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The Toybox: A totally addictive, nail-biting crime thriller
'I was on the edge of my seat every time I turned the page!! One of the best crime books I have ever read!!!' ***** Reader Review
You don't want to play their games
All around Albuquerque, New Mexico, young women are going missing, seemingly vanished into thin air. With no link between the victims, Detective Alyssa Wyatt is quickly plunged into a horrifying case with no obvious clues.
And when Jersey Andrews, the best friend of Alyssa's teenage daughter, Holly, joins the list of vanished girls, the case becomes personal.
But this investigation will lead Alyssa and partner Cord into the most sinister depths of humanity; an evil place where life is expendable, and where the depraved can fulfil their darkest desires if they have the money to pay for it.
As the first bodies appear, abandoned on the streets, Alyssa is forced into a frantic hunt to track down the killers before more innocent women lose their lives. But when the truth comes out, it seems that the key to solving the case was hiding in the last place anyone expected
A dark, tension-filled and absolutely nail-biting crime thriller with a twist this one will have you reading until the small hours. Fans of Robert Bryndza, Melinda Leigh and Lisa Regan will not want to miss this addictive read.
Readers can't get enough of The Toybox:
'This book is, in short, incredible I was completely invested in all the main characters and didn't see the twist coming.' ***** Reader Review
'Don't plan to do anything else until you finish reading this book intense, suspenseful and realistic Excellent read.' ***** Reader Review
'OMG!!!... an edge of your seat page turner with lots of actionand many twists and turns with one that most won't see coming.' ***** Reader Review
'I was blown away...I don't think I took a breath the whole time I was reading.' ***** Reader Review
'There were many twists in the story that really surprised me! This was a book that I wished hadn't ended!' ***** Reader Review
'OMG WHAT A READ!!!Plenty of heart in your mouth moments and packed with tension and suspense. This crime series is one of the best I have read' ***** Reader Review
'a dark and thrilling crime read that will have you on the edge of your seat This is a book you NEED to add to your TBR pile.' ***** Reader Review
'HOLY COW! This book will take you for the ride of your lifeI was left stunned when the truth was revealed' ***** Reader Review
'There is just so much to love about this series..A dark and chilling read that will have you hanging on for dear life!' ***** Reader Review
'raw, grittyone of the best crime fiction novels I've read this year.' ***** Reader Review
'what a gritty fast-paced novel, I couldn't put it down!...gets your heartbeat racing' ***** Reader Review
'I have not read a thriller that I felt so physically and emotionally connected tostarted with action and didn't stop until the last page I will be recommending this one for fans of thrillers and crime reads for a long time.
You don't want to play their games
All around Albuquerque, New Mexico, young women are going missing, seemingly vanished into thin air. With no link between the victims, Detective Alyssa Wyatt is quickly plunged into a horrifying case with no obvious clues.
And when Jersey Andrews, the best friend of Alyssa's teenage daughter, Holly, joins the list of vanished girls, the case becomes personal.
But this investigation will lead Alyssa and partner Cord into the most sinister depths of humanity; an evil place where life is expendable, and where the depraved can fulfil their darkest desires if they have the money to pay for it.
As the first bodies appear, abandoned on the streets, Alyssa is forced into a frantic hunt to track down the killers before more innocent women lose their lives. But when the truth comes out, it seems that the key to solving the case was hiding in the last place anyone expected
A dark, tension-filled and absolutely nail-biting crime thriller with a twist this one will have you reading until the small hours. Fans of Robert Bryndza, Melinda Leigh and Lisa Regan will not want to miss this addictive read.
Readers can't get enough of The Toybox:
'This book is, in short, incredible I was completely invested in all the main characters and didn't see the twist coming.' ***** Reader Review
'Don't plan to do anything else until you finish reading this book intense, suspenseful and realistic Excellent read.' ***** Reader Review
'OMG!!!... an edge of your seat page turner with lots of actionand many twists and turns with one that most won't see coming.' ***** Reader Review
'I was blown away...I don't think I took a breath the whole time I was reading.' ***** Reader Review
'There were many twists in the story that really surprised me! This was a book that I wished hadn't ended!' ***** Reader Review
'OMG WHAT A READ!!!Plenty of heart in your mouth moments and packed with tension and suspense. This crime series is one of the best I have read' ***** Reader Review
'a dark and thrilling crime read that will have you on the edge of your seat This is a book you NEED to add to your TBR pile.' ***** Reader Review
'HOLY COW! This book will take you for the ride of your lifeI was left stunned when the truth was revealed' ***** Reader Review
'There is just so much to love about this series..A dark and chilling read that will have you hanging on for dear life!' ***** Reader Review
'raw, grittyone of the best crime fiction novels I've read this year.' ***** Reader Review
'what a gritty fast-paced novel, I couldn't put it down!...gets your heartbeat racing' ***** Reader Review
'I have not read a thriller that I felt so physically and emotionally connected tostarted with action and didn't stop until the last page I will be recommending this one for fans of thrillers and crime reads for a long time.
369 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 3, 2020
About the author
Charly Cox
15 books26 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name
For other authors of this name, see:
Charly Cox - Crime, Young Adult
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name
For other authors of this name, see:
Charly Cox - Crime, Young Adult
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 6, 2026
3.5⭐️
Spoilers coming:
My thoughts when I updated at 61%: Leigh Anne is Anna.
And I was correct. And I don’t typically like a thriller where I guess the big shocking twist 100 pages before I’m setup to figure it out.
But…. I don’t hate this series, I think. Alyssa Wyatt is plucky, reminiscent of Prentiss or Jareau on criminal minds. And these books really do read like episodes of CM. They are fast paced, the characters are likable, and the way Charly Cox writes is keeping me interested. In a rare move for me, I think I’m going to go right into reading book three.
These books do require a suspension of belief. It quite literally moves with the calendar— book one was April, where they stopped a two-decade serial killer, and we led right into may of the same year where now there’s a high-price trafficking ring. We have to believe that Albuquerque is a very dangerous place to really buy into these novels. But it’s the same suspension one needs to watch police procedurals on TV, so if you enjoy those, these books aren’t much different.
These are also very dark. Charly Cox introduces us to some intense violence but it’s all via implication, like fade-to-black but for violence. You most definitely get the picture but you aren’t subjected to reading any gratuitous violence and I appreciate that. Again, similar to a tv show.
I guess I’m about to see if the series holds its momentum and read the third one.
Spoilers coming:
My thoughts when I updated at 61%: Leigh Anne is Anna.
And I was correct. And I don’t typically like a thriller where I guess the big shocking twist 100 pages before I’m setup to figure it out.
But…. I don’t hate this series, I think. Alyssa Wyatt is plucky, reminiscent of Prentiss or Jareau on criminal minds. And these books really do read like episodes of CM. They are fast paced, the characters are likable, and the way Charly Cox writes is keeping me interested. In a rare move for me, I think I’m going to go right into reading book three.
These books do require a suspension of belief. It quite literally moves with the calendar— book one was April, where they stopped a two-decade serial killer, and we led right into may of the same year where now there’s a high-price trafficking ring. We have to believe that Albuquerque is a very dangerous place to really buy into these novels. But it’s the same suspension one needs to watch police procedurals on TV, so if you enjoy those, these books aren’t much different.
These are also very dark. Charly Cox introduces us to some intense violence but it’s all via implication, like fade-to-black but for violence. You most definitely get the picture but you aren’t subjected to reading any gratuitous violence and I appreciate that. Again, similar to a tv show.
I guess I’m about to see if the series holds its momentum and read the third one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2025
This is the stuff of nightmares
Cox has written a crime thriller that literally entered my dreams last night. There is a lot here that makes it a good police procedural. However the stories of the young women, some barely teenagers, who are sold into a sex trade that caters to men with deviant amoral personalities is a suggestion of the brutal torture and violence of a shadow industry worth billions. The Toy Box makes serial killers look like pickpockets.
Cox has written a crime thriller that literally entered my dreams last night. There is a lot here that makes it a good police procedural. However the stories of the young women, some barely teenagers, who are sold into a sex trade that caters to men with deviant amoral personalities is a suggestion of the brutal torture and violence of a shadow industry worth billions. The Toy Box makes serial killers look like pickpockets.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews