Finding April Emery

by Bijou Alley

Desperation coursed through aspiring novelist Riley Michaels' veins. For clarity, for normalcy, for answers.

After being forced to trade her easygoing beach life for a fresh start near Chicago, she needed an escape from her string of failed manuscripts. Nannying the adorable toddler down the street seemed like the perfect distraction, but the bliss of their bonding quickly turned sour after an ominous encounter. Sweet April Emery Fellowes vanished without a trace.

Though behind bars due to an honest mistake, Riley is destined to uncover the secrets hiding in the shadows, with no allies, no clues, and nowhere to start. Can Riley expose the truth and reclaim her innocence? Or will her story be just another failed chapter?

284 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 14, 2025

About the author

Hi! I'm Bijou. I hope you enjoy Finding April Emery as much as I did writing it. Happy reading, and just remember... "The end justifies the means..."

Reviews

[ChaeLynn]

I really enjoyed this! It had some good twists and I liked the writing as well. I would have liked to see an epilogue following up since the reunion with Lauren and Amari. Great debut. Hope to see more from this author.

[C L Lahman]

Such a good story ! Ok first of all, this author has no business being this good at description. “But adrenaline buzzed under her skin like a trapped hornet” is too accurate, in the best way. Fast paced. I was yelling at the MC to take that shower and mind her business but that wouldn’t make for a good story, and I’m glad Bijou Alley created this fearless character.

[Sam]

This book so so fast paced and will keep you on your toes!

[Amanda Gosch]

Such a good book! Twists and turns and a great ending!!

[Erica O.]

Good twists, fast paced thriller that kept me guessing. I would have liked an epilogue to hear more about Lauren and Amari and what Riley is up to but overall thought this was a great debut novel. Sequel perhaps to find Quincy?? No way he gets away scot free lol

[Brooke Bare]

Kept me on the edge of my seat! I couldn’t put it down and finished it in 1 day!

[Nicole McCombs]

In my opinion, the book started off a little slow but then picked up significantly around the 33% mark. I feel like once the situation escalated a little bit more drastically, it made it more interesting and I read through the rest quickly to see what happened!

[Kevin Flaherty]

A great read! Riley is such a wonderful character. Highly recommended!

[Lana Taylor]

A fast read with great illustrations and a pretty good twist!
The only thing I would say is that I wish Riley's character was developed more and we got to learn more of her background before coming to Chicago.
I also was shocked the police believed her right away after telling her story after the diner when she's been locked up previously.

Overall the book was good but I felt there are some gaps in the plot. I did enjoy the ride though!

[Heather]

A great read! And what a twist!

[Heather Lin]

A quick read with beautiful illustrations.

[Shawn W.]

Fantastic debut mystery novel! Cleverly written, with twists and turns you won’t see coming. Thoroughly enjoyed how Alley keenly uses descriptive writing to tell Riley’s harrowing journey to find the truth. You’ll FEEL Riley’s loss of dignity at the onset of her unfortunate mistake, and you’ll root on as she fights an uphill battle to achieve redemption and truth. There’s a certain point where I literally couldn’t put it down. Looking forward to Alley’s next entry!