Little Girl Lost

Georgiana Germaine #1

by Cheryl Bradshaw

For the past two years, former detective Georgiana "Gigi" Germaine has been living off the grid, until today, when she hears some disturbing news that shakes her. Georgiana's brother-in-law has been murdered, her seven-year-old niece kidnapped. As the hours waste away, Georgiana races back to a town she left behind, and a former life she's still not ready to face.

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

267 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 11, 2020

About the author

Cheryl Bradshaw is a New York Times and 11-time USA Today bestselling author writing in multiple genres, including mystery, thriller, romantic suspense, supernatural suspense, and poetry. She is a Shamus Award finalist for best private eye novel of the year, an eFestival of Words winner for best thriller, and has published over fifty books since 2011.

Raised in Southern California, she now lives in North Texas. When she's not writing, she loves jet-setting to new countries, exploring the outdoors, and playing with her grandbabies.

For a free eBook, click here: http://cherylbradshaw.com/get-a-free-...

Book series in order by Cheryl Bradshaw:

Georgiana Germaine (Mystery Series)

1. Little Girl Lost - USA Today Bestseller
2. Little Lost Secrets
3. Little Broken Things
4. Little White Lies
5. Little Tangled Webs
6. Little Shattered Dreams
7. Little Last Words
8. Little Buried Secrets
9. Little Stolen Memories
10. Little Empty Promises
11. Little Hidden Fears

Sloane Monroe Mystery/Thriller Series

0. Silent As the Grave (prequel to series)
1. Black Diamond Death
2. Murder in Mind
3. I Have a Secret
4. Stranger in Town - Shamus Award Finalist
5. Bed of Bones - USA Today Bestseller
6. Hush Now Baby - USA Today Bestseller
7. Gone Daddy Gone - USA Today Bestseller
8. Smoke and Mirrors - USA Today Bestseller

Sloane Monroe Stories - Mystery Novella Series
(with characters from the main series)

1. Deadly Sins: Sloth
2. Deadly Sins: Wrath
3. Deadly Sins: Lust
4. Deadly Sins: Greed
5. Deadly Sins: Envy
6. Deadly Sins: Pride

Sloane & Maddie Peril Awaits - Mystery Series
(Spinoff Series with Sloane Monroe & her sidekick Maddie)

1. The Silent Boy
2. The Shadow Children
3. The Broken Soul
4. The Widow Maker
5. The Familiar Stranger

Addison Lockhart Ghost Mystery Series

1. Grayson Manor Haunting
2. Rosecliff Manor Haunting
3. Blackthorn Manor Haunting
4. Belle Manor Haunting
5. Crawley Manor Haunting

Stand Alone Mystery/Thriller Novels

1. Eye for Revenge - USA Today Bestseller
2. The Perfect Lie
3. Hickory Dickory Dead - USA Today Bestseller
4. Roadkill - USA Today Bestseller

Reviews

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, quick-read mystery w a prickly MC & a lorryload of domestic drama

There are very good synopses on Amazon and Goodreads, so I’ll get to the review. I’m a crime fiction fan who bought this mystery after reading the sample, which features the protagonist having prescient dreams. Meh. There are no paranormal events, but there is a weird cat that forces the protagonist to pay attention to him—with dog-like persistence.

This is a plain-wrapper, murder mystery laden with domestic & personal drama, plus telenovela-worthy melodrama. About two years ago, protagonist Georgiana “Gigi” Germaine quit her detective job, but now her police chief stepdad convinces her to un-retire—to solve a murder-kidnapping case. Here’s the “unbelievable if IRL”: the missing child is her 7 yr-old niece, and the murdered man is Gigi’s brother-in-law.

Detective Germaine is a prickly, rude, impatient and sometimes violent hothead—who often does shoddy detective work. More, she has a temper, a history of violence, and no cop partner assigned to ride w her. She finds a clue, doesn’t investigate further, doesn’t think logically, but she races off to confront a suspect during his kids’ bedtime rituals. She also disturbs a crime scene—before calling for CSI.

Note that there are about fifty characters in this book of 212 pages, and new characters appear at 80% into the book. My favorite character: William “Willy” Shakespaw, a kleptomaniac cat (of no description), who brings home a metal money clip. No, it isn’t soft, furry or fuzzy; it’s not string, clothing or footwear, but cold, hard metal.

I liked the murder mystery-police procedural, although there are plot holes, coincidences, and some unbelievable events. I plan to read the next book to see if author Bradshaw allows her characters to grow and mature, including her forty-two yr-old protagonist.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kept Me Reading All Night

This was a great book! Georgina is a complex interesting and loveable character. I can't wait to start book two in this series. I woke up three hours ago and usually read to get back to sleep. In this case it didn't work. I couldn't quit reading! Its 7 am and I guess I'm going to start book two before I get up. That should tell you how good this book is. It's a must-read for mystery/thriller readers. Thanks Cheryl Bradford. I'll try to nap this afternoon!

[Erin]

Giveaway Win!

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Due to a personal tragedy, Gigi has been living in her RV out in the boonies for almost two years. Her father was a cop, she is on-leave detective, and her stepfather is chief of police. I guess that's what allows her to be off doing her own thing for so long. On the same night that Gigi had a psychic vision about a little girl running past, her stepfather comes to bring her home. Gigi's brother-in-law has been shot dead and her niece taken. Gigi hooks up her trailer and is outta there like a light to help her family.

Sometimes I think I like characters in books better than I like the plot. Just give me a flawed character to root for and I will every time. Gigi is brash, unafraid, and loyal to her family, even though she's been on the skids with some of them. She sometimes thinks with her heart and not her head. Perhaps not a good characteristic for a cop. Sometimes she makes rash decisions without considering the consequences. Also, not good. Many of the pieces of her background are revealed throughout the book.

The book was easy to read. Gigi is good at investigating. I don't think she would be allowed to be a part of this investigation because she is a family member, but it makes for a good story. She fires her gun a lot with no consequences but, once again, that adds action and helps the story. I see some story lines brought up with no resolution but that will probably occur in the coming books.

I appreciate winning a Kindle copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I hadn't heard of this author before but I would definitely read another book in this series.

[Lynda Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read a lot by this author and I'm very rarely let down. However, I did try with this new series but finally called it a day 39% in. So I gave it a fair crack but just couldn't get on board with Gigi's behaviour. She's a little TOO gung-ho for my liking and too much of a renegade, and I don't see her getting away with it in real life, I'm afraid.
She did that thing I always mention in her books, since she is the ONLY author that does it...writing "mmmm...kay" at the end of a sentence. I don't know anyone who speaks like that, but either the author does or she knows someone who does, since it's a phrase she always uses.
I spotted a missed speechmark but that was it for errors before I gave up on it. It just isn't REAL enough for me, unfortunately. I'll stick with Sloane, though I see in her latest book she's coupled up with someone else, so I hope that still works as well.

[Elizabeth Tropf · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible

I can’t believe how bad this book is. The protagonist is a police detective who is investigating the murder of her brother-in-law and kidnapping of her niece. She apprehends one suspect by deliberately running into him with her car. She threatens several people with her gun and shoots a couple of them. She casually disturbs crime scenes. In the meantime, there’s no sense of urgency about finding her missing niece. The child’s mother never expresses grief about her husband’s death or any other believable emotion. None of the characters are well-developed or even likable. I can’t believe I spent any time or money on this. I won’t be reading the rest of the series.

[Cheyenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book absolutely LOVED it. The twists the turns the OMG moments EVERYTHING

[Marg Siegler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by Cheryl Bradshaw...

This is the first book I have read by Cheryl Bradshaw and I am now a fan. The story was fast and well written. Even though the story happened in a few days, it was very fast action and kept me wondering until the near end when I realized who the killer was. I am off to find another mystery written by Cheryl Bradshaw.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

“All of us bear scars in some form or another.”

Such a great quote from this book, and absolutely true!

This was my first read from author, Cheryl Bradshaw. I love a good badass female detective and Georgiana Germaine definitely fits that mold. She’s fierce and doesn’t take crap from anyone, but she’s also flying by the seat of her pants and doesn’t care much for rules—which bugs me a bit.

Little Girl Lost is a face paced, quick read for a first in series and Bradshaw does a great job building suspense throughout the story.

That “aha” moment at the end didn’t hit as hard as I would’ve liked it to, though, and I found myself a bit detached from the characters at times. I had a hard time keeping them straight, but overall this was a good read.

And that cover—gorgeous!

[J.S. Peck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the book - the storyline and the characters. It was well written and kept me interested until the very end. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery.

[Erin Shuman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I normally don't read mystery books because they aren't on the top of my list of favorite genres but, THIS book was A+ material!...I will be reading more of Cheryl Bradshaw's books for sure!...she had me at the edge of my seat for most of the book and it was really hard to put it down at times!...Cheryl Bradshaw...if your reading this, kudos to you...you've just earned yourself a fan for life!...im so glad I won this as an ebook from Goodreads...I need to buy this and add it to my personal library!

[sharon kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Who wrote this book?No No No

I am truly sorry but this book is terrible. The characters are not fleshed out. I don't know what Miss Bradshaw was thinking.Their is not one redeeming thing about her heroin to enjoy. The plot is long and drawn out. When it finally concludes you are just glad it's finally over. Again I ask. who wrote this book.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Girl Lost gives us the first in a new series and what a opening start to the series it was. Gigi Germaine was a no nonsense heroine that did thing her way.

Gigi had tragedy strike her personal life and to deal with the grief she left her job as a detective and family and friends behind and went off grid living in her Airstream RV. She had no plans to return to normal life until her stepdad showed up and informed her her brother in law had been murdered and her niece taken.

Gigi wants to just find get into the investigation to finding her niece but since she's been off-grid from her family for 2 years she has to also deal with that in the process. Her family definitely has their fair share of personal drama which isn't Gigi's favorite thing to deal with. But she is ruthless in her pursuit to find out who murdered her BIL and find her niece. Even though the subject matter was dark the book itself had a perfect amount of humor blended into it.

This was a great start to a series I cant wait to get more of.

[Tony Duxbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story of a feisty woman detective who prefers to stay hidden away from the world. She's a woman with issues, which aren't explained, but she comes out of self-imposed exile when tragedy strikes her family. Every time an avenue of the investigation comes to a dead end, she finds a way around it. She discovers all sorts of secrets along the way. Impatient with the world and angry, she finally finds the culprit.

[💜Emmiebug.Reads💜 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this murder mystery. I liked the fast paced writing style and the short easy to read chapters. I also liked the twists and turns along the way and trying to piece together what happened alongside of the main protagonist. I feel like I want to read more in this series now! Would absolutely recommend this book to others!

[Leah Hines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent start to a new series that's full of intriguing characters. We have barely scratched the surface of the complex character that is Gigi and I can't wait to watch her develop. Giovanni was always one of my favorite characters in the Sloane Monroe series so I love seeing him in this book. It will be interesting to see how things go there considering his feelings for Sloane. The mystery here is full of twists. I was glued to the story. This book sets up a lot of intriguing plot points. I was completely immersed in the story and read it straight through. I can't wait for the next one!

[Fran Burdsall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely, twisty whodunit with great characters. I can see this will develop into a nice little series with a strong female detective. Not great literature, but you won't put it down until you get to the very end to find out who kidnapped GiGi's niece.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was okay. The detective seemed a little reckless and impulsive, which made the events seem a bit unrealistic. The mystery itself was intriguing at first, but as it unraveled, it took you on a wild goose chase. I think because of that, the reveal at the end didn’t feel that big.

[Sandra Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Detectives sister, had her husband killed and daughter kidnapped. The detective, started looking for her niece. She felt, if she found her, she would find her brother in law's killer.

[Macjest · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the police procedural activities in this book are all sorts of wrong, I was greatly entertained by the main character. Gigi has a dream/vision and finds that her niece really is missing. She jumps into the investigation and we get to watch her do a lot of things police officers aren’t allowed to do. It made me laugh, so there you go.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW what a story. Page turning fast read. Loved it

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cheryl Bradshaw did it again. Great book

[Bev · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt the anxiety and frustration that Gigi felt as she searches for the killer of her brother in law and whoever kidnapped her niece. I also understood her need to be alone after her problems with her personal life went straight to hell. Gigi is a police detective that doesn't play nicely. She is straight forward, doesn't like to 'beat around the bush' to get the answers she is seeking. There are also family issues in this story, not just hers but other persons also which complicates getting the answers she needs. Once I started this story I could not stop reading it till the end!!! Took me all night but I got it done. Family secrets are revealed, and perhaps some healing on everyone's part can start, especially Gigi. I loved this story and am eagerly waiting for the next installment. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author's attempts to make the book "gritty," succeeded in making it choppy--introducing and abandoning a thread seemingly on the same page. The main character, a former police detective (Gigi) not only returns to her hometown to investigate and solve a family tragedy but, despite her unstable history, is permitted to act without a partner, and exceed the bounds of good police work. The story hints at Gigi's personal tragedy and (seemingly) her inability to deal with it (or seek professional help to deal with it).
The book should have taken vitamins. Theories were weak and led the reader nowhere. Finally, almost at the end of the book, the real suspect surfaces with a back story never even hinted at.
It's sad when books have potential that isn't realized: sad for the reader and sad for the author who gets bad reviews and readers who have no interest in her subsequent books.

[Rachel Pilling · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was absolutely awful. The only reason I’m giving it one star is because the first few chapter grabbed my attention for what I thought was going to be a wild ride. The plot was all over the place with way too many characters and then ending didn’t do it for me either. It’s safe to say I won’t be reading the rest of the books in the series.

[rebecca O. webber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Author Cheryl Bradshaw started a new series featuring GiGi Germaine. GiGi has a lot of anger management issues. I will try the second book when it comes out to see if this character evolves at all. I finished the book and still had questions about her back story. It felt unfinished.

[Diane Duchene · Rating 1 out of 5]

It should have been renamed "Totally Disfunctional Family".

[Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Girl Lost sounded like a gritty detective story, the first in a new detective series. I do love a good mystery series, and I’m always on the lookout for a new main character to follow from case to case.
Georgiana “Gigi” Germaine is the star of this show, and she’s a likable enough character. She’s a bit broken although we don’t know exactly why in the beginning. Little tidbits here and there are enough for a reader to hazard a generalized guess, but we don’t get that information until the end. Georgiana is certainly flawed, and she doesn’t always play by the rules, but those things make for some of my most favorite heroes and heroines in these kinds of stories.
As for the case, it all started out with an edge of your seat scene. I’m always that way when a child is involved, and this one was quite well done and definitely gripping. Then the story slowed down and started losing me. I get that this is a new series, and a certain amount of introduction and description is necessary for setting the stage, but I prefer that to be done organically throughout the story. Here, we get a whole lot of information about characters and places but very little about the case. Georgiana does some investigating, but it kind of felt like she was getting nowhere to make time for all that extra information. We get plenty of chats with this person and that one where we learn lots of mundane things but very little to do with the case. It just felt like there should’ve been more urgency, especially with Georgiana looking for her own niece. A niece taken by her father’s murderer. Parts of the story seemed like there was a book before this one where things took place, particularly a college friend who could have been more or was more. I just found myself wanting to skim to get to a point when things would pick up.
Things do start to move at around the halfway mark, and the pace steadily speeds up as Georgiana follows one lead after another and moves from dangerous situation to more dangerous situation. Once the story builds some momentum, the author paints a tension filled picture of our detective and the clues leading to the killer and hopefully, young Lark alive and well.
So, for me, Little Girl Lost has a solid beginning, as in the very beginning when the murder happens, and it has a good second half. It’s the stuff in the middle that could’ve done with some tightening up. It’s not a bad book by any means, but it’s not without its issues, so I’ve come out somewhere in the fair to middlin range.

[Steve Franco · Rating 4 out of 5]

New Cheryl Bradshaw series - sort of…

As a fan of the Sloane Monroe books, I wanted to see what Cheryl Bradshaw’s new series with Detective Georgiana “Gigi” Germaine would be like. The setup: a doctor is murdered, his daughter’s been kidnapped - and his sister-in-law (a hardnosed police detective with an eye for vintage fashion and classic rides… and dealing with some major issues) is asked to work the case. Never mind that as a blood relative to the kidnapped girl, she shouldn’t be assigned to the case, but still.

At first, I could see some parallels between Sloane and Gigi; both are involved in law enforcement, both are friends with the medical examiners in their respective series, and both have pet dogs. But, it was when Georgiana flashes back to her college years - and the Italian college boyfriend whose sister was her roommate, is well spoken, and is coy about what his “family business” is - that I realized, “Wait, is this a Sloane Monroe spinoff series?” Sure enough… and yes, I haven’t said who the character in question is, but Sloane Monroe fans will recognize him (and yes, he’s just as charming here as he is in the other Sloane Monroe books he appeared in). I could understand why Ms. Bradshaw would return to this character - and seeing how previous reviewers have mentioned that Georgiana appeared rather briefly in the Sloane Monroe series, I’ll have to reread those early ones to see where she popped up… and to also see when this character left Park City and went to New York.

That said, Ms. Bradshaw’s outlines are just the same - prologue setting up the story, characters that you think are important that don’t turn out to be relevant, the reveal of the big bad in the third act, and the last chapter introducing an unrevealed part of the protagonist’s history. But, when the story is compelling (despite some typos), and reads smoothly, it’s still an entertaining and relatively quick read.

Can’t wait to see what Georgiana’s next case will be, and whether or not other characters from the Sloane Monroe universe will show up on the West Coast (fingers crossed for Maddie!)

[Yassemin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb debut to a crime series by Author Cheryl Bradshaw.

Set in the US, following Detective Georgiana Germaine who ends up back home and reprising her previous role as a Detective in a very personal case - the kidnapping of her niece and death of her brother in-law.

From the off, I got into this easily, effortlessly. The writing was spot on and extremely well paced and plotted, I have absolutely no criticisms of the writing at all.

The plot whilst not the most original was enjoyable enough and besides it has to be accepted that in this day and age, all kinds of crime plots, scenarios have more than likely already been written about so this wasn't an issue as such.

I really enjoyed the relationships that the author created between the protagonist and her family.
It's also nice to see for once a relatively normal female character that isn't portrayed as severely unstable, unreliable or damaged which in my opinion is overdone and not necessary.
Georgiana has a strength and tenacity in her that comes across very strongly and vividly and is the perfect portrayal of an American cop as I see it. Some of her actions are questionable and impulsive due to high emotion but in reality, we all know that true to real life, Police Officers can and do act impulsively sometimes and sometimes with tragic consequences, so, I don't think that some of her actions were a leap too far or unbelievable.

I do want to continue this series for sure. This initial book is free on Kindle at the moment so I would encourage people looking for a good debut to a potentially great series to give it a try.