It was okay. It wasn’t my favorite but don’t mean other people won’t enjoy it. I hope all the success of this author. And best wishes

There’s a sharp, quiet ache running through this book that sticks with you more than the twists do. Shaw is brittle and layered and not interested in making herself palatable, which made her compelling even when she was hard to like. The mystery moves slowly, but it builds in a way that feels intentional, with each chapter adding just a bit more tension to her already fraying edges. I liked the forensic angle and how her work as a fingerprint analyst played into both the plot and her internal unraveling. That said, the middle lost some of its footing for me, and I found myself wishing a few threads had been pulled tighter. Still, it’s atmospheric and emotionally restrained in a way that’ll really work for readers who prefer their thrillers with a quiet, lingering intensity.

I read to chapter 5/19% & just wasn't feeling it. Maybe because I clicked immediately w the characters & plot in the next 4 books I read in 5 days. So I don't think it's the book, just me and maybe the timing of me picking it up to read. I may pick it up again at a later date.

This book blew my mind! Shaw's sister Thea is presumed dead but her body was never found. Now aging Mr. Cloyd is dead and his dog is missing. Shaw struggles as she's caring for her two young sons, Beau and Casey. Now Shaw is put on leave but never stops investigating as she has a personal interest in this town and the people who refuse to leave their little hamlet. There's action, arson, trackers, and craziness that all lead to the least-expected outcome; so good!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

intense, dark, well written, interesting book with cool ideas. our MC is very interesting, too. would definitely recommend 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the gifted copy.
This is a dark, slow, chilling mystery that will appeal to many readers, but unfortunately wasn’t for me. Right from the start we are introduced to mostly everyone from Shaw life and I was overwhelmed. By page 60 I was still confused with who is who and why they are important. MC career was very interesting to read about, but to me it took away from the main story and kept me confused a lot.
Overall, I wish I liked it more but I am sad to say this wasn’t for me.

This took me a looooooong time to get into - things just didn't click for me. Not that it was written badly - it wasn't - but I never connected with the narrative. I was moderately entertained throughout, and hoped that Maine made more of an impact on the story - it didn't. Having finished the book, I don't really understand the title, either.

Anyway, I know a large group of people will grab hold of this one and love it. I just wasn't one of them. Will I read more from the author? Probably not.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

This story is terrifying in the most human way. I couldn’t stop reading, and I didn’t want to. It’s haunting and raw and so beautifully written it makes your skin prickle.

I couldn't put down Gillian French's "Shaw Connolly Lives To Tell"—a thriller that excavates the raw terrain of family trauma while never sacrificing its razor-sharp edge. I found myself instantly drawn to Shaw Connolly, who emerged as a compelling analyst—abrasive and unflinching at crime scenes yet harboring a fierce protective instinct for her two sons and wounded family.

What gripped me most was how French transformed typical cat-and-mouse suspense into something viscerally personal. During Shaw's confrontations with her sister's suspected killer, I felt my mouth go dry and muscles tense—particularly when her analytical mind battled against her primal need for answers.

I was surprised by the unexpected emotional depth in the professional dynamics as Shaw's mentorship of her colleagues developed. These relationships evolved with authentic friction and grudging respect, creating moments of unexpected lightness amid the darkness she navigated daily between her broken marriage and on-call demands.

I admired how French brilliantly counterbalanced forensic brutality with intimate family portraits. Shaw's interactions with her father carried the weight of shared grief, while her relationship with her sons revealed the nurturing core beneath her hardened exterior. The cold case involving her sister didn't just drive the plot for me—it created psychological texture that elevated this above standard thriller fare.

The psychological architecture fascinated me—how Shaw's childhood fractured when tragedy struck, creating a distance between her and younger sister Mads, while memories of her revered lost sister fueled her relentless pursuit of justice.

This slow-burn mystery built with deliberate precision before revealing its devastating heart. If you appreciate complex female protagonists wrestling with both external threats and internal demons, "Shaw Connolly Lives To Tell" is a must-read!

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley, for the e-ARC for review.

This one was a slow burn, and honestly, I was a little confused at the start. It felt like I had jumped into the middle of a series rather than the beginning of a standalone, and I had to work to piece together who was who and what was going on. Once things started to fall into place, I appreciated the moody atmosphere and gritty tone, but it took a while to get there. Shaw is an intriguing character, and there were definitely moments that held my attention but overall, I was left wanting more clarity and connection from the beginning. Not a bad read, just not quite what I expected.

2.5 Stars

I really enjoyed the mystery and suspense of this novel — did the man (Anders) stalking Shaw really kill her sister, Thea — but I struggled with liking the characters. The main reason for this was the dialogue and internal monologue of Shaw. There were so many clichéd sayings and idioms, sometimes she read like a caricature. I could never take her seriously.

🔎 M Y S T E R I O U S M O N D A Y review 🔍 featuring “Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell” by Gillian French!

16 years ago, Thea mysteriously disappeared and her sister Shaw is still haunted by her unsolved case. Shaw is now a fingerprint analyst and has seen her share of brutal and gory crime scenes. She is obsessed with uncovering the truth about her little sister’s disappearance, regardless of the wedge it is creating with her husband and two sons. She is hell bent on getting answers and even starts to take calls from a man named Anders who claims to have committed the crime.

Anders is calculated and relentless and knows too much about Shaw’s personal life. He drops breadcrumb hints about what happened 16 years ago and Shaw is torn about whether to believe him or not. What follows is a sick, twisted and dangerous game of cat and mouse as Anders taunts Shaw and her family with threats!

Will Shaw find out the truth about Thea? And how far will she go to find answers?

👀 HOT DAMN, it’s been a minute since I read a stalker thriller and this one was a banger! I love a twisted game of cat and mouse, and Gillian French sure knows how to write a story that is tense, gritty and full of suspense 👏!

Thank you kindly to @gillianfrenchwriter @minotaur_books @stmartinspress @netgalley for my #gifted advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review. This book releases on June 17, 2025!

This book started off a little slow for me. At times, I had to put it down and come back to it or force myself to keep going. Towards the end of the book, it got better, and I was able to fly through it without a problem. The main character was, at times, funny but kind of fell flat for me.

This was an extremely good mystery and police procedural. Readers of Patricia Cornwell and Karin Slaughter will love this book. The main character, Shaw, is likable and relatable, and I loved the writing style and pacing. The mystery was not predictable and I was absorbed until the end. A 5 star read for me!

Thanks for the opportunity to read in advance!

“Nothing to do, but let the dread eat her alive.”

A cat and mouse game of the highest order, this psychological suspense novel teems with tension as a thirty-four year old finger-print analyst, still grieving the loss, decades earlier, of her teenage sister, encounters the relentless stalking of a man professed to be her killer.

Shaw Connolly, our main third person POV protagonist, is brash, funny, tough and a born nurturer. With two young boys, a still-hearttugging ex-husband, an ailing elderly father, and a much younger college-bound sister, Shaw is a complex character doing her best to cope, survive, and keep her family safe, in the face of steadily mounting episodes of unsurmountable terror at the hands of a psychopath.

Endlessly atmospheric, this is a taut and absorbing read, rich with procedural forensic details, and peopled with characters both authentic and vulnerable. Highly recommended for lovers of Patricia Cornwall, Kathy Reichs, and anyone with a crime/mystery bent, I enjoyed this book and would love to meet with these protagonists again.

A great big thank you to Minotaur books for an ARC of this novel. All thoughts presented are my own

*** four and a half shiny stars

This book follow Shaw who has a stalker that claims to know what happened to his missing sister from sixteen years ago. I really liked Shaw's character. She has a really cool job (fingerprint analyst) that I don't know much about and is determined. The cold case was very interesting and I liked the way working the case helped bring Shaw closer to her family.

When I requested this book, the premise was interesting. When I started reading it, I just really wanted this book to end. There was so much tedius dialogue that I skipped over. The endless pages of the fingerprinting details were also skipped over. We knew who the killer was almost at the beginning and since there was no twist, nothing to surprise you, it stopped being interesting. The dialogue between the main character and the killer was boring. I kept reading thinking maybe there would that twist, but in the end, I was just happy the book was done.

DNF @ 15% - the writing style just wasn’t it for me. normally I love a detective-police procedural, and maybe I’ll pick it up again at a later time, but I just couldn’t get into it… it was definitely a choppy, ton of little detail, dialogue and monologue plot (which was a tad too much and kept getting me lost). I was invested in the plot about shaw’s younger sister, but I just couldn’t get past the writing style and didn’t want to skip multiple chapters of fingerprinting details that felt like overkill… but a huge thank you to minotaur for sending me an early copy to preview!

Gillian French is a great author and this story is a great one! It's a page-turner and definitely kept me intrigued and interested. The story takes place in Maine and I felt the New England vibes as I read it. I love crime fiction and this was top tier. The characters are likable and interesting to read about. A great thriller!

3.5 stars rounded up-Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell is a thriller where a missing persons case has haunted a family for years. Shaw Connolly is a fingerprint analyst for the police department, a career that can be linked to her obsession to find her sister, Thea. Currently Shaw has a stalker who keeps calling to tell her details of her sister’s disappearance and death. Her marriage has fell apart and her elderly father lives with her to help care for her boys. Their lives are darkened by Thea’s disappearance and an apparent threat from Shawn’s stalker. Stalking progresses to arson and murder as Shaw follows every lead for herself. The story is suspenseful but there’s not a deep dive into the characters that allows for a little detachment overall. The whodunnit is never really questionable but the action and suspense builds until the end. This is a little better than average and would consider reading another novel based upon these characters. My voluntary, unbiased, and non-mandatory review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.