Finding Hannah: A pulse-pounding thriller you won't want to miss

by M.A. Purcell

Ex-detective Thomas Tegan, known to his friends as Trout, and his associate Lauren O’Loughlin have opened a private investigation agency in their home village of Knocknaclogga. TLCI (Tegan, O’Loughlin Consultant Investigation) is awaiting its first official client.

Then Lauren’s cousin Marina Offenbach arrives from London, hysterical and blaming her for the disappearance of her daughter Hannah, Lauren’s godchild. The London police have traced a girl, potentially Hannah, to the Fishguard-Rosslare ferry to Ireland.

Lauren and Trout set out to find Hannah – only to discover that someone else is trying to track her down. Someone who appears to have a lot of money riding onher disappearing and staying that way. Someone who has already killed to ensure that he isn’t thwarted.

They follow a convoluted trail across southern Ireland in their search for the missing girl and a friend, David, who seems to have taken her under his wing.

As the race to find Hannah gathers momentum, they find that the kindness of strangers is keeping her safe but also helping her to remain elusive.

Can they reach her before her MALICIOUS pursuer does?

450 pages, Paperback

First published June 5, 2024

Reviews

[Tara Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is bursting with adventure, compelling characters, mystery and thrills.

What a journey.

Venture through Ireland with Lauren and Thomas as they attempt to find Lauren's young cousin Hannah. Hannah has gotten herself into some seriously hot water, with some very nefarious characters. Who will find her first? Who may help her along the way? How much danger is she truly in?

I loved this story. You will too. Give it a read!

[HeatherREADS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finding Hannah
By M.A. Purcell

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lauren OLaughlin is training to be a private investigator under Thomas “Trout” Tegan, an old friend in County Clare, Ireland. Suddenly, Lauren’s cousin, Marina, calls her hysterical- her 15 year old daughter, Hannah, is missing! Trout and Lauren waste no time beginning the search and soon they are traveling all over, trying to connect with Hannah, who always seems a step ahead. But there are evil people also on Hannah’s trail, so Lauren and Trout must neutralize that threat along with finding Hannah. I received an advance ebook from Booksirens and these are my honest thoughts.

It was interesting to read a book set in Ireland, being from the US. There were interesting turns of phrases and descriptions of local places sprinkled throughout the story. The mystery of finding Hannah took the reader all over. I had to refer to a map more than once! I liked reading about and imagining all of the different characters and the places where they lived and worked. Very interesting!
It seemed like Trout and Lauren had a little bit of love in the air, but that was definitely not the main focus of the book.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and was invested in the characters. I was at first a bit hesitant, because since becoming a parent I am more bothered by story lines with children missing, abused, or dying. They are hard for me to read. So I was relieved that this book, although tense and mysterious, it was not hard to read from that perspective. Typically I read books with more people dying (!!) but this one had enough action and suspense to keep me interested. I would suggest this book to anyone looking for a fast-paced mystery set in Ireland and the UK.

[Teresa Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finding Hannah is what we all look for when we open a new book: a great story. The characters are relatable, charismatic, engaging, and multi-dimensional, except those we aren't supposed to like. There is plenty of action, suspense, and heart-pounding tension. I will admit to being surprised at how much I enjoyed the story because, after a beginning that grabbed my interest, there wasn't much mystery about who did it, why they did it, and whether they would be caught. All of those were revealed to the reader very early on. It is a testament to Ms. Purcell's excellent writing that the story continued to hold my interest even after the "who done it" and "why done it" were revealed. I needed to know our hero and heroine and the "minor" characters (many of whom are much more than minor, in my opinion) survived and the "bad guys" received due punishment. Ms Purcell accomplished all with great skill. I enjoyed this story so much that I would be delighted to discover that Ms. Purcell has decided to make it into a series instead of a one-off. I want to spend more time with TLCI. I think they have a great future if Ms Purcell can be persuaded. I highly recommend this book.

I received a review copy from the author via BookSirens and this review is my honest opinion.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Prologue of “Finding Hannah” by M. A. Purcell really set the tone for this gripping page-turner & had me hooked right from the beginning. Hannah goes missing & her mother Marina thinks she’s gone to her Aunt Lauren but Hannah isn’t with her. Lauren & Trout have opened a private investigation company. Marina becomes their first client & when they take her case to find Hannah, the chase is on. The only problem is that someone else is trying to find Hannah for all the wrong reasons & means to harm her if he catches her. Can Lauren & Trout win in this cat & mouse chase or will they be thwarted by her evil pursuer? Read this amazing novel with wonderful characters that come to life on every page. Just beware that you won’t be able to put the book down until you get to the end & the unexpected & shocking conclusion you’ll never see coming.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Amanda Koogler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book I have read by this author (and was the follow up to the first one - although by no means do I think you need to have read "A Lie of Omission" to be able to read and follow this book). I was super excited to get to dive more into what happens with Lauren and Trout after reading the first book and M.A Purcell did not disappoint. The books starts off strong and I was immediately drawn in wanting to find out more and figure out what happens with all of the characters. When Hannah is trying to escape from her house (and the man currently intruding) she makes an ally in the form of a kid sleeping on a roof. From there their adventure is full of twists and turn which leave the reader wondering if they will every find help and safety or will the villain eventually win out?! All of the characters are well developed and at times I do think some of the developmental aspects could have been condensed to keep the suspense going but I also enjoyed feeling a true connection to the different characters. Overall the book is well written, characters are developed, and the books had enough twists, turns and thrill to keep me reading.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Emily Chamberlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was almost a dnf for me. I’m no writer so kudos for the time and effort put forth. However, storyline was predictable and bland. It has an attention grabbing beginning, but slowly starts to drag out. The storyline doesn’t really move and was very anticlimactic. A lot of attention to unnecessary details. Wasn’t a terrible read by any means, just not really what I would consider a psychological thriller. Would have loved to have had more of the main character POV in the body of the story. Was a little hard to follow at times.

[Heather Sykes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a cozy mystery and a bit less of a thriller or psychological mind bender than is my go to reading. However, I bought it at a cozy book store in Ennis, Ireland. I wanted an Irish author and something set in Ireland and this was set in County Clare and around Cork which was perfect. I enjoyed it.

[Tiffany Townsend · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fact that the who, what, where, when and how were revealed early on didn’t keep author from creating a clever and captivating story.

The talent of author is clearly evident in this book

Story held my attention throughout entire read!

[Elena Rojo · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nivel historia muy flojo, sin embargo el ambiente y la esencia de lo que es Irlanda está muy bien reflejado.

[Brenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the kind of story that could be turned into a movie. I love the clues leading to more clues Thule of adventure, and this is just that. The book took off on a strong start and then had quite a bit of character building before it really got into it. Overall good book!