Nearly Mine

Grace Ford #1

by Molly Black, Billie Bryant (Narrator)

Book #1 from the series: Grace Ford FBI Thriller
🎧Listening Length = 5 hours and 26 minutes

A gripping, thrilling listen: As unsolved murders crop up all along the banks of the Mississippi River, the FBI calls on agent Grace Ford to stop the killer. And when another body is found, Grace must race against the clock before the next victim drops…

With a string of unsolved murders up and down the Mississippi River, the FBI assembles a task force, assigning their best Minnesota field agent, Grace Ford, to partner with an agent from their Louisiana office. Despite their culture clash, the two must work together to traverse the country, crack the hardest cases—and to stop the next killer before it’s too late.

When a body turns up hanging from a bridge in Minnesota, Grace realizes it’s the signature of a new serial killer, obsessed with the river, and who will stop at nothing until he claims his next victim—unless she stops him in time.

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

6 pages, Audible Audio

First published May 23, 2023

About the author

Bestselling author Molly Black is author of the MAYA GRAY FBI suspense thriller series, comprising nine books (and counting); of the RYLIE WOLF FBI suspense thriller series, comprising six books; of the TAYLOR SAGE FBI suspense thriller series, comprising eight books; of the KATIE WINTER FBI suspense thriller series, comprising eleven books (and counting); of the RUBY HUNTER FBI suspense thriller series, comprising five books (and counting), and of the CAITLIN DARE FBI suspense thriller series, comprising five books (and counting).

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

BOOKS BY MOLLY BLACK

GRACE FORD FBI THRILLER

NEARLY MINE (Book #1)

NEARLY SAFE (Book #2)

NEARLY FREE (Book #3)

NEARLY GONE (Book #4)

NEARLY HIS (Book #5)

CAITLIN DARE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

COME GET ME (Book #1)

COME FIND ME (Book #2)

COME TAKE ME (Book #3)

COME CATCH ME (Book #4)

COME SAVE ME (Book #5)

RUBY HUNTER FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

IF I RUN (Book #1)

IF I TELL (Book #2)

IF I LIVE (Book #3)

IF I FORGET (Book #4)

IF I RETURN (Book #5)

MAYA GRAY MYSTERY SERIES

GIRL ONE: MURDER (Book #1)

GIRL TWO: TAKEN (Book #2)

GIRL THREE: TRAPPED (Book #3)

GIRL FOUR: LURED (Book #4)

GIRL FIVE: BOUND (Book #5)

GIRL SIX: FORSAKEN (Book #6)

GIRL SEVEN: CRAVED (Book #7)

GIRL EIGHT: HUNTED (Book #8)

GIRL NINE: GONE (Book #9)

RYLIE WOLF FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

FOUND YOU (Book #1)

CAUGHT YOU (Book #2)

SEE YOU (Book #3)

WANT YOU (Book #4)

TAKE YOU (Book #5)

DARE YOU (Book #6)

TAYLOR SAGE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

DON’T LOOK (Book #1)

DON’T BREATHE (Book #2)

DON’T RUN (Book #3)

DON’T FLINCH (Book #4)

DON’T REMEMBER (Book #5)

DON’T TELL (Book #6)

DON’T HIDE (Book #7)

DON’T BLINK (Book #8)

KATIE WINTER FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

SAVE ME (Book #1)

REACH ME (Book #2)

HIDE ME (Book #3)

BELIEVE ME (Book #4)

HELP ME (Book #5)

FORGET ME (Book #6)

HOLD ME (Book #7)

PROTECT ME (Book #8)

REMEMBER ME (Book #9)

CATCH ME (Book #10)

WATCH ME (Book #11)

Reviews

[Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars and I'm being generous. Where do I even start? Poor plot, stupid jumping to baseless conclusions, ridiculous dialogue, needless delving into poorly developed personal relationships, ....

[Samantha Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poor plot, even worse twist. No book 2 for me.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Maybe this isn’t the right time for this one? I got just over half way, and I couldn’t finished. The writing was flat and obvious. The characters were stereotypical. I just couldn’t keep going.

[The Phoenix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chased down a psychotic killer and saved the damsel. It was ok.

[Aaron Penn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent. A bit predictable, but a decent FBI murder mystery.

[Brenda Bingel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really not much of a plot. The main character, Grace seems angry and a bit condescending most of the time

[Rosalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Barely OK. I didn’t like the narrator. Not sure how there are 7 books more, I will not be reading them. I prefer my female protagonists a bit tougher, Grace is so wet. The one good thing is it was only 5 hours long so I haven’t lost much of my life.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good mystery

The basic plot is good. Someone is killing and hanging the bodies from bridges. FBI agents are called in, much to the disgruntlement of some local sheriffs. All fine, but there are a multitude of problems. With the second murder, Agent Ford determines it’s a serial killer. Nope, that should be three or more. Ford must get exhausted jumping to conclusions. Repetition abounds, especially in reference to Agent Reed’s lack of clothing appropriate to northern winters. Finally, the climax is just more assumption regarding the suspect. To summarize, Nearly Mine had good possibilities but ends up being an amateurish attempt. This reader won’t bother with the sequel.

[Kirsty Hoggons · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a quick read. It flows very nicely and is easy to read.

In some instances it feels like Grace is working this case alone and not including her partner and I find that weird. She should be keeping him informed every time she discovers something new, also so that he knows where she is. This is a murder investigation after all. She also gives him no props for his idea on the bridges and their significance, even though it's a reasonable conclusion - that's annoying. It's as if she knows best, even though she's still a very young agent and can still learn a lot.

I like that there are parts from the killers POV but they are few and far between. Then out of nowhere, 70% in, the killers POV is there and speaking about demons and spirits. It just seems to come a bit late in the book.

I think the book just ends which is maybe obvious when you see there is a second book. Overall a decent book and an easy read.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts were good, but characters needed to be fleshed out more. Some of the editing errors really were annoying.( I’m not taking the “wrap” for this…On her “ conscious” ) ugh

[Laci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nearly Mine by Molly Black was a solid read for me. It was good overall, but with a few things that kept it from being really great.

The story follows FBI agent Grace Ford, who’s thrown into a serial killer investigation with a new partner after her longtime partner is injured in a car accident. I liked the case itself. The plot was interesting, the investigative work felt well thought out, and the pacing kept me engaged. From a procedural standpoint, it definitely works.

That said, Grace herself was a bit hit or miss for me. She’s clearly competent and capable, but at times she came across as a bit of a know-it-all, especially in how she viewed her new partner, as if he couldn’t possibly know what he was doing. It didn’t ruin the story, but it did make her harder to fully connect with.

My biggest issue, though, was the writing style - specifically how every thought Grace has is phrased as a direct question. Things like “Should I wear this jacket?” popped up constantly, and it pulled me out of the story more than once. I would’ve preferred those moments to be written more fluidly, as observations rather than literal questions. Unfortunately, this happens throughout most of the book.

Overall, I still enjoyed Nearly Mine. The plot and investigation kept me reading, but the character quirks and writing style held it back a bit. Worth picking up if you like FBI thrillers, just don’t expect it to be flawless.

[Jennifer Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly good

As with a lot of stories this one was good. Although, it had a few things that detracted from letting it be a REALLY good story.

Grace Ford, FBI agent, gets paired up with a new partner for a serial killer investigation, after her long time parter has a car accident and is out of commission. (1) Grace is a good agent, but seems to be a know it all, thinking that the other guy didn't know didly.

The plot was good. The investigative techniques solid. (2) The author (one I have read a lot of) has decided that every question that Grace asks herself needs to be stated as an actual question in the story. Example: Grace thought, "do I need to wear this jacket over my sweatshirt, or is it to warm?"

It would have been more palatable for me if the author had written, "Grace wondered if it was cold enough to wear a jacket over her sweatshirt." This type of writing goes on through most of the book. The author should be telling the story, not asking the reader to participate in deciding what Grace decides. That is my personal preference. Still, a solid 4 star story.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nearly Mine is book one in the Grace Ford series by Molly Black. When a string of unsolved murders occurred, a task force was set up by the FBI, and the Minnesota and Louisiana office field agents became the lead agents. Grace Ford realised that the killer was murdering along the river. Readers will continue to follow the twists and turns in Grace Ford's investigation to discover what happens.

I found this book when I needed a crime book starting with N for a challenge. Nearly Mine is the first book I have read by Molly Black, and it is enjoyable. I engaged with this book from the start and kept reading to the last page. I started to understand the stress that Law Enforcement Officers face in maintaining a happy family life.

I enjoy the way Molly Black portrays her characters and their interactions throughout this book. Nearly Mine is well-written and researched by Molly Black. I like Molly Black's descriptions of the settings in Nearly Mine, which complement the book’s plot.

I recommend this book.

[ThoroughRead · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dull and anticlimactic!

My God, Grace was the worst female lead I've ever read. For an FBI agent, she was clueless, bullheaded, and impulsive. She operated as if she were a member of Mystery Inc. She had the personality of a packing peanut, and I didn't have to wonder why her fiance didn't propose to her.

The male lead/side character...I can't even remember his name, but he sucked, too, and had ZERO backbone! He allowed Grace to talk shit to him and be dismissive of his findings at every turn.

There was no actual decent police work conducted in the book, and I felt that any new lead they stumbled upon fell into their laps by pure luck.

The ending? Ridiculous.

Every chapter ended with Grace saying how she was filled with trepidation, and she just knew in her soul that the killer had struck again.

*Blows raspberry.*

[✨BuggyGirl✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

ℙ𝕠𝕧: Third Person Multi POV
𝕋𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕤: FBI, serial killer, Mystery/Thriller
𝕋𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕣: not a single good line in this book
𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤: 2/𝟝
𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕖: 𝟘/𝟝
𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤: The writing style was incredibly basic and bland while also over explaining everything. It’s a short book but took forever to get through. When it finally does get to the killer I hated the reasoning behind the killing. It just didn’t make sense.
I didn’t like the romance/personal relationship side plots. They were just unnecessary and under developed. The MFCs view on getting married was weird to me. The more I think about the book the lower I want to rate it. I’m very disappointed considering that this was my introduction to the mystery/thriller genre.
𝕎𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕕? No

[Claire Rackett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I enjoyed it. The main characters worked well to enhance the story and I enjoyed the plot and thinking behind it. There were twists and turns which kept the storyline moving and kept me engaged. Yes, it was the first in a series and it the murder investigation was rounded off while the ending was a move towards the second book but wasn’t a spoiler in my view although other reviews suggested otherwise. I enjoyed the short chapters, which is my preference when reading as it makes me want to read the next chapter, knowing it wouldn’t be drawn out. As always, it’s what you want from a book.likes and dislikes being individually to the reader.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really surprised by the low ratings (1s and 2s) and some of the comments that were left for Nearly Mine. I enjoyed reading this mystery. Twenty-seven year old Grace Ford is an FBI Special Agent. Someone is killing people and hanging their bodies from bridges. With each new death and new location, it is a race against time to discover who the killer is and what is motivating him to kill. I thought this book was well written and it kept my attention from start to finish. I liked how the special agents were dedicated to their jobs while also dealing with issues in their personal lives.

[Jan Sass · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well...it's a VERY straightforward plot. But I did find myself wanting to find out more about the characters and their respective relationships.

I've heard better audiobook readers...and I suspect the reason I can't seem to find an audio version of Book 2 was because they were searching for the new reader on Book 3. But...I have to ask...WHY someone with a British accent for Book 3? You've got a MN author and heroine, and the partner from Louisiana! American accents would be easier on the ear.

[Jeanette · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to bail at chapter 18. I was hopeful. To title this an FBI Thriller is unfair and misleading. The plot could be solid but the main character just isn’t all that believable. She doesn’t analyze data she’s given but chases down every minute possibility without verifying or finding a shred of evidence. In the meantime, she’s going on and on about the boyfriend she loves but dodges the difficult talks with him.
There’s no thrill to reading this book; at least not for me. It’s not interesting, the pace is slow and awkward. I can’t imagine it gets better if you can finish it.

[Read Ng · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only okay for me. BUT it did feature a tie-in to "bridges" over waterways. A bit of a personal connection for myself as most of my career has revolved around "bridges".

I was not all that keen on the personal "romance" of our protagonist. It was just not all that interesting to me at this point. I can see it mostly to set up the subplot for the series as a whole, so I would give it some room to grow. But overall I only found the plot mildly interesting and the conclusion fairly tame.

Have a GoodReads.

[Heather Corn nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first Grace Ford book, and I really wanted to like it. The setup was interesting … two agents working together to track down a serial killer. It was not hard to follow, but the storyline just felt too loose for me. I kept waiting for it to feel more focused or intense, but it never fully pulled me in. There were some good moments, and I see the potential, so I will probably give the next book a try. Sometimes the first book doesn’t do it for me, but the second one will hook me right in.

[Barbara Deeprose · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Good Read

Grace Ford is an FBI agent and is sent to investigate a body hanging from a bridge. It soon becomes clear this is not a suicide but Grace and her new partner do not agree on why the body is placed on the bridge. Never the less they have to work together and quickly. Soon there is another body on a different bridge. I really enjoyed reading this book although I did feel Grace was a bit dismissing of anyone who disagreed with her, but she did get results. A good read.

[Melanie Ollila · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short novella at 170pgs but a well developed story in such a short time that made for a quick read.
FBI agent Grace Ford from MN has to track down the killer of a man found suspended from a bridge that is just the start in a series of deaths that gets her paired up with another agent from Louisiana.

Of course they solve the case and have built the basis of a strong base for future cases with our new favorite agents.

[Lyndsey Cosper · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is awful. If it was anymore than 170 pages, there’s no way I would finish it. So boring. The jumping to wild conclusions. The step by step writing “The sedan was dark colored. The suspect drives a dark colored sedan. It must be the man.” Like the author doesn’t think the reader can connect any dots on their own. Predictable. Very boring. Definitely won’t be reading the other books. Just awful writing.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Overall a better start to a series. Author has also changed things up from usual way of starting the series. Which I'm greatful for. Main character agent Ford doesn't have a relative that was a killer. The action is still there. She will have to travel state wide if she is to find the killer.

[PWA Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast Moving Mystery

This was a good story. Grace and Reed may not see eye to eye, but they brought all the facts together to catch this crazy guy hanging people off bridges. The story was original and well written. I'm looking forward to the next book as these 2 continue to work together! ( no cliff hangars, its a story by itself).

[jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely gripping. I did not realize this was a series but I am going to have to finish what I started and read see this through. For a 164 page book a lot of stuff happens. And it’s not rushed, nothing feels forced, it really felt like a 400 page novel. The way the author writes in scenes of suspense was very well done. Can’t wait to see what happens next. Bravo!

[Bryanna Minick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The basic plot was good but was a bit predictable. It was a good FBI murder mystery though. I really liked Grace and Reed as partners even though they didn’t see eye to eye. But I do feel this would have been a better story if the characters were a bit more developed. A good start to a series. Rated 3.5 ⭐️

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Serial Killer with a strange twist

A serial killer who hangs bodies off bridges across several states that span the Mississippi River. Grace and Dylan have to dig deep to find a reason for the murders. A fast paced thriller that will keep you turning pages until the end and wondering what will come next.

[Felicia Seay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Good Read

Nearly Mine is a fantastic thriller, even though the title does absolutely nothing to describe the story. If you're a fan of True Crime, Law & Order, F.B.I., Unsolved Mysteries, or basically any form of crime drama show, then you will definitely enjoy reading this book. I'm looking forward to reading what's next in the series.