Let Her Go

Fiona Red #1

by Blake Pierce

When a new serial killer strikes, the FBI, stumped, turns to its brilliant forensic examiner and entomologist, Fiona Red, with her unparalleled genius and ability to offer insights at crime scenes based on her insect expertise. When another victim turns up in a stretch of rural woods covered in unusual bugs, Fiona knows right away that something doesn’t add up. In this master game of wits, Fiona may have finally met her match.

Fiona Red, a brilliant but quirky FBI loner, spends most of her time in the lab or at crime scenes. She comes from a family used to being around death and bodies, her parents having ran a funeral parlor, and she would have ran the family business if not for a tragedy in her her sister was abducted when she was a teenager, and never found.

Fiona remains determined to crack her sister’s case. But in the meantime, as an FBI agent, she applies her brilliance to catching killers and cracking cases that no one else can, as bugs are the first visitors to dead bodies.

With her FBI partner out in the field, Fiona expects to stay behind the scenes.

But Fiona, obsessed with catching killers, takes it one step too far, and may just find herself in the crosshairs of a killer herself.

A page-turning and harrowing crime thriller featuring a brilliant and tortured FBI agent, the Fiona Red series is a riveting mystery, packed with non-stop action, suspense, twists and turns, revelations, and driven by a breakneck pace that will keep you flipping pages late into the night.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Fiction, Ebooks

161 pages, Paperback

First published February 14, 2023

About the author

Blake Pierce is author of the bestselling RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes seven books (and counting). Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising four books (and counting); of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising four books (and counting); and of the new KERI LOCKE mystery series.

An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.

Reviews

[Stacey Coward · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor

I am so glad I paid nothing for this book, but I'm disappointed with myself for wasting time reading it.

There were so many parts of this story that didn't make sense.

Why would an entomologist be responsible for performing an autopsy and determining the cause of death?

Why would the investigators follow one promising lead (high electricity usage) then entirely discard it when their first suspect turned out to be innocent?

Why are there so many things "coursing" through people's veins (other than blood)?

Why do we keep hearing about how thin Fiona is with words like "meagre" and "frail" being applied to her?

Why are all the characters acting like teenagers and reacting so oddly to one another?

Why are FBI agents seemingly unaware of the basics of their job? (eg: "Now they were getting somewhere. Jake looked up at Lauren and smiled, feeling a sudden burst of optimism. Together they could figure this out - they just needed to keep searching for any clues that might lead them to the killer's identity." Yeah mate, that's literally your job!)


This is just a really poorly written book. The language is stilted, repetitive and weighed down with cliches. The characters are unlikeable and not well fleshed out. The storyline is full of anachronisms and is not well tied together. The ending is not even satisfying.

I was so disappointed and irritated as I read, because I thought that the premise was interesting.

What a shame.

[Lauren Vukich · Rating 1 out of 5]

Getting through this book felt like torture. It reminded me in school when you had to have so many words/pages for your essay, so you just wrote nonsense to add text. The same exact ideas/ thoughts were repeated multiple times. This book could have been cut in half, or less, without all the pointless statements/extra words. At one point I think she said the same exact thing 3x in only 2 pages. That's how the whole book is. The story line was ok. I was looking forward to having multiple books to read but there is no way I can suffer through another one.

[Maddi Palmeri · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this book for free on stuff your kindle day…and there was a reason it was free…

[Cathy Perachi · Rating 1 out of 5]

The best part about this book was that it was only 200 pages. Jake and Lauren have to be the worst FBI agents in the world. Just because a bug was found on a corpse and a person worked in a library doesn’t make them a suspect in a kidnapping and murder- yet detective dumb and dumber show up on his doorstep and start questioning him anyway which leads to his arrest (but not for the murder). I could go on and on about the things that bothered me in this book- the redundancy being the major one- but I just can’t spend another second of my life having anything to do with this book. Don’t read it.

[Klare · Rating 2 out of 5]

An easy read

[Jan Stier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoiler alert!

This was an interesting procedural, but there were areas that were strange. The idea of tracking electricity usage was excellent. Why however, when they had a very limited area to search they didn't address that again, was confusing.

[David Maidstone · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read one of Blake’s books a while ago and found it trite, badly researched and full of cliches.
As an avid reader of crime fiction years later I thought let’s try another one as they’ve written lots and must have improved. No, it is still the badly notated jottings of someone who does the genre real harm. Chapter 11 is the singularly worst piece of writing ever, but the plot holes, lack of cohesion, repetitive passages are all someone who thinks writing is easy and “ I can churn these out to make a living!”
No, good writing is research, writing, rereading and mapping out the story to make sure it hangs together.
People don’t arrive at a crime scene despite not being told where it is! They don’t just ignore the structure of their training and organisation to just do what they like!
I’m not saying don’t read this, use it as an example of how not to write, but please please don’t waste money on it!

[Krystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that Red has a different specialty within the FBI. Reminds me of a combination of the characters on Bones. Laurens character seems out of place - shes very moody and needy.

[Fiona · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh dear! I'm not sure how old this author is but the writing would suggest someone very young. It is so repetitive that the book could have been half the length and it was short enough already. The language is simplistic and the characters just aren't believable. Suspects are brought in on the flimsiest of evidence, a rooky lab scientist is allowed to accompany agents to a suspects house, having found a survivor which pinpointed the area, the agents don't then cross reference the electricity usage as they had earlier in the book. I could go on but probably better to leave it there. The plot was actually quite a good one and I enjoyed the small bits of forensics we got but it couldn't rescue this book I'm afraid.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Even though I know that Blake Pierce is likely the pen name for a writer's collective churning out titles for profit, I often enjoy "Blake Pierce" books. In series like this, it is often not until a few books in that I finally start to become interested in the characters. That said, this felt even worse than I expected. None of the characters are developed, and the main female character is a stereotype of a "squint" from the TV show "Bones," which I suspect partially inspired this book. She's dorky and insecure, but is eventually going to become an FBI field agent and hook up with the main male character. Unfortunately this is made worse by involving another woman character, currently partners with the main man character, who is moody and jealous. The best way this can turn out would probably be for the two women to become friends (or end up with each other, but that's unrealistic from a cash cow book like this), but that probably won't happen. I'm not interested in reading more.

[Leah wooland · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope.. not good. I agree with the other comment, I’m glad I didn’t pay for this book. How the heck am I on chapter 11 and Fiona is BARELY part of it, she’s had three chapters about her when I thought the whole book was going to be about her. I got this book hoping it would be about an empowering woman like the caption made it seem. Most of the book is in Jakes perspective. To add, the writing sucks. The detail is great but I swear a read three renditions of the same sentence all on one page.

[Marianne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written. Characters aren't well drawn. Annoying inconsistencies: In a matter of days (Maybe hours? I don't know; the timeline was hard to follow.), Fiona goes from being a newbie entomologist lab rat who's never dealt with an actual dead body to someone in charge of a department and able to perform autopsies.

[Beccy · Rating 1 out of 5]

there was a reason this was a free download rip

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book. Fiona Red is an interesting character but the writing and story is written loose and sloppy.

No mention of a place or address and Fiona can drive there and find a spot in the forest in record time.

Lauren seems a bitch.

Jake May look good but he seems stupid.

[Natalie Clothier · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was like reading a low budget csi episode. Not awful, not amazing.

[giaxou · Rating 1 out of 5]

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[Allie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, terrible book. Why call this a part of the Fiona red series if majority of the story line is about agent Jake Tucker? This book felt more like a knock off version of a really low budget crime show. Did the author not do any research into how investigations and crime scenes work??? Very disappointed. Made it through to the end because I hate not finishing books, but honestly wasted my time. Why did we not have any info about the crime after the serial killer was taken down? How many bodies were there? What was his MO? If I could have given this zero stars, I would have.

[Lorraine Dwight · Rating 1 out of 5]

So glad I didn’t have to buy this book. Always love it when it’s the start of a new series but this one was a big disappointment, not going any further to see if they get better.
Never have I read a book where you feel like you’re reading the same sentences over and over again. Plus, when does a supposedly Lab Rat do AUTOPSIES. Don’t think I’ve ever read a book with so many inconsistencies.

[Michelle Leonard · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am no writer but man this story was incredibly bad!
I did not connect with any of the characters.
If these people were seasoned agents not we are doomed. Even Red as new as she was to her field had a better thought process but totally unbelievable.

Sorry Blake, even as a free book it was painful and couldn’t finish it fast enough.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh this was bad. The writing was so juvenile and the characters completely bland. The ending was ridiculous. The FBI can look up who is using a lot of electricity but can’t do that later in the case when a girl escapes and is in the exact area of the killer? So bad.

[Stephan Huston · Rating 1 out of 5]

The script here is so shallow. The thinnest of clues and no evidence leads these agents to accuse anyone of murder. How about a little evidence to go with thin accusations? How about a plot that makes any kind of sense. Kept reading hoping it would make some sense at some point, it never did.

[Mandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

24%. That’s how far I made it.

The writing is too much author narrating and feels super forced and juvenile.

The entomologist is doing the autopsy?!? What?!?

I may just put it done for a bit and give it another chance.

[Genie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quick read but very simplistic plot, very predictable, and very amateurish writing. Read it in a couple of hours.

[Shaine CCH · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ridiculous.

An FBI who’s not aware of the protocol and just confirmed the victim by comparing photos, not through DNA.

Unbelievable scenes.

[Noelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

What happened? There was no substance.

[Genna Dominguez · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really need to learn how to DNF books..

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let Her Go by Blake Pierce is another fast-paced thriller that delivers exactly what I’ve come to expect from the Avery Black series—taut suspense, a flawed but brilliant protagonist, and a relentless unraveling of the truth.

Avery is battling her own demons while diving headfirst into one of the most chilling cases yet. The psychological layers here were intense—both in the killer's twisted motives and Avery’s inner turmoil. Blake Pierce has a gift for making you feel the claustrophobia of a chase, the anxiety of a narrow lead, and the aching grief behind every loss.

This installment leans a little heavier into Avery’s personal life, which I appreciated. The balance between her emotional unraveling and her sharp detective work kept me hooked. It’s gritty, gripping, and—like the rest of the series—impossible to put down.

Definitely a win for fans of fast-moving crime thrillers with a strong female lead who never has it easy.

[Glitter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow.

This is terrible.

The first 1/4 was fantastic. I hung on to the story hoping for more when things began a downward slope. The end fell completely flat.

The plot is an exceptional idea. It just didn't carry over into something fully panned out. No grammatical butchering (yay!)

There's a sub-story that's intriguing but leaves completely baited.

The character development was strange and didn't feel fleshed out. MMC has no history/story outside of being a frat boy type.

Repetition is a constant and basic legal methods are a huge wipe away.

(I don't think most entomologists would refer to their lab/work setting filled with "science tools.")

Spoiler: *****
Nothing happens and there's no resolution. It just ends.

[Marcie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all of Blake Pierce's novels and all of his protagonists, Fiona Red is "one of these kids is not like the others".

In terms of confidence, leadership, etc she is nearly the exact opposite of many (if not all!) of Blake's female leads.

However, in terms of intelligence, quick thinking and response, skilled and master of her field of knowledge and expertise, she is in the top 5 of the best of the best.

And I think that is why I freaking adore Fiona Red. Because she's just a science nerd who REALLY loves bugs. And is often overlooked and unappreciated. But she is so happy just to do what she does, she carries on.

Excited to read the next book.

[PJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The overall story line of the crime/FBI portion was good. I guessed that Fiona would be kidnapped since the beginning of the book, so not really any element of surprise in it. HOWEVER, I feel like the writing was too repetitive, which got irritating to me. I wish the characters had more depth to them, because it seemed like they were pretty superficial- maybe they develop over the series. Quick & easy read, though.