Another absolutely fantastic book by Catherine Cowles! I love how her books always start with an emotional and captivating prologue. And this one was no exception, I knew I was in for a good time by the first chapter.

After the disappearance of her twin sister, Ridley becomes a true crime podcaster determined to help victims solve cases. And, her newest case brings her to the town of Shady Cove to investigate a similar case. Ridley was so strong, and the way she was able to turn such tragedy into something special was admirable. She was determined to live life to the fullest for her sister and others who may never have the chance.

I am a huge true crime fan, so I was obsessed with the idea of a book with a true crime premise. And, I really thought the true crime aspect was done so well. It felt like I was immersed in a podcast uncovering the mystery of the case along with the hosts. I loved how everything unraveled piece by piece.

Ridley and Colt can’t seem to get on the same page at the start of the book, quickly becoming enemies of sorts. Ridley is determined to uncover the mystery of a serial killer and Colt is not happy with her getting involved where he feels she doesn’t belong.

The tension and chemistry between Ridley and Colt was off the charts from the start of the book. Their romance really blossomed as they allowed themselves to be vulnerable with each other about how their lives changed direction as a result of their circumstances and how they could take their pain and transform it into something positive. The romance and the suspense was weaved together perfectly.

I loved how Colt and Ridley were actually more similar than they wanted to acknowledge at first. They just wanted to help their families as best as they could, but they did it in different ways. And, these different approaches were crucial in their investigations, which made me look at everyone as a suspect. And, I was shocked by the final reveal.

I really enjoyed this book from start to finish, and I would love to see more from this world.

Wow....
Ridley and Colt are pure entertainment in the beginning. Their banter, the hostility, the want. I felt all the emotions in this one. I laughed out loud at their interactions. I cried when they dealt with their pasts. I was all around sad for them dealing with their pasts and their losses. But man so happy for how they found one another and worked through all those emotions. And once again, Catherine had me stumped until right before the reveal!! It is amazing how she can always keep us guessing!
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a complimentary copy

𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆.

First Catherine Cowles' book, and the way I’m hitting myself for not reading her sooner! This was utter perfection, and to those girlies who love mystery/true-crime & romance: this one is for you! 🕵️‍♀️💕

You have Ridley, a true-crime podcaster, who hits up a small town 🌾 to get into the nitty-gritty of a cold case that may be the missing piece to her true motive: finding out what happened to her twin sister the night she disappeared. What she least expected was meeting the Sheriff of the town, Colt Brooks, and, well, you know, FALL IN LOVEEEEEE 😍

𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕. 𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕, 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔, 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑮𝒐𝒅𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒄.

This book is filled with trauma that Ridley experienced due to her sister’s disappearance, but it also shows how resilient she is with her past and how she fights with it every day. But let’s not forget Colt, he also has trauma from his own experiences. Aka we see both of them heal, and it’s so beautiful and raw

𝑯𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝑰 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏.

The banter, the tension, and let’s not forget the connection between these two really hooked me even more into the book besides the mystery elements that had me dying to know more DUH 🔎. I loved it so much!! The author really gave us the best of both worlds with this book!

“𝑳𝒂𝒘 𝑴𝒂𝒏…𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕?” 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒃𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒎. “𝑫𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒚, 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒔.” “𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒚,” 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈. “𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕.”

Does this book have spice? YES, IT DOES!!! So read accordingly 😉🔥

tropes
🌾 small town romance
🌾 mystery genre elements
🌾 fmc true crime podcaster x mmc town's sheriff
🌾 dislike to lovers
🌾 forced proximity-ish
🌾 no third act breakup
🌾 grumpy x sunshine

Thank you Netgalley and Catherine Cowles for an opportunity to review this book in exchange for an eARC!

OH MY GOD!!!!????? This was freaking fantastic. I haven’t cried like this reading a book in sooo long.

"It's a bad idea," I rasped. "We'd be playing with fire."
Those ocean eyes sparked. "Then let's watch it burn.”

If Catherine writes it, I’m going to read it or in this case, read it twice before it even releases. All the Missing Pieces was wonderfully written and had so much to love—quirky small-town residents, a three-legged cat, a true crime podcaster FMC, a broody and protective sheriff MMC, a sighting of our mysterious and friendly hacker Dex.

A hallmark of Catherine’s books are the twists—she is so skillful at writing them—and let me just say, she outdid herself in this book. All the Missing Pieces had one of the most sinister and twistiest of twists; it had me absolutely me stunned. You truly must always suspect everyone in a Catherine Cowles book.

Pick up All the Missing Pieces if you love grumpy x sunshine dynamics with top notch banter, true crime podcasts, romantic suspense, and small towns with charm, secrets, and hilarious residents.

I hope this isn’t the last we’ll see of Shady Grove.

Ridley´s early life has seen some dark times, but she’s persevered, using her personal struggles to bring light to some excruciatingly tough topics. Her nomadic life might seem “flight” to some but her dedication to helping others is amazing, too bad Colt can’t see the “light.” I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley and the author for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.
Ridley and Colt´s meeting is one of the strangest by far, but their attraction is off the chart right from the start. Too bad both leads have had some truly devastating life experiences that have colored their views. They could not be any more opposite if the author tried. She’s sweet and quirky, while he’s hard with alpha/macho vibes that are intense. Also her podcasting job and the topic she emphasizes has all of Colt´s aggressive small town sheriff “spider senses” going off, especially after new drama starts to develop after her arrival to his town. This leads to the start of a devastatingly beautiful story that blends suspense and sensitivity which had me alternating between fearful and sobbing great big tears. I couldn’t read this story fast enough as I was trying to figure out what was going on and who the “villain” was right along with Ridley and Colt.
The many supporting characters in the story also had me gripped, between the polar opposites in the pet situations, and the “made family” of “townies” and coworkers.
I have to say that this author has yet to disappoint me with her stories and this one has all my favorite angles. There’s the perfect mix of suspense vs steam, tragedy and triumph, alpha male vs quirky female, in this enemies to lovers story, with a sprinkle of my favorite true crime podcasting angle (I kept picturing “Dateline’s” Keith Morrison doing a VoiceOver of this story in my head). I can honestly say that, while I was sure I knew who the “bad guy” was from the beginning I was shocked and surprised right up to the very end. There are some definite dark scenarios that are covered in this book, so be cautious, but the author beautifully handles that tough subject matter and in my opinion (and hopefully if someone has been touched by these tough scenarios theirs to) in a delicate and truthful manner. I really loved how Ridley brought a new light and happiness to Colt, restarting a heart that was dead from life’s struggles.
What an amazing beautiful story! I am lucky enough to say that I received an advanced reader copy of this book and was blown away by how great it is. It has all the beauty the author’s great characters with a new podcast murder mystery twist.5 stars must read book.

If you like true crime podcasts, and small town suspense with plenty of romance this is a book you should read. The small town charm, twists, and suspense we expect, but a little more mystery, and our grumpy Sheriff Colt is my favorite character.

Ridley is following a hunch and lands in Shady Grove. Colt is the sheriff, and he is not happy with her digging in the past. Following this case is important to her, as she shares her passion with Colt. She slowly breaks down his walls, and he begins to assist her.

With a balance of romance and thrills All the Missing Pieces is a great read, and highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the advanced copy; this is my voluntary review.

Happy pub day to one of our QUEENS @catherinecowlesauthor! As usual, she doesn’t miss. No one does romantic suspense like this girl. Enemies to lovers (or enemies with benefits as they call themselves). We added in the podcast aspect to the mix, and I am a sucker for podcast in Books. As an awesome storyline, with tons of suspense, and several emotional parts mixed in. She treated lightly with heavy topics used, and as usual, you didn’t see the bad guy coming. Also, I really wish we had a visual of her van because it sounded insanely bad ass, with the coziest set up for her tooth hug giving cat Tater. Go grab this ASAP, tell her how good it is, and why we of course need a book 2! 😘

All the Missing Pieces is Cowles at her best! This romantic suspense is beautifully and carefully woven together by an author at the top of her game! Catherine Cowles is one of those authors that always works for me! Cowles's writing style is extremely engaging, her characters are wonderfully complex, and her plot has the perfect blend of tension and chemistry. I know when I pick up a Cowles novel I am going to be instantly transported into a world of complexities and discovery. All the Missing Pieces is currently a standalone novel for Cowles, but I am so intrigued with some of the supporting characters that I would not mind a novella or novel of there own so I know they get their happily ever afters!

All the Missing Pieces is truly an investigation into a cold case and many others that seem to be connected. This novel features our heroine Ridley who is a true crime podcaster who has taken the tragedy of her twin sister's disappearance and used her inquisitive nature to help bring justice to many silenced voices. Ridley might seem like a thorn in Colt's, the local sheriff, side but soon it becomes apparent Ridley's intensions and Colt's need for justice for his sister's attempted abduction might just be the perfect pairing to bring down a serial killer. Ridley and Colt have this delicious chemistry that leaps off the page. Cowles really has a way of developing tension between the romantic couple and paralleling this with the danger of the situations around them. This small town suspense also a richness of community and people that really hold a lot of the heart to this story. I loved watching Ridley fall in love with this town and its people. I love that this novel really shows Ridley finding a home for herself amongst these people who learn to respect and value her. Colt is also a wonderful hero who only wants the best for his sister and watching him learn from Ridley the strength his sister has is truly gratifying.

I so highly recommend this novel and Catherine Cowles. This is a perfect place to start if you have never read her before! Suspense, romance and the strength of family and friends is truly at the heart of this novel and Cowles is definitely an author you should be reading if you love all of these things!

This story packed the emotional punch I’ve come to love about the author’s stories, but it also had the fun witty banter between main characters that make you smile even during the hard times and that to me was perfection. Ridley is a true crime podcaster that takes her job very seriously with delicate care of those victims and their family, and there are times she steps on toes, but she is always putting others first. She has her own reasons for her career path, and her tenacity when it comes to finding justice, but while her mom and dad either shoved their feelings away or screamed them from the mtn tops she knew she had to try to live her life the best she could and that brings her to Shady Cove. A mystery, a grumpy sheriff, a town that doesn’t trust anyone, and you have an intense story with tension that bleeds off the pages. I loved Colton and Ridley they both complimented each other so well and Ridley showed him that it was not his fault and the guilt he carried was not his to carry.

All the Missing Pieces just might be my favorite Catherine Cowles book yet!

I love the way this author write suspense romance and this one had me hooked from the start. Cold case podcaster, Ridley, came to town for one story and ended up with something I never saw coming. Her first meeting with Sheriff Colt was a funny one and I loved how these two worked together. I tried fitting all the pieces together but of course I was wrong! Such a great story and one I'm sure to reread again!

This was my first book from Catherine Cowles and I totally understand all the hype around her! All The Missing Pieces is a romantic suspense following true crime podcaster, Ridley Sawyer, and small town sheriff, Colter Brooks. After the disappearance of her sister the night before their college graduation, Ridley has thrown herself wholeheartedly into finding answers and closure for others in similar situations, all the while trying to find the truth about what happened to her sister. When her newest case takes her to Shady Cove, she finds herself up against the grumpy and oh so tempting town sheriff. As their tension gets higher, they soon come to find they have more in common than they realize and begin working together to try to find answers. But someone really doesn’t want Ridley finding that truth and they will do anything to keep her from getting it.

As a huge fan of true crime podcasts, the set-up of this book was perfection for me. Sawyer is busy trying to draw light back onto cold cases of missing people and the way this book is written, it almost felt part podcast with how much background information we were getting on the cases! I loved how this perfectly balanced the suspense of a thriller with a hot and steamy romance. Sawyer and Colt have allll the chemistry and I loved their banter and tension. They also had some of the best nicknames - “Chaos” and “Lawman”. There was a lot of depth to the story as well, with both characters dealing with trauma and survivors’ guilt.

The mystery of the novel had me engrossed the whole time, and I was trying to see if I could figure out whodunnit. Props to Catherine because while she laid out clues throughout, I NEVER suspected who it ended up being! You can also see strings of future books and relationships throughout, and I am so excited to read more of Catherine’s works, hopefully within Shady Cove!

Thank you NetGalley for the copy of this book!

READ IF YOU LIKE
📚 small town romantic suspense
📚 grumpy x sunshine
📚 hurt x comfort
📚 three legged cats
📚 forced proximity

All the Missing Pieces eARC review🧩🔎

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoy romantic suspense & Catherine always does it every time! I knew when I saw the tropes and cover I would absolutely love this story and I DID!

Ridley Sawyer is a true crime podcaster who travels and covers missing persons cases on her podcast however this one in Shady Cove hits close to home as she thinks it may be in relation to not only her sister but Emerson our MMC sister.

Colter Brooks is the small town Shady Cove’s sheriff who doesn’t want anyone meddling or reawakening town trauma. What he doesn’t know is Ridley doesn’t back down.

I also have a tooth hugger at home so I loved to see more animals in stories ✨

These characters were enjoyable and this was a QUICK and easy read. I recommend this if you love

🧩 Broody Sheriff
🔎True Crime Podcaster
🧩 Small Town
🔎 Grumpy X Sunshine
🧩 Forced Proximity
🔎 Enemies To Lovers

Thank you Catherine for this eARC, Happy Release Day♡
https://www.instagram.com/p/DEiW4cgy8lI/?igsh=Y3hhZmQxdTA3aXZy

I"ve read almost all of Catherine's books and have loved them all, but this one.. this one takes the cake.

True crime podcaster and sheriff trope? Yes please
Cute setting in an idyllic mountain town? Yeah I want to move there.
Feisty cat and lovable dogs? I'll adopt them all

All the Missing Pieces wasn't missing anything! This was the perfect book to curl up with on a snow day and lose yourself in the thrill. Following Ridley, a true crime podcaster seeking for her own truth, follows her latest story to Shady Cove, a mountain small town with quirky residents, and a surely sheriff, Colt. Both main characters are strong headed in their own way, making their chemistry perfection and builds their romance up.

Catherine knows how to keep you guessing the whole time about who the villian is and this one was a huge twist at the end, giving Criminal Minds level chills! I will never not eat up one of her books and this one is at the top of the list now.

Thank you for the ARC and everyone enjoy on KU!

Emotions running rampant. Ridley has been through so much. She took a piece of my heart, no pun intended. Colt, Sheriff, Alpha and needed a smack upside the head a time or two. Add a killer, dog and small town and you have a winner. Thank you for the advanced copy. I freely volunteer my honest thoughts and opinions. #AlltheMissingPieces #CatherineCowles #SourcebookCasablanca #NetGalley

4.5/5 Stars 2/5 Spice

Tropes:
🏘️ Small Town
🖤 Romantic Suspense
🌦️ Grumpy x Sunshine
🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 Forced Proximity

🎧 Narration: adored this one one audio. andi arndt & sebastian york absolutely killed it. i loved the way the brought to life law man & chaos. sebyo as colt was *dreamy* he just perfectly captured that rugged sheriff vibe perfectly. & andi, of course, was the perfect casting for ridley. i listened at 2.5x & both narrators were easy to understand & kept a natural cadence.

“you gave me back all the missing pieces.”

this book was so damn good. chaos & lawman were so fun & the story had me locked in with all the twists & suspecting everyone. & even on high alert i was absolutely 🤯🤯 at the villain. like what?!? the reveal was so good. this was such a fun read. i loved the vulnerability & mental health game in this book. even if it wasn’t talked about the themes of guilt & moving forward & finding joy were so well ingrained to the story. ridley was such a dynamic character. i really loved her whole vibe. & colt was hot af. give me a hot grumpy sheriff anytime 🤣 overall, i loved this one. definitely recommend grabbing the audio!

this is absolute perfection- give me all of the true crime and romantic suspense! this was everything that I wanted from a Catherine Cowles novel and more. Ridley's sister goes missing after a party on one of the last nights of college. years later she is living her best life in a VW van and hosting the Sounds Like Serial podcast. she travels all around the country and follows true crime cases. she finds herself in Shady Cove, California and on her new case when she meets Colt. the broody sheriff and also brother of the the girl who escaped from being kidnapped and the center of her new case. the banter and chemistry of this book is so stinking good. this one really kept me on my toes and I had a running list of who I thought the unsub would be. the whole town and the other characters were so good too. I loved seeing how much the town cared for everyone- community truly does bring everyone together. and of course it came down to the wire and wow the plot twists! I really think that everyone needs to go and read this one asap. what a work of art.


“Colt, you helped me find all the missing pieces. Even the ones I didn’t realize I needed.”

read if you like:
- romantic suspense
- grumpy x sunshine
- forced proximity
- small town sheriff x true crime podcaster
- small town

I received an arc through NetGalley for my honest opinion. Thank you <3

I want to add before I drop my review that I am a huge Catherine Cowles fan. I have read all of her series and I may even be wearing my Lost & Found series hoodie. I was so excited to hear she was releasing a whole new small town traditionally.

One of my favourite novels from Catherine was Tattered & Torn's book 1, Tattered Stars. I had read some of her other books before that - but something switched with this one. She altered my DNA with that book. Since then, Catherine has been an auto-buy author for me and I quickly read the rest of her catalogue.

Since reading through her catalogue, this was the first book to give me the same feelings that I got with Tattered Stars. For those who read or know both sets of characters. I could see that they may be compared when you first see the parallels between the two. Small-town, MMC works for the police department, someone in the town who was kidnapped - but the stories are quite different after that. Our FMC is completely different. She has no bad ties to the town and while I loved the FMC from TS, Ridley is just a strong and fun character. You can see she has a fun sense of humour and she is extremely compassionate. She's also very smart but has her demons and insecurities that she battles with. She is a wonderful and well-rounded lead.

Colt... I love him. He's not as broody as other uniformed MMCs that I have come across in books. He's still got a bit of a hot head like all our grumpy men, but I find his behaviour more understandable.

The banter between Colt and Ridley right from the first interaction had me swooning. The meet-cute was pretty adorable despite the plot of the story. def some giggling happening during that. The way they challenged each other, listened and supported each other made my heart melt.

The plot moves at a good pace and even though you meet a lot of characters, I found I never lost track of who anyone is. You get a good idea of who they all are to each other and there are always so many cute furry sidekicks to adore. It also gave us lots of fun characters I hope to see get their own stories in the future...

Catherine's good at making you guess who the "bad guy" is, and you start suspecting everyone quickly into the story. The best part about Catherine's books - is she sprinkles in enough doubt with each suspect, that you never really truly can pinpoint who "dun it"

Overall, this was one of my top 3 Catherine Cowles novels - if not the best. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes true crime, suspense, and small-town romance. And if you love this and it's your first CC book - check out the Tattered and Torn series (which will be traditionally re-published in 2026)... but I promise, all of her books are fantastic.

“News flash, Law Man. Life isn’t safe. Someone could hurt you crossing a busy street in broad daylight. We can’t protect ourselves from everything.”

@catherinecowlesauthor you have done it again. I loved Colt and Ridley together. Their banter was top tier, but it was their broken pieces that brought them closer and fit them together perfectly. They balanced each other out in all the best ways. I loved seeing them open up to each other. But I also loved how Ridley made the town fall in love with her with her determination, sassiness and stubbornness.

I really thought that I was going to get the bad guy right this time. And I did not. I’m hoping that more of these characters get books because I really enjoyed them. They made me want more!

4.5/5 ⭐️
2.5/5 🔥

No one does cozy romantic suspense like Catherine Cowles! How does she so deftly write love stories so soft, tender and dreamy and juxtapose them so seamlessly with adrenaline filled “who dun it” danger?! All the Missing Pieces is among my favorite she’s written- it captured my whole heart and had me glued to the pages. It’s effortlessly romantic, wonderfully swoony, and addictively page turning.

Like always, Catherine leaves us gobsmacked after a devastating opening chapter- but this one hit deeper than normal. A punch in the gut- one broken hearted heroine, and her missing sister. Our story picks up years later as Ridley, a very skilled and adored true crime podcaster makes her way to the most charming small town to dig into her next case. To outsiders, she’s a plucky and brilliant investigator who has an uncanny ability to both connect with people on a personal level and uncover those “missing pieces” that have left crimes unsolved. But there are deeper missing pieces Ridley is trying to put back together- the ones in her broken heart, as she seeks out murders and disappearances that are similar to that of her missing sister. That’s the one mystery she’s never been able to solve. She knew getting the trust of the victim of the attempted kidnapping that’s the focus of her latest episode might be challenging, but she did not expect the formidable resistance she gets from the victim’s brother, the mercurial, no nonsense town sheriff Colter….who, like Ridley, has his own baggage relates to his sister’s trauma. But as these two butt heads, the tension AND the plot thickens….because suddenly someone is after Ridley too.


Gah the emotions in this one- I felt the weight of them so intensely in this story. From beautiful love to deep heartbreak, Catherine serves up a truly emotionally affecting love story, one balanced with a truly gripping murder mystery. The small town backdrop as always adds plenty of charm and charisma, the chemistry is somehow both intense yet gentle, and the podcast framework adds some great dramatic flair. Add in my favorite microtrope of a sassy cat (I LOVE TATER, and CC always gives me the best animal co-stars) and this was basically my catnip (pun intended). I adored both Ridley and Colter, and their emotional connection over the shared trauma of what happened with this sisters makes for some great romantic tension and catalyzes a really emotively rich connection. And the mystery?! Yup, this time I was way off- the big twist and big baddie reveal had my jaw dropping. The suspense plot has a bit of a darker menace in this one, and it really amplified the stakes (and my adrenaline).


Truly, this is about so many missing pieces. The puzzle of trying to uncover just what happened to Ridley’s sister and where she is, just who tried to harm Colter’s sister all those years ago, most of all, putting back together the shards of both Ridley and Colter’s hearts cause by what happened to both of their sisters and their intensely weighty guilt. Both seem at odds, but when the truth comes out it’s clear their share the same north star- both have spent much of their adult lives trying to make right what they blame themselves for. Trying to help others, protect others, and most of all, do right by their sisters. The pain they’ve buried- one that Ridley addresses with stoic fixation and one that Colter buries in his icy detachment- has prevented them from being able to put their own pieces back together. And, in many ways, from them moving on. And it’s so sweet and fulfilling ot see them find the courage in each other- to address what’s broken with in them, and to start to heal those pieces…even when that means confronting painful memories and trauma.

I ravenously consumed this one- so obsessed with this story!

About this Book/Tropes
🧩 True Crime Podcaster x Sheriff Hero
🧩 Grumpy/Sunshine
🧩 Forced Proximity
🧩 Lovable Three-Legged Cat
🧩 Small Town Suspense
🧩 Hurt/Comfort
🧩 Hilarious, Meddling Townsfolk
🧩 Enemies to Lovers
🧩Quirky small town and side characters