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A Riveting Kidnapping Mystery Series #11
The Missing
A detective nearing retirement must solve a string of child abductions before it’s too late
Detective Charles Knight has seen a lot in his long years as an investigator for the Melville County Police Department. Nothing, however, can prepare him for a missing children’s case involving two young girls, eerily abducted around the same time. The search leads to several potential suspects and one mysterious person who sends anonymous letters to Detective Knight’s home, promising more abductions to come. The clock is ticking, the town is on edge, and Knight must use all his resources to save the girls, with the aid of newly-arrived FBI Agent Tanya Garrett. Will they save the girls in time, or will the kidnapper’s deadly game spiral to the point of no return? Find out how the story begins in this exciting mystery thriller, destined to keep readers guessing until the end.
Detective Charles Knight has seen a lot in his long years as an investigator for the Melville County Police Department. Nothing, however, can prepare him for a missing children’s case involving two young girls, eerily abducted around the same time. The search leads to several potential suspects and one mysterious person who sends anonymous letters to Detective Knight’s home, promising more abductions to come. The clock is ticking, the town is on edge, and Knight must use all his resources to save the girls, with the aid of newly-arrived FBI Agent Tanya Garrett. Will they save the girls in time, or will the kidnapper’s deadly game spiral to the point of no return? Find out how the story begins in this exciting mystery thriller, destined to keep readers guessing until the end.
302 pages, Hardcover
First published September 18, 2018
939 people are currently reading
419 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
November 28, 2023
Don't like hangers
Really don't like the ending, could of been a lot better. Story was good ,characters had a good quality to them.
Really don't like the ending, could of been a lot better. Story was good ,characters had a good quality to them.
September 7, 2020
WTH??
This book is juvenile. I can't believe I finished it. It reads like a younger adult novel, or less. I hated the ending. It was abrupt and empty. The conversations between the cops felt jilted and shallow. Very disappointing. A lot of unexplained plot, but I just wanted it to end.
This book is juvenile. I can't believe I finished it. It reads like a younger adult novel, or less. I hated the ending. It was abrupt and empty. The conversations between the cops felt jilted and shallow. Very disappointing. A lot of unexplained plot, but I just wanted it to end.
June 16, 2020
A very satisfactory procedural
Preteen girls are kidnapped off the street and from their bedrooms. The Police investigate and get nowhere. Five years later the lead detective is retired and a fourth girl is taken off the street. The first half of novel tells the story of the initial investigation and some of the backgrounds of the people involved. The second half tells the readers what happened during the five year gap and the new investigations and the climax and conclusion of them. Parts seemed, to me, to read slowly and to be a digression from the story but, all in all, it was a very satisfactory procedural. Thanks to the author and publisher for an e-galley for an honest review.
Preteen girls are kidnapped off the street and from their bedrooms. The Police investigate and get nowhere. Five years later the lead detective is retired and a fourth girl is taken off the street. The first half of novel tells the story of the initial investigation and some of the backgrounds of the people involved. The second half tells the readers what happened during the five year gap and the new investigations and the climax and conclusion of them. Parts seemed, to me, to read slowly and to be a digression from the story but, all in all, it was a very satisfactory procedural. Thanks to the author and publisher for an e-galley for an honest review.
December 1, 2020
I contemplated giving this book 2 stars, but I was just too annoyed. I do not understand the high ratings. I skipped half the book and went to the end to find out who and why. This book (and by extension, likely the entire series) may be riveting if you like the cops, FBI agents, and profilers who don't often act like cops, FBI agents, and profilers. I find it annoying.
I also disliked the writer's style. Sometimes it was stilted or clunky; often there was too much tell and not nearly enough show. Sometimes the phrasing and word choices were so bad that I wondered if English was his first language. The main character was okay on the occasions he acted like a police detective. The FBI agent was almost completely unbelievable, and definitely no profiler. That character was so bad, I actually wondered if she was a fake. Too many things unusually convenient or not well planned.
No information at all about the author, and the book appears to be self-published. Some good writing is self-published, but this isn't it. After wading through this mess, I shudder to think what the first book was like. This is a big, fat NO for me.
I also disliked the writer's style. Sometimes it was stilted or clunky; often there was too much tell and not nearly enough show. Sometimes the phrasing and word choices were so bad that I wondered if English was his first language. The main character was okay on the occasions he acted like a police detective. The FBI agent was almost completely unbelievable, and definitely no profiler. That character was so bad, I actually wondered if she was a fake. Too many things unusually convenient or not well planned.
No information at all about the author, and the book appears to be self-published. Some good writing is self-published, but this isn't it. After wading through this mess, I shudder to think what the first book was like. This is a big, fat NO for me.
December 28, 2020
Not worth the time
I gave this book two stars because the police behavior in this book didn't ring true. Expecting police to find one particular late model Cadillac in an entire county when the only description you have is that it is either grey or red is ludicrous. No police chief would demand that his officers find that car TODAY. That's just one of many behaviors that are utterly uno police like. Also, while the story is moderately engaging, the ending is rushed and doesn't follow consistent logic with the book.
I gave this book two stars because the police behavior in this book didn't ring true. Expecting police to find one particular late model Cadillac in an entire county when the only description you have is that it is either grey or red is ludicrous. No police chief would demand that his officers find that car TODAY. That's just one of many behaviors that are utterly uno police like. Also, while the story is moderately engaging, the ending is rushed and doesn't follow consistent logic with the book.
February 24, 2020
Such a stupid mistake
I read about one third of the book when the main character made a huge, stupid, impossible mistake. A mistake a seasoned, experienced detective would never, ever make. This mistake made me so angry that it immediately ruined the book for me. I am unable to finish the book because the author ruined the main characters credibility and believability for me to advance the plot.
I read about one third of the book when the main character made a huge, stupid, impossible mistake. A mistake a seasoned, experienced detective would never, ever make. This mistake made me so angry that it immediately ruined the book for me. I am unable to finish the book because the author ruined the main characters credibility and believability for me to advance the plot.
November 12, 2018
Great book
This book kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't put it down. I was a little upset when it ended so abruptly. I wanted more on how his wife was found and what happened to the missing girls.. Would love to read a "part 2" .
This book kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't put it down. I was a little upset when it ended so abruptly. I wanted more on how his wife was found and what happened to the missing girls.. Would love to read a "part 2" .
November 13, 2020
I enjoyed the storyline and characters but felt scratching my head when the author wrote lines that didn't make much sense in keeping with the story. The book is about a soon to retire police detective who is assigned to solve the case of two missing preteen girls kidnapped in board daylight. The story gets eerie when the kidnapper begins taping cryptic messages to the detective's home front door. The detective fails to solve the case and retires regretting his failure. Five years later, the kidnapper reappears and the retired detective becomes sucked into the hunt for the abductor, much to his unwillingness to get involved. I guess what really disappointed me was the ending, it should have been much better.
October 5, 2020
An Excellent Kidnapping Thriller
Roger Hayden’s THE MISSING is a Grade A story filled with suspense from start to finish. Detective Knight, a soon to retire officer, was saddled with grief & despair as he tried to solve repetitive kidnapping cases resulting in a number of deaths along the way. After several years it began again. As a reader, l was drawn into the drama just as Knight returns from retirement to try to finally capture the killers. It was one of the best books l have read in a long while.
Roger Hayden’s THE MISSING is a Grade A story filled with suspense from start to finish. Detective Knight, a soon to retire officer, was saddled with grief & despair as he tried to solve repetitive kidnapping cases resulting in a number of deaths along the way. After several years it began again. As a reader, l was drawn into the drama just as Knight returns from retirement to try to finally capture the killers. It was one of the best books l have read in a long while.
October 3, 2018
Interesting book from beginning to end. Young girls around 12 years old of so were being kidnapped. The police and FBI couldn't figure it out . After about 5 years one of the prior cops who worked on the cases was retired and disabled. Once again the kidnapping started again and he was ask to help the cops by giving them all the information he had from the older unsolved cases. The FBI finally were slowly coming up with leads. What a spine tingling way the kidnappers went about things and why.
March 27, 2019
Really good reading, kept me up late reading.Jus when in
I thought the end was near bang another surprise,would make a good movie. Thought the first FBI agent would also help solve the case, did not care too much for wife of murder, that part of the story is a little vague. The girls kidnapped how were they,who got pregnant the baby where do they fit in the end????,a little more closer was needed,I think.
I thought the end was near bang another surprise,would make a good movie. Thought the first FBI agent would also help solve the case, did not care too much for wife of murder, that part of the story is a little vague. The girls kidnapped how were they,who got pregnant the baby where do they fit in the end????,a little more closer was needed,I think.
October 10, 2021
Well written book that kept moving along. It was so very disappointing at the end to see how poorly the writer quickly ended it. Almost like Hayden didn’t know how to finish up. Very rushed, with so many unresolved loose ends … most disappointing and a let-down to what could have been a 5-star novel. I. believe a reader should feel very satisfied at the end of a good novel. Sadly, for me, this ending left much to be desired.
October 10, 2018
Good read.
I liked the book..the characters...the mystery of it. The very ending..as all were "together". (don't want to spoil anything)..Was too fast for me. I wanted more closure...I guess. Maybe the next book deals with this ending with a little more detail? But I liked it..would recommend it. Thanks Roger!
I liked the book..the characters...the mystery of it. The very ending..as all were "together". (don't want to spoil anything)..Was too fast for me. I wanted more closure...I guess. Maybe the next book deals with this ending with a little more detail? But I liked it..would recommend it. Thanks Roger!
November 11, 2018
All the time I was reading this book I kept feeling
that I had read significant things about the main
characters before, Knight, a loser partner,the FBI agent and Harris but
in a different book. This left me with a weird feeling of deja-vu and while
I enjoyed the story I just couldn’t shake the fact it all seemed very familiar.
that I had read significant things about the main
characters before, Knight, a loser partner,the FBI agent and Harris but
in a different book. This left me with a weird feeling of deja-vu and while
I enjoyed the story I just couldn’t shake the fact it all seemed very familiar.
November 18, 2018
Such a great book!
I usually don't find myself concentrating when I'm reading a book on my Kindle. I like to have a book I hold in my hand. However this book on my Kindle left me not wanting to put my Kindle down. There were surprises at every turn and kept me on the edge of my seat!
I usually don't find myself concentrating when I'm reading a book on my Kindle. I like to have a book I hold in my hand. However this book on my Kindle left me not wanting to put my Kindle down. There were surprises at every turn and kept me on the edge of my seat!
March 24, 2019
Excellent Read
Great characters, interesting plot and action. Small town police with FBI mixture trying to solve a group of children being kidnapped from their homes, yards and neighborhood streets. No one ever considering that it may tie to an crime committed earlier in the town’s history. Very well written with great details.
Great characters, interesting plot and action. Small town police with FBI mixture trying to solve a group of children being kidnapped from their homes, yards and neighborhood streets. No one ever considering that it may tie to an crime committed earlier in the town’s history. Very well written with great details.
February 13, 2020
Unexpected
I love books like this that Offer character development and are, well, different. No drop dead gorgeous people, but instead, real human beings! It has believable heroes, but exceedingly evil bad guys. Still I love that I don’t know the end within the first 10 pages. Worth your time... definitely!
I love books like this that Offer character development and are, well, different. No drop dead gorgeous people, but instead, real human beings! It has believable heroes, but exceedingly evil bad guys. Still I love that I don’t know the end within the first 10 pages. Worth your time... definitely!
February 18, 2020
I love this series and this author is one of my favorite authors. Excellently written, this is definitely a riveting story that kept me reading to the end nonstop. Great characters and a perfect-paced story.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
February 19, 2020
The Missing: A Small Town Kidnapping Mystery by Roger Hayden this is an amazing story that I have read. This is book number eleven out of eleven in this amazing series. I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading about suspense, thrillers and mysteries.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
October 3, 2020
Riveting
The Missing by Roger Hayden takes place in Florida in a fictional town near St. Augustine and Jacksonville. Someone is kidnapping eleven year old girls. The story is good but oh so many errors. One FBI agent seems to have three different last names. That sort of thing continues throughout though in less depth. Still a good read.
The Missing by Roger Hayden takes place in Florida in a fictional town near St. Augustine and Jacksonville. Someone is kidnapping eleven year old girls. The story is good but oh so many errors. One FBI agent seems to have three different last names. That sort of thing continues throughout though in less depth. Still a good read.
September 30, 2018
Story was amazing
But the last few pages it seemed as though the author just gave up and threw it together. Very disappointing end. While I’m fine with the story continuing into the next book this just came together too quickly (and didn’t add up)
But the last few pages it seemed as though the author just gave up and threw it together. Very disappointing end. While I’m fine with the story continuing into the next book this just came together too quickly (and didn’t add up)
November 9, 2018
I enjoyed this story could not put it down had to keep reading. It kept my interest all the time did other
Did not want to put it down. Had to keep on reading until knew what was happen next what the murderer did next.
Did not want to put it down. Had to keep on reading until knew what was happen next what the murderer did next.
February 14, 2020
The author gave us plenty of twists and turns in this page turning story. Just could not put it down, wanting to know what was going to happen next.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
March 30, 2020
Nail biting.....
Very intense. Characters were developed well. Without giving away the ending, I will say the story moved along at a good pace but the ending was somewhat of a disappointment.....
Very intense. Characters were developed well. Without giving away the ending, I will say the story moved along at a good pace but the ending was somewhat of a disappointment.....
October 6, 2020
Intriguing and different.
Girls are kidnapped and the police can not solve the crimes. The lead detective retires and the criminal returns to kidnap again. The reasons for the kidnapping are critical.
Girls are kidnapped and the police can not solve the crimes. The lead detective retires and the criminal returns to kidnap again. The reasons for the kidnapping are critical.
October 8, 2020
Good book, but....
*spoiler* From the beginning the book hooked you and kept you reading. Very fast paced and interesting. Getting to the end you're still guessing on who the bad guy is. Got to the end, bad guys were not even in the book and then it just thuded to an end.
*spoiler* From the beginning the book hooked you and kept you reading. Very fast paced and interesting. Getting to the end you're still guessing on who the bad guy is. Got to the end, bad guys were not even in the book and then it just thuded to an end.
October 11, 2020
Not complete
I did not enjoy this book because it was not complete. The ending rushed too fast after drawing out all the details. It did not complete the ending either. I am not a fan of endings that just leave you in limbo.
I did not enjoy this book because it was not complete. The ending rushed too fast after drawing out all the details. It did not complete the ending either. I am not a fan of endings that just leave you in limbo.
October 14, 2020
Easy to.read 4.5
Storyline tough one about kidnapped children. Included somewhat cliched parts about FBI taking over investigation from local law enforcement, this the rating of 4.5 Would read another book by this author.
Storyline tough one about kidnapped children. Included somewhat cliched parts about FBI taking over investigation from local law enforcement, this the rating of 4.5 Would read another book by this author.
October 17, 2020
Ending cut short
Really good book but I thought the ending was cut short and left out a good chunk of what was going on with the wife. Don't want to say too much and spoil it for others.
Really good book but I thought the ending was cut short and left out a good chunk of what was going on with the wife. Don't want to say too much and spoil it for others.
October 24, 2020
Wonderful twists and turns
I enjoyed reading this story and you should read it too. The character development was superb and realistic. The plot was also revealed in a consistent and page turning manner.
I enjoyed reading this story and you should read it too. The character development was superb and realistic. The plot was also revealed in a consistent and page turning manner.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews