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Ryan Strickland #1
The Lost Victim
A traumatized witness to a serial killer’s crimes is the only key to solving them in a gripping novel of psychological suspense.
After his sister disappeared, FBI consultant and psychologist Ryan Strickland spent years looking for answers in an investigation gone tragically cold. But in his work, Ryan has built a reputation for getting reluctant victims to speak. A witness has been found who can identify an elusive serial killer whose crimes reach back decades. However, Olivia, the silent and scarred young woman in Ryan’s care, isn’t telling all. Yet.
As a guarded trust develops between her and Ryan, Olivia agrees to return to the nightmare from which she fled—an isolated and abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of town. Any evidence could lead authorities one step closer to finding the killer…and help fill in the missing pieces of Ryan’s own past.
But no one is prepared for what they find or for the unspeakable truths revealed in Olivia’s darkest memories.
After his sister disappeared, FBI consultant and psychologist Ryan Strickland spent years looking for answers in an investigation gone tragically cold. But in his work, Ryan has built a reputation for getting reluctant victims to speak. A witness has been found who can identify an elusive serial killer whose crimes reach back decades. However, Olivia, the silent and scarred young woman in Ryan’s care, isn’t telling all. Yet.
As a guarded trust develops between her and Ryan, Olivia agrees to return to the nightmare from which she fled—an isolated and abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of town. Any evidence could lead authorities one step closer to finding the killer…and help fill in the missing pieces of Ryan’s own past.
But no one is prepared for what they find or for the unspeakable truths revealed in Olivia’s darkest memories.
295 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2023
2476 people are currently reading
6419 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 361 reviews
April 3, 2023
I struggled a bit to finish this one.
It's very grim and not so much mystery as psychological thriller or suspense story.
kidnapped girls and abused children. not a favorite subject. I like Ryan Strickland, the FBI consulting psychologists, though. He has a tough time also, for good reasons but sticks with it.
Bad people doing bad things and no one knows for years and years.
Ending drags as we struggle to grasp the immensity of the tragedy..
It's very grim and not so much mystery as psychological thriller or suspense story.
kidnapped girls and abused children. not a favorite subject. I like Ryan Strickland, the FBI consulting psychologists, though. He has a tough time also, for good reasons but sticks with it.
Bad people doing bad things and no one knows for years and years.
Ending drags as we struggle to grasp the immensity of the tragedy..
April 30, 2023
There was the potential for a good story here, but it’s buried under unrealistic dialogue and unbelievable plot points. Law enforcement finds the serial killer’s lair based on the flimsiest evidence. (You’re asking yourself, “Is that really enough evidence to justify a warrant?”) The main character, Ryan, must be excellent at playing charades because he can glean an enormous amount of detail and nuance from the witness’ gestures, sentence fragments and weird code words. Why she spoke that way was hard for me to understand even with the back story the author provided, and after a point, it became irritating. There are sections that are repetitive, as if the writer is stretching things out to meet a word count requirement. I started to put it down but was curious enough about the ending to muddle through. Not worth it.
April 11, 2023
Reads as if ChatGPT wrote it
Read
April 13, 2023DNF. Got as an Amazon First Read, but it became unrealistic and boring. Stopped reading.
April 13, 2023
poorly written book that drags on
For the first third of the book, the author just keeps on dragging on and on about Olivia’s abuse, and Ryan feeling sorry for her (and suffering through his own pain). There just seems to be no need for that level of redundancy. Also, the author explains everything that’s going on in Ryan’s head, once again over and over, even when it’s not necessary.
For the first third of the book, the author just keeps on dragging on and on about Olivia’s abuse, and Ryan feeling sorry for her (and suffering through his own pain). There just seems to be no need for that level of redundancy. Also, the author explains everything that’s going on in Ryan’s head, once again over and over, even when it’s not necessary.
April 8, 2023
Eh
The end was so boring. I was not the least bit invested in Strickland’s personal life. Dialogue was not natural.
The end was so boring. I was not the least bit invested in Strickland’s personal life. Dialogue was not natural.
April 3, 2023
I got this as a primer first reads. It was fascinating following the main character’s process and Olivia’s story was tough. I was super sad about how her part of the story ended.
I was a little confused around 2/3s through when the story seemed complete and kept going.
The author did a great job of making the grief of the characters real.
I’d read a follow up.
I was a little confused around 2/3s through when the story seemed complete and kept going.
The author did a great job of making the grief of the characters real.
I’d read a follow up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2023
Disgusting
Unless you enjoy violence against women, gore and the worst part of humanity, don't read this book. Disturbing and gross.
Unless you enjoy violence against women, gore and the worst part of humanity, don't read this book. Disturbing and gross.
April 29, 2023
I chose this as my Amazon First Reads pick and this book was tough to get through. The premise and unfolding of the story itself was good, but the writing style turned me off. All of the characters seemed to have the same basic speaking style and personality. It’s just not realistic that everyone encountered is articulate, insightful, intuitive, and so connected to their feelings. And for the trauma victims, so willing to share every detail so readily. I also could 100% have done without the super cringey love interest chapter along with the random benign slang terms that seemed out of place. Needless to say, I will not be reading the second installment of this series.
May 21, 2023
When I was half way through the book I thought there was some mistake, because it seemed like the end of a story that primarily took place in one room. After this seeming end of the story the author painstakingly dragged me through the emotions of the victims with no purpose. Not recommended by me.
March 23, 2024
I loved this book! Jennifer Ryan writes in a way that captivates me. This book reeled me in early, and I found myself unable to stop listening until the end. This was such a well written thriller to me. I felt as I was in the book going through these scenarios with the characters. The grief and emotions in this story were so palpable. Certain parts left my mouth hanging open. There were also twists that I did not predict.
This book was a page-turner. It was gripping. It was dark. It was intense. It was unpredictable. It was AMAZING! About two-thirds of the way through, I thought it was over, but there was more. So many more reveals! Highly recommend this one!
This book was a page-turner. It was gripping. It was dark. It was intense. It was unpredictable. It was AMAZING! About two-thirds of the way through, I thought it was over, but there was more. So many more reveals! Highly recommend this one!
April 9, 2023
Maria's two star review nailed the imperfections in this story. It started so well, but ended so poorly. And there were a few proofreading problems, such as using "track" for "tract" homes.
April 12, 2023
Did not like the writing style of this book, and story was all over the place and messy.
December 6, 2024
Not much to say. I agree with other reviews that this was written like chatgpt. Very robotic and stiff. Also, the unrealistic nature of some of the scenes. Terrifying. This reads like someone watched an episode of 48hrs and wanted to write a slice of life story following a psychologist interviewing a witness. Basically what it was. No mystery, no thrills.
Read through Amazon prime.
Read through Amazon prime.
August 1, 2024
I cried because of how repetitive it is. Also because it was sad, but mostly repetitive, rarely sad, chapterly repetitive.
July 3, 2023
4.5 ⭐️- good, quick thriller!
August 17, 2023
Gets better with time
It took a bit for the book to grow on me but it did and took a turn I did NOT see coming. After that I was eager to keep reading.
It took a bit for the book to grow on me but it did and took a turn I did NOT see coming. After that I was eager to keep reading.
May 25, 2023
Don't waste your time. This story was very slow moving, and did not have a very good plot. I assume it was supposed to be a tear jerker, but in the end, I was a jerk for finishing it.
May 10, 2023
Read this book if you want to torture yourself.
April 26, 2023
No suspense or urgency
*Spoiler Alert*
The book is well-written without many typos or glaring grammatical errors, but the entire story is essentially one long denouement.
The author reveals almost immediately that the killer is dead, along with all his victims. There is no sense of urgency to this book because there is no killer to catch and no victim to be saved.
*Spoiler Alert*
The book is well-written without many typos or glaring grammatical errors, but the entire story is essentially one long denouement.
The author reveals almost immediately that the killer is dead, along with all his victims. There is no sense of urgency to this book because there is no killer to catch and no victim to be saved.
Want to read
March 26, 2025The Lost Victim released on the 1st May, 2023!
— ★ psychological thriller, trauma, silent witness ★ —
thank you so much to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for a free e-ARC in exchange for my review.
— ★ psychological thriller, trauma, silent witness ★ —
thank you so much to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for a free e-ARC in exchange for my review.
May 1, 2023
DNF. This book is just too grim and depressing. I made it through 70%, and then gave up on it.
June 8, 2023
this book was so bad but I promised myself I would finish every book I started this year
June 4, 2023
Just when you think you’re at the end.. there’s more (much more). This novel follows psychologist Ryan as he tries to help solve a serial killer case that’s been happening for years by trying to build a rapport with a victim that was able to escape. Olivia has been held captive, abused both mentally and physically, tortured, and she has a wall up that only Ryan can break through. But as professional as Ryan is, this case is personal, his sister is missing and was believed to be one of the victims. This novel is a dark race against the clock to find the answers from the most fragile of victims. Full of twists and blind blowing and tragic discoveries - I couldn’t put it down. Thank you @netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC edition of this novel.
June 16, 2023
Just when you think you’re at the end.. there’s more (much more). This novel follows psychologist Ryan as he tries to help solve a serial killer case that’s been happening for years by trying to build a rapport with a victim that was able to escape. Olivia has been held captive, abused both mentally and physically, tortured, and she has a wall up that only Ryan can break through. But as professional as Ryan is, this case is personal, his sister is missing and was believed to be one of the victims. This novel is a dark race against the clock to find the answers from the most fragile of victims. Full of twists and blind blowing and tragic discoveries - I couldn’t put it down. Thank you @netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC edition of this novel.
May 30, 2023
Captivating and Enjoyable
I didn’t have any expectations going into this book but I found myself not being able to put it down at times. My only negative remark I can say is that it felt a bit repetitive when it comes to descriptions. I think it tied up all its major story lines nicely and had a decent pace. Overall, I really enjoyed and would love to read more books following Ryan Strickland.
I didn’t have any expectations going into this book but I found myself not being able to put it down at times. My only negative remark I can say is that it felt a bit repetitive when it comes to descriptions. I think it tied up all its major story lines nicely and had a decent pace. Overall, I really enjoyed and would love to read more books following Ryan Strickland.
June 24, 2024
This book kept me involved until the last page. The characters are intriguing and engaging. I didn't see the twists and turns coming though they all made sense within the story.
I look forward to additional stories by this author.
I look forward to additional stories by this author.
July 7, 2023
Just okay. It keeps your interest and is a quick read, but as far as being a thriller- it doesn’t really have a lot of mystery. Every twist is easily seen way before the main character sees it and so it’s just set up very predictably. The subject matter is definitely twisted.
November 5, 2023
A surprisingly good read, found myself really caring for Ryan, I really liked how his character tried so much to do everything right for Olivia. I am looking forward to the second book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 361 reviews