Day: September 18, 2020

This new crime thriller series is not your normal run-of-the-mill for one simple reason: its main character has a shall we call it…unique sidekick who also acts as her conscience.

Charlie always swore she would not return to Salem Island after her twin sister disappeared, tearing her family apart. But her uncle, a private investigator, is battling cancer, and Charlie is back to help out.

The story jumps off to a very quick start when Kara Dawkins goes missing. Charlie takes the case, but the investigation is off to a fairly slow start, with very few clues. Until another girl goes missing.

As Charlie tries to draw parallels and make connections, events happen that bring her past to the forefront, making the investigation even more challenging.

I’m not going to tell you anymore because that would be giving away the plot (which I don’t like to do). Suffice to say that it is well-plotted, well-written, drew me in, and kept my attention. That’s no easy feat these days.

Now, let’s talk characters.  

I really liked Charlie. She was human, with fears and foibles. Being back in her hometown, she meets up with a lot of ex-classmates, including Will who was an unrequited high school crush…or was he?

I also liked the interactions that Charlie had with pretty much everyone. As a private detective, she doesn’t have quite the authority of the police, which allowed her to be a little bit more relaxed in her investigation. I enjoyed that about her.

As for her Jiminy Cricket – her sister Allie is the one who keeps a running commentary in Charlie’s head. It was a super twist to a sidekick, and it allowed Charlie to have random thoughts and argue with herself (which we’ve all done).

She’s also the yin to Charlie’s yang, providing balance, levity, and a dose of tough love when Charlie needs to hear it the most. I loved their “conversations” and Allie’s monologues. They were a welcome aspect that gave a special twist to the story.

Just one more thing, though, and it’s totally nitpicky. A key character has the name Leroy Gibbs. Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m a huge “NCIS” fan. And, of course, the main character is Leroy Jethro Gibbs (better known as just “Gibbs.”)

Every time the character in the book was mentioned, I thought of the TV character – and they couldn’t have been more different. It was an unfortunate distraction. But as I said, that was for me. If you don’t watch the show, it won’t bother you one bit.

I truly enjoyed this book, and I hope there are more Charlotte Winters investigations to come.   

Author Bio:
L.T. Vargus and Tim McBain are the authors of the Violet Darger series and The Scattered and the Dead series among others, which have collectively tallied over a million downloads. Their book, Dead End Girl, peaked at #3 in the US Kindle charts and has remained in the top 10 in multiple sub-categories since it was published in 2017.