3.75 stars--NAMELESS GIRL aka WHEN SHE LEFT is the second instalment in Kate Gable’s contemporary, adult DETECTIVE CHARLOTTE PIERCE LAST BREATH mystery suspense series focusing on Mesquite County Detective Charlotte Pierce.
NOTE: The series name has changed a couple of times; book two NAMELESS GIRL was original titled WHEN SHE LEFT, and continues to be so at several outlets- there may be some confusion for readers
Told from three first person perspectives (Charlotte, Franny, Madison) following several intersecting and separate paths NAMELESS GIRL focuses on the search for a missing nineteen year old young woman. Sixteen year old, Franny Dillard hasn’t seen her nineteen year old sister Madison in close to three weeks, and her parents appear unconcerned about their daughter’s whereabouts. In an effort to locate her sister, Franny speaks to Detective Charlotte Pierce, in the hopes the police will search for the truth but hours later, Franny arrives home to discover her parents have been murdered, and the mystery begins to spiral out of control.
Meanwhile, Charlotte has been invited to her grade eight reunion, a reunion that forces Charlotte and her friends to revisit the past when one of their own vanished without a trace.
Detective Charlotte Pierce and her partner Detective Will Torch had no idea a missing persons case would devolve so quickly but as the detectives begin a search for the truth, not all is well in Mesquite County, California as money laundering, fraud, murder for hire, extortion, arson and the Mob all coalesce into a mystery of who, what and why. As Charlotte and Will commiserate over dinner and drinks, Charlotte will be introduced to former police officer turned firefighter Dylan Ferreira.
NAMELESS GIRL is an intriguing story of suspense and mystery, murder and manipulation, secrets and lies. The premise is engaging, suspenseful and twisted; the characters are animated and passionate. If you are a fan of the author’s Detective Caitlyn Carr series, you will recognize many similarities and themes