And then she was lost... Allison and James Price move to the navy-blue forests of Concordia Idaho hoping to leave behind the chaos of Los Angeles and the painful memories of his indiscretions. Once settled in the picturesque town, where time seems to have stalled and life moves at a slower pace, their six-year-old daughter, Reagan, befriends a mysterious young girl who seems too idyllic to be true with her pressed pinafores, her perfectly curled pigtails. One late autumn evening, as their playdate winds down, both girls vanish into thin air. The little girl said she lived at the end of the street but the only thing Allison and James find at the end of the cul-de-sac is the gaping mouth of the forest. Their little girl, the mysterious playmate—they’re both gone.
Everyone is looking for Reagan. Nobody has come forward to claim the mysterious little girl. Both Allison and James look guilty as hell. Maybe they are.
Excerpt We were good people, my husband and I. We had everything you could ask for—successful careers, a stunning home with the requisite, yet clichéd, white picket fence, a precious daughter to call our own. We had secrets, my husband and I. Not many, so few, all of them lethal.
I watch as James clasps his hands around the girl’s bird-like neck, squeezing hard until her flesh goes white—so hard you can see his bones bulge severely, stretching thin the skin at his knuckles.
We were good people, James and I. It was true until it wasn’t.
Subscribe to Addison's newsletter! http://www.addisonmoore.com/subscribe/ Follow for deals and steals on Bookbub-> https://www.bookbub.com/authors/addis... Addison Moore is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of cozy mysteries and romance. Her new book MIDLIFE IN GLIMMERSPELL is NOW available! Read today! Cosmopolitan Magazine calls Addison's books, "...easy, frothy fun!" Humor with a side of homicide.
FREE with Kindle Unlimited! Amazon-->https://amzn.to/3AnyVhs Hibiscus Homicide Cruise is here! An impending divorce. An ornery homicide detective. The cruise of a lifetime. And ghosts. Midlife on the high seas is proving to be a real killer. #Cozymystery #Kindleunlimited #mystery #PWF
Why I continued reading this drivel, I have no idea, but I did. While it's not the absolute worst book I've read, it's definitely close to it. What's wrong with Addison Moore's writing? Where do I even begin?
The plot is ridiculously overwrought and simultaneously shallow. Character development is almost nil. The protagonists are horrible beings, incapable of evoking sympathy or any other emotion, except disgust and anger. Other characters are one-dimensional caricatures. The police are portrayed as bumbling buffoons incapable of drawing reasonable conclusions or pursuing the most obvious leads. Reporters are stereotypically depicted as unprincipled vultures who steadfastly ignore the truth in favor of generating sensationalism (okay, maybe she got that one right).
A final word of advice to the author: do yourself and the reading world a favor and invest in a dictionary and a thesaurus. Your contextually inappropriate overuse of the verbs "wince," "bleed," and "shed" made me want to wince in pain, bleed from my eyes, and shed the bonds that inexplicably held me captive, no doubt in the erroneous hope that things would improve. They did not. "Decry" doesn't mean what you think it does. Look it up. And while you're looking up definitions, "insight" and "incite" are different words with completely different meanings. By way of clarification, "Ms. Moore's lack of insight into the basic tenets of good writing incites frustration and homicidal rage in the reader."
This book.... This book started out great! I was totally into it. It's different. A little heartbreaking. A true depiction of how one decision can spiral into the abyss. A missing child. Everyone is to blame, especially the parents. The parents who are grieving and just want their child back.
I was turning the pages, engrossed in this mystery. The characters had me hooked into their story. I was right there with them, until I wasn't.
At some point, the book took a wrong turn for me. The incidents from the past just kept piling on. The weirdness started creeping in. The stretching of coincidences was just a bit too much for me. The author took this too far. Added too much of certain things (I am not mentioning them as to not spoil anything) that I found myself rolling my eyes.
This book was on the track of being a great book for me. Unfortunately, the follow through from the beginning to the end was just too much everything for me. Too unbelievable. Too weird. The ending was even more weird and totally off track from the rest of the book.
A wild ride with many plot twists that will keep you gripping the edge of your seat! After Reagan disappears, the media, police, old friends, lovers come out of the woodwork, bringing up Allison & James' past and things they knew or didn't know. Dark things come to light while the search for their daughter continues and I was always trying to guess at who was doing what. My heart broke for Allison and James when their daughter vanished and all they discovered during her absence. I was totally surprised in the end. Completely unexpected! Very well written Addison Moore!
I'm still stunned by this entire book!! I was eagerly awaiting this release because it is a completely different genre for Addison Moore. But HOLY CRAP SHE NAILED IT!!! From one page to the next I couldn't put it down ! Confusion as to who and when events were happening! What an incredibly thrilling and suspenseful ride ! I was totally blindsided by the outcome. The story as a whole had me hook,line and sinker! Just WOW! This authors brilliant mind will leave you stunned.
It was going well until the explanation of Ota. Shouldn't the cops pick up on that one while searching about the girl? That twist was silly at best. The story was done well with flaws I could overlook. It got twist after twist after twist that at times, it's downright boring.
This book certainly held my attention. I could not stop until I got to the end. Be prepared for a ball of confusion. There are a few storylines going on which honestly I think there would be a number of stories in real life with a child’s disappearance. Everyone connected to the child has their life examined and who doesn’t have secrets or regrets? So yes it’s messy, like it is suppose to be. I was glued to my Kindle.
I love suspense/thriller books, and this one certainly hit the mark on being one. It kept me wondering up until the end about what was going to happen! Would definitely recommend it to my friends.
Well what a fantastic read this was and so different, I just ploughed through it it was such compulsive reading. Well written, brilliant story and characters so no hesitation in giving it 4+ stars and well recommended.
Wow, everyone in this book had some sort of problem. Too many affairs and demented people in this one book And throw in an Indian curse to boot. It was kind of interesting but was so over the top I found myself thinking how utterly ridiculous and even uttered "seriously " and " "unbelievable". It was a well written book , but just not my cup of tea
The story begins with the ending then dating back three months outlining the events that took place leading up that moment. When a married couple with a six year old daughter moved from LA to a small quiet town they thought it was safe to allow their daughter to play outside with the new neighbor. The story delves into the lives of multiple characters broadcasting their secrets, lies, and habits. The revelation of secrets is quite entertaining and not at all surprising with the nature of this story. Each character seemed to fall into place within this morbid tale. Nothing stays a secret when detectives begin probing into each of these individuals lives. With the focus primarily on family members, friends, and ex-lovers it was disconcerting for the sake of the missing girls.
There is an equal balance of humor and morbidity. The characters speak of death in a blasé attitude showing very little emotion. I laughed a few times when these characters spoke about death as if it was no big deal.
This story wasn’t anything like I expected. My preconceived ideas about these lost girls vanished after the media circus of events starting rolling in ex-lovers. The story focused on the parents more than the girls which was disappointing. The story got off track delving into mini topics and away from the investigation.
I would not classify this as thrilling. I’d venture to say it was twisted and somewhat weird with the morbid humor about death. The ending was anticlimactic and weird. I lost interest once the reason was announced. There once was a time back in 2014 when I couldn’t get enough of Addison Moore’s books. Since that time I’ve lost interest. I really hoped this book would bring me back around. Unfortunately, this book only further instilled that my interests have grown. Sadly, I skimmed through the entirety of this book because it was too weird.
I wasn’t expecting this type of outcome from this story in fact I didn’t find this thrilling in the sense of causing feelings of excitement. It was a flat delivery of facts, secrets, and lies. I was expecting a more detective driven story.
They're All Liars This psychological thriller is combined with elements of the paranormal and seriously dark humor. Make no mistake, this is not a comedy, and there's nothing really funny about the subject matter of two little girls disappearing and the parents being considered suspects. What happens in this story is horrific.
But the POVs of Allison and James (husband/wife, and the parents of missing Reagan) are sometimes starkly tongue-in-cheek. This creates a wonderful balance for the very bad circumstances going on in their family.
As the days since Reagan first went missing start piling up, the reader begins making some interesting discoveries. Secrets are being kept, relationships are being hidden, and a whole host of pretty crazy people seem to have some connection to the family. In fact, Allison and James spend a lot of time acting irrationally as well. If you're unable to suspend belief a bit, you may not be able to enjoy this story as there are definitely times when the characters' bizarre actions lead to very unlikely events. (Sorry--I don't really know how to phrase that better without spoilers). I found that I was able to go along for the ride without ripping the storyline apart for "improbable moments" simply because of that balance between thrills and dark humor. All readers may not feel that way.
This was a fun, crazy (seriously!), outrageous read that kept me going to the end.
This book is completely different from all of the other books of Addison Moore’s that I’ve read and whilst the cover completely draws you in, there’s not much that gives it away as to what this book is going to be all about. When I first started this book, I found myself struggling to get into the story, it just seemed that there was something lacking. However, as I got further into the book I found myself started to be more into the book, I was anxious to see what was going to happen. I have to say that Addison has taken a completely different approach than she normally does but in some ways it works pretty well for her. I’m intrigued to see if there is going to be a follow on book as it would be interesting to see what else happens and to find out if things carry on as normal.
Alison has pretty much everything you could ask for, a loving husband, a sweet little girl, a family. What else could she want… Or so she thinks, her life is completely changed for good after she gets a knock on the door from her neighbour who delivers some life shattering news, she can hardly believe what she is hearing, yet she can hardly believe that it’s not true. With her marriage on the line, her and her family move away to try and start a fresh, however not everything is as it seems in the small little place she’s moved to.
So like most real life cases when a child goes missing the first suspects are of course the ones closest. This story had me as a parent myself feeling the pain and worry of Allison as that would be any parents worse nightmare and I cried when emotions where running high. There so many scenarios that run through our heads in the space of seconds! Addison integrated this all beautifully into little girl lost. So many secrets come to light which just goes to prove they never good to have in the first place! This innocent little girl is pulled into it, but is there more than one evil out to change her life forever? How far would each of us go to try save our child? And is all as it seems? Enjoyed reading little girl lost, different from other books by Addison Moore, yet still pulling us in to try solve the mysteries that this book has to unfold. Crime not normally a genre I read much of but as could put\imagine myself in main character role. So makes relatable if think of yourself in that position and mind frame. I can say without a doubt would go to any lengths we need to for our children. Took a few chapters to get pulled into this book unlike others but once you start u won't stop just the same. Well done Addison 😊
Addison Moore , You're writing really amazes me beyond words. This particular book though is so beautiful in itself that one cannot understand until they read and let the book unfold itself in front of their eyes .
****We were good people, my husband and I. We had everything you could ask for—successful careers, a stunning home with the requisite, yet clichéd, white picket fence, a precious daughter to call our own. We had secrets, my husband and I. Not many, so few, all of them lethal.*****
Little Girl Lost is a story surrounding the mysterious disappearance of James and Allison's daughter Reagan and their new neighbourhood's girls Ota. The incident happens after they move to Concordia, Idaho from L.A; different secrets unveils that change the course of everyone's life .This book is so beautifully written and the depth of the book will shock you in a good way. Definitely different from the other books from the author BUT an AMAZING book nonetheless.
Allison just found out that her husband had been having an affair with her neighbors wife, Hailey. She detested Hailey since the first time they’d met, being told that she didn’t cook, James taking interest immediately. Now her husband, Faulk Oden, was at her door telling her about it, like she’d really wanted to hear it. When she confronted him, he took her to a therapist and swore to her that they’d never had sex, Hailey only jammed her tongue down his throat while cornering him in the kitchen at a barbecue. The nasty little woman!! Rather than continue dealing with her, he told Allison that they’d move, to another city. Their new home had been purchased via James’ father via videoconference in Idaho. Signing the dotted lines on their phones, and wiring money for the purchase and here they were. After a few hours of unpacking, Allison takes a break and goes out into the front yard, instantly spying a young girl the same age as her Reagan. She almost didn’t look human, seemingly to appear from nowhere. She introduced herself as Otaktay, but goes by Ota and she came to inquire about the little girl she saw. But when the day comes that James tells Allison to take a few hours for herself, she returns home to find out her child has gone missing. But what they don’t know is anything about little Ota...
I am still speechless after reading this book! Talk about putting a reader on the edge of their seat from the very first page! I was hooked from page one and constantly trying to figure out what was going on and who was doing what with all of the twists and turns throughout the story. My heart broke for Allison and James when their daughter vanished and no matter how much I thought I knew what was going to happen I was still surprised in the end.
I have been a fan of Addison's since the first time I picked up one of her books and this one did not disappoint. It still felt like her writing but with way more suspense and darkness. I wonderful addition to her library of creations for sure.
There are 2 types of books for me: mediocre books redeemed by fantastic endings and brilliant books with endings that disappoint me. This books was in the latter category. This fit the bill of being a psychological suspense, a story full of page after page of cray-cray, kept me guessing, and second guessing; kept me wanting more. Incredibly well paced, beautifully presented. Flawed characters I rooted for despite their transgressions. Everything is not as it seems, read between the lines, metaphors galore. But the ending disappointed me. I can appreciate the originality and creativity of the "big reveal" regarding Ota, and it certainly wasn't the usual formulaic 'culprit', but it wasn't my cup of tea; felt a bit like a cop-out. But overall I'd give the story a huge thumbs up.
This book is amazing read. Allison and her husband have normal marital problems. Yet they both have some very dark secrets.
One such lie has forced them to move back to James hometown. His father has found them a house. So they start their drive to move to their new home. When they arrive a little girl about the same age as Reagan their young daughter shows up and wants to play. This goes on most days. The one day Reagan gets permission from her dad o go to new new friends home. And that is the last time she is seen.
This story has so many twists and turns that there is truly an edge of your seat read! I couldn’t put this book down once I started and had a Ltd night of reading!
I knew Addison Moore could write humor, paranormal, and romance. This book proves she's masterful at the thriller scene too! I purchased the ebook version of this story on May 5th, and was so glad I didn't wait to get the paperback as I sat up through the night reading (which is easier to do with my kindle). Once I started, I couldn't put it down! The story is full of characters you can't help but feel some sort of connection to, the plot will keep you engaged, and the twists and turns will blow you away.
There's mystery, suspense, & drama galore. Little Lost Girl is a thrill-ride you don't want to miss!
Well, it was interesting. I found it to be an easy read, and I found myself sympathizing with Allison. James... not so much. I originally bought this because this author seems to be prolific and this one was in my sale email and it sounded interesting. It was, but there was a point when I looked up from my Kindle and said, "This book just took a turn for the weird." You have to be able to suspend some amount of scientific belief with this book, and I have to completely be in the mood for that, but I didn't mind it so much here (possibly because by the time it got odd, the book was over half finished). Not a bad read, but don't know that I'll be picking up this author any time soon.
A compelling read. You don’t know who to believe, James or Allison, or any one of their insane friends or relatives. There’s a wedge between husband and wife which only widens the gap between them. But when there six year old daughter doesn’t come home from a playdate, all the secrets and lies come out.The agony each feels over the disappearance forces each of them to come face to face with their demons, living and non-living. Ultimately this trial by fire burns away the wedge that divided them and melds them together in a true partnership. Be prepared for some crazy twists and turns!
I really wanted to like this one, but I couldn't wait for the audiobook to end. If it wasn't for the challenge I was reading it for, I'd have probably would've never even finished it.
The pace was extremely slow. It started off okay, but after about an hour, I started to lose interest. By the time the book actually ended, I was more relieved that I could move on to another book than anything. I do think the concept was interesting, I just didn't enjoy this attempt.
The characters were frustrating to say the least. They were shallow, and I couldn't connect with them nor really sympathize with them. If they had more depth, maybe it would've felt like finishing the book wasn't a chore, but as is, that's how I felt. I doubt I'll read more from the author in the future.
The t slur is also used once in this book. I personally didn't see how it added anything to the story other than making me dislike the character more. I thought I'd mention that as well in case it's triggering to anyone.
This isn't a typical Addison Moore rom-com book. I was a bit skeptical at first because suspense isn't my normal choice in books. I normally prefer rom-com and HEA. BUT I enjoyed this book very much. There are lots of twists and turns. Many layers and many red herrings. It keeps you guessing until the end. The ending surprised me a lot. Very well-written and well-plotted. I totally recommend it to all suspense book lovers. I am still waiting for the next paragon novel though!
What a strange read, but intriguing enough to keep me turning pages. That said, a few too many plot lines, several annoying characters, too much murder and mayhem, a downright crappy police investigation, several events which made no sense, and a strange sister behind bars, who may or may not have ‘arraigned ‘ unfortunate, nefarious deeds .
Not as good as some of the author’s other books. Will Ota forever torture Reagan and her family?
Addison Moore's psychological thriller, Little Girl Lost, is a fully engaged story that does not leave the reader second guessing their choice to read this novel. I have read numerous romantic comedies by this author and couldn't pass up to read one of her stories in a different genre/stance. I was not disappointed. This is a gripping story that is suspenseful and exciting. Great delivery from start to finish.
Addison Moore brings us a twisty, dark, psychological thriller with one heck of a twist!
I am a big fan of Addison Moore's books and I knew going in that this was going to be different, but I didn't expect this! I am still reeling from this book. It completely absorbed me. I couldn't stop reading. I had to know how it ended. Nothing is as it seems. The story twists and weaves page after page building suspensefully towards the biggest twist of all!
Alison and James leave the hustle and bustle of busy Los Angeles and move to the quaint town of Concordia in Idaho. They leave the lies and deceit. The escape the affairs and the fake existence of it all. Because deep down they are honest and genuine people. They need everyone to understand that they are good people. Good, until they no longer are.