will give the author that! However, the pacing is very slow and the plot seemed very uneventful for a lot of this book. It felt like not much happened until the very end and I wasn't on the edge of my seat for any of this book. It also sometimes felt like the plot was all over the place at times. Although, it was very interesting to learn more about sociopaths and different psychology topics! This felt more learning based than it was thriller-feeling based and I'm not really sure how to take that personally (take it as you will🙂). The characters had no substance to them so it's hard to judge them accurately. We don't get much of a backstory nor do we get and depth to the characters. Please keep in mind this is technically the 4th book in the Detective Annalisa Vega series and I have not read the others, so I cannot speak on the actual characters and their backstory.

Overall, this was a fun, fast to read thriller, but I don't think it was for me. I had a good time reading it, but it was slow to develop and the action was very little until the last 20%. I would recommend this to those who like slow-paced thrillers with more psychological effects rather than the feeling of being on the edge of your seat or your heart racing from suspense. 🩷

I was able to receive an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the fourth book in the Annalisa Vega series and I loved it! I do recommend reading the others first in order to get a background on the characters but this book was really great!

We see former detective Annalisa Vega accept her first case as a private investigator, looking into the mysterious death of a young woman. The number one suspect is a doctor living in the same building as the deceased. But did he do it?

The story also involves a few of the other characters point of view but it wasn’t hard to follow along. The mystery was intriguing, the story kept me guessing and interested until the end!

Great work! I loved it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Annalisa Vega has gone from Chicago Police officer to Private Investigator.
That doesn’t mean she has stopped investigating murders or potential killers.

One of her first clients is a college professor writing a book about “good” sociopaths. She wants the subject of her book investigated for the potential murder of a young woman that fell from the balcony in the building in which he lives.

Vega’s personal life is also complicated by the new relationship of a teenage stepdaughter that Vega is just getting to know. When this young teen gets
involved in a case (trying to help) things go from troublesome to dangerous.

This fourth book in the Vega series is just as interesting as the three that came before. I highly recommend it for a good read with a female solving the mystery.

I didn't realize this was a series at first, but enjoyed the book all the same. It was well written and the main character was awesome! I will be going back to read the previous books in this series!

This is my first book by Joanna Schaffhausen, and I really enjoyed it. I had to catch up on the other books in this series before I could read this one. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author.

This book was pretty good, I have never read this author before. The end was a little crazy, like throw everything in there....maybe too much. But otherwise good.

Former Chicago detective Annalisa Vega is starting a new career as a PI, has remarried her ex-husband, and is getting used to having a new stepdaughter in her life. In the midst of all this upheaval, her first client hires her to investigate Dr. Craig Canning- a neurosurgeon who is also a psychopath. Psychology professor Mara has written a book about Dr Canning based on the premise that there are “good” psychopaths. However she begins to have doubts after a woman who accused Dr Canning of rape dies in a suspicious fall from her balcony. Mara hires Annalisa to investigate Dr Canning to make sure that he is not involved in rape and murder before her book about all of his good qualities is published. The more Annalisa discovers about Dr Canning, the more suspicious she becomes of him and his overly charming personality. Is he a prime example of a psychopath who uses his idiosyncrasies to save lives in surgery or to commit the perfect murder? This book was a page turner that kept me guessing who the real psychopath was until the very end. #NetGalley #AlltheWayGone

Such a great book and follow up in this series, I love this writer and all her books. The suspense, the intrigue, she always keeps you on the edge of your seat.

3.5 stars rounded up. There was one clue given early in this book that made the ending very predictable to me. However, I still enjoyed the book and the twists the author took to get to the final reveal.

All the Way Gone
by Joanna Schaffhausen
Pub date: 13 Aug 2024
• Fast past thriller
• 4th installment of Detective Annalisa Vega series
• Several intertwined stories that come together at a somewhat rushed ending
• Based on premise of existence of a "Good
Sociopath"
• Good character development of Annalisa, her ex-husband Nick, and her new found stepdaughter Cassie
• Perhaps a little heavy on the psychology lessons
• All in all an enjoyable crime thriller

When I requested a pre-release copy of this book from NetGalley, I did not realize it was part of a series. Once I received it, I knew I would need to read the previous books before starting "All the Way Gone." I am so glad I did. This is a great series and the author gives absolutely nothing away. My thoughts on whodunnit were always wrong, which just made these books all that more enjoyable. There is nothing predictable about any of them and all had excellent storylines. While the previous three books were great, I think "All the Way Gone" is my favorite. Annalisa's family dramas were absent in this book, which was a nice reprieve. I highly recommend reading each and every book in this series, and definitely read them in order.