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Lost Gorge Mystery #1
Death in the Desert
"I had the whodunit figured out six different times. All of which were wrong."--Ron, Goodreads Reviewer
When Keenley Davis goes missing, the small town of Lost Gorge unites to find her. But one among them doesn't intend for her to come home alive.
Twenty-year-old Keenley was supposed to be home by dinner, but darkness descends with no sign of her. Maybe her bike broke down; maybe she fell and is injured.
Everyone figures she'll turn up at dawn, if a little worse for wear. But dawn turns into day and a day turns into another. When it becomes painfully apparent she didn't go missing on her own, suspicions abound in the small town.
Her parents know their daughter and her survival skills. If there was a way for her to get home on her own, she would.
The sheriff knows the town and its many secrets. Plenty of folks in this remote region have pasts to hide.
Keen knows whoever attacked her and left her for dead in the wilderness won't let her come out alive.
Who will find her first?
"Oh my goodness! So many twists and turns! My stomach was in knots from the first chapter to the end. Excellent!"--Bibliophile, Goodreads Reviewer
When Keenley Davis goes missing, the small town of Lost Gorge unites to find her. But one among them doesn't intend for her to come home alive.
Twenty-year-old Keenley was supposed to be home by dinner, but darkness descends with no sign of her. Maybe her bike broke down; maybe she fell and is injured.
Everyone figures she'll turn up at dawn, if a little worse for wear. But dawn turns into day and a day turns into another. When it becomes painfully apparent she didn't go missing on her own, suspicions abound in the small town.
Her parents know their daughter and her survival skills. If there was a way for her to get home on her own, she would.
The sheriff knows the town and its many secrets. Plenty of folks in this remote region have pasts to hide.
Keen knows whoever attacked her and left her for dead in the wilderness won't let her come out alive.
Who will find her first?
"Oh my goodness! So many twists and turns! My stomach was in knots from the first chapter to the end. Excellent!"--Bibliophile, Goodreads Reviewer
299 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 23, 2017
166 people are currently reading
1022 people want to read
About the author
M.K. Dymock
6 books172 followersAlso Known as Lee Dawson.
Melissa is an analyst by day, writer by night, and ski instructor/triathlete by weekend. All of that makes her sound way more awesome than she is, but that's the point. Many of her stories include outdoor adventure since that's where her best ideas come from. Follow her own adventures at weekendwomanwarrior.com.
Melissa is an analyst by day, writer by night, and ski instructor/triathlete by weekend. All of that makes her sound way more awesome than she is, but that's the point. Many of her stories include outdoor adventure since that's where her best ideas come from. Follow her own adventures at weekendwomanwarrior.com.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
May 20, 2021
🤯🤯🤯
I stumbled upon this novel by chance on Goodreads and synopsis was interesting enough to give it a try.
And WOW!!!
Novel focused on how Keenly was surviving in mountains all alone, running from a kidnapper that hunted her at every given moment. That part was a bit slow but important.
There were other POVs to make readers understand how town was working/reacting to a girl lost on a hiking trail. I wasn't so sure about how and why that was necessary until the end, when the big revelation happened.
And Boom!!! It was all chaos after that. Ending was crazy and I didn't even see it coming.
I stumbled upon this novel by chance on Goodreads and synopsis was interesting enough to give it a try.
And WOW!!!
Novel focused on how Keenly was surviving in mountains all alone, running from a kidnapper that hunted her at every given moment. That part was a bit slow but important.
There were other POVs to make readers understand how town was working/reacting to a girl lost on a hiking trail. I wasn't so sure about how and why that was necessary until the end, when the big revelation happened.
And Boom!!! It was all chaos after that. Ending was crazy and I didn't even see it coming.
September 30, 2020
Not a moment of disappointment
I love stories that suck you in and keep you guessing. This story was exactly that for me. While I was heartbroken by the ending it is definitely a book I would read again.
I love stories that suck you in and keep you guessing. This story was exactly that for me. While I was heartbroken by the ending it is definitely a book I would read again.
April 5, 2021
Hard to put down
This book had me hooked in the first chapter and it kept my interest until the very end. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.
This book had me hooked in the first chapter and it kept my interest until the very end. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.
September 20, 2020
WOW !! what a book ... another first read from and author .. I am not into mysteries and such but from the get go this bok draws you in ... this is a book you can't put down until the mystery is solved. Keenly (Keen) goes mountain biking in the mountains near her home. She has had a recent break up from her BF so she is trying to do a harder run than she should and ends up in a tumble... some guy flys by but quickly stops to see if she needs assistance but she give him a cold shoulder and snubs the guy so he quickly leaves her stranded.... so she eventually make it down the mtn and is heading home but realizes she has a flat ... what else can go wrong ..Right??? the guy she snubbed comes by and again offers help but she notices a big guy in his vehicle so she declines help again.... she makes a few calls on her phone but with shoddy cell service .... well you get the idea .... but then all of a sudden she is attacked and her world goes dark she awakes and realizes she is being taken somewhere and knows she has to escape so when the car stops.... well she gets away on foot. then we as the reader goes on a journey of what she has to endure to stay alive for the week before being rescued is the least of her worries .... but the wild ride of when she figures out who attacked her and why. I never once would have thought ... "who done it " This author did amazingly wonderful .....I highly recommend this book.
November 20, 2022
kept me reading
20 year old Keenley was kidnapped but escaped. Good thing she was raised by parents who taught her outdoor skills. Who kidnapped her? How are the townspeople involved? Or are they? Kept me reading when I should have been doing other things.
20 year old Keenley was kidnapped but escaped. Good thing she was raised by parents who taught her outdoor skills. Who kidnapped her? How are the townspeople involved? Or are they? Kept me reading when I should have been doing other things.
January 27, 2021
Good Mystery
The book kept me guessing. A good mystery in my opinion. I enjoyed reading the book. It was not a novella for a change.
The book kept me guessing. A good mystery in my opinion. I enjoyed reading the book. It was not a novella for a change.
March 3, 2022
I thought this was a surprisingly good read. KU book that I found and I will be bingeing the rest of the series. I love when I stumble across a good book
December 8, 2022
Did not see that coming.
A cast of characters, all of which are somewhat flawed, some very flawed. I had the whodunit figured out six different times. All of which were wrong. A true mystery very well written.
A cast of characters, all of which are somewhat flawed, some very flawed. I had the whodunit figured out six different times. All of which were wrong. A true mystery very well written.
October 17, 2022
this was a great start to the Lost Gorge Mysteries series, the plot does what I was hoping for. It had a great mystery going on and I enjoyed trying to solve it. It was well written and I loved the way Lee Dawson wrote this. I look forward to reading more from this series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
December 12, 2022
This was a Goodreads Giveaway win. I enjoyed it. The suspense was well done so it kept me interested. I thought I had guessed the ending but I was wrong.
September 29, 2023
A young woman learns that secrets can be deadly even in her small hometown. Keenly goes for a bike ride and doesn't return. Pursued by a relentless hunter she must reach deep within herself to survive. But there are somethings even people close to her will kill for.
This is a fast-paced interesting book. I did not really care for Keenly, starting with her name. Keenly? Really. Her lack of self-esteem in the boyfriend arena was just annoying and irritating. There are too many characters and they get confusing. Still a worthwhile, entertaining read.
This is a fast-paced interesting book. I did not really care for Keenly, starting with her name. Keenly? Really. Her lack of self-esteem in the boyfriend arena was just annoying and irritating. There are too many characters and they get confusing. Still a worthwhile, entertaining read.
December 4, 2017
Great suspense
If you enjoy reading a book you can't put down until the mystery is solved then this is the book for you. Keen goes mountain biking in the mountains near her home. She is attacked but gets away on foot. What she has to endure to stay alive for a week before being rescued is the least of her worries when she figures out who attacked her and why. I highly recommend this book.
If you enjoy reading a book you can't put down until the mystery is solved then this is the book for you. Keen goes mountain biking in the mountains near her home. She is attacked but gets away on foot. What she has to endure to stay alive for a week before being rescued is the least of her worries when she figures out who attacked her and why. I highly recommend this book.
October 1, 2023
Excellent. A great story line and characters that jump out at you. A surprise at the end of the book. This was the best twist at the end that I have read in a very long time. All I can say is that this book keeps you on the edge of your seat. I think this would make a good movie or tv program. It has it all to make a great story.
September 27, 2018
One Among Them
Oh my goodness! So many twists and turns! My stomach was in knots from the first chapter to the end. Excellent!
Oh my goodness! So many twists and turns! My stomach was in knots from the first chapter to the end. Excellent!
July 4, 2020
This is book one of the Lost Gorge Mystery series and involves the case of a missing young woman, resident in the small town of Lost Gorge. Her name is Keen (Keeley) Dawson and she had gone out for a bike ride on a mountain trail, after her ex-boyfriend blew her off and she got upset. She left her family store that afternoon and was supposed to be back by dinner, but never arrived. She is her parents only child and her mother in particular, has always worried excessively if she was ever out of her sight and basically moddle-coddled her from birth! She is not the sort of daughter that would leave her mother or father to be worried about her, helping out at their family store all the time, but now packing and leaving for college the next day. Only she doesn’t make it home.
Sol Chapa, a specialist at Search and Rescue (SAR), is called in at midnight, before even the sheriff is called, as he is a close family friend. He sets off to search the easy bike trails, keeping any other searchers to leave him to track the trails for any signs of her. Everyone presumes that she maybe had a fall off her bike or some sort of bike problem, but the truth is far worse than that. Someone has knocked her out, taken her and driven much further away. They want to kill her, but luckily she comes to, before they stop eventually. She uses something she carries all the time when out on the trials, to temporarily surprise her abductor and runs for the trees. All she has to do now, is to survive long enough to get home, if she can find her way.
She’s lost, far from home and someone is trying to hunt her down, wanting to ensure she doesn’t make it home alive. It’s no accident that they came after her! Keen escapes into the wilds, but the person coming after her has set up some traps for her, leaving them enough time to be seen about town and as part of the search effort. Keen has enough training to survive in normal conditions, but she is in bike gear and bike shoes, with no survival rations and no way of knowing which way would be the safest one to follow. The search effort ramps up and a body is found, but this just throws the search into a tizzy, with a sheriff unable to even trust his own searcher.
There is a huge secret being kept by some in town and also other people who make good suspects for Keen’s abduction. One such suspect will be key to an actual discovery about both matters, but will place himself in danger following this up. Strange bedfellows will be uncovered and even stranger friendships will slowly blossom. Another great book in this series, with a missing person to start the mystery off, but then so much more added in to the mix. Just as you think you know who might be behind the abduction, another twist is added to the mix. Having read a couple of the other books in this series, out of order obviously as this is book one, each lends themselves to being read as standalone books, but following the series in order, will allow for some of the characters backstories to be followed. Very realistic storylines with a good dose of mystery and thrills. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
Sol Chapa, a specialist at Search and Rescue (SAR), is called in at midnight, before even the sheriff is called, as he is a close family friend. He sets off to search the easy bike trails, keeping any other searchers to leave him to track the trails for any signs of her. Everyone presumes that she maybe had a fall off her bike or some sort of bike problem, but the truth is far worse than that. Someone has knocked her out, taken her and driven much further away. They want to kill her, but luckily she comes to, before they stop eventually. She uses something she carries all the time when out on the trials, to temporarily surprise her abductor and runs for the trees. All she has to do now, is to survive long enough to get home, if she can find her way.
She’s lost, far from home and someone is trying to hunt her down, wanting to ensure she doesn’t make it home alive. It’s no accident that they came after her! Keen escapes into the wilds, but the person coming after her has set up some traps for her, leaving them enough time to be seen about town and as part of the search effort. Keen has enough training to survive in normal conditions, but she is in bike gear and bike shoes, with no survival rations and no way of knowing which way would be the safest one to follow. The search effort ramps up and a body is found, but this just throws the search into a tizzy, with a sheriff unable to even trust his own searcher.
There is a huge secret being kept by some in town and also other people who make good suspects for Keen’s abduction. One such suspect will be key to an actual discovery about both matters, but will place himself in danger following this up. Strange bedfellows will be uncovered and even stranger friendships will slowly blossom. Another great book in this series, with a missing person to start the mystery off, but then so much more added in to the mix. Just as you think you know who might be behind the abduction, another twist is added to the mix. Having read a couple of the other books in this series, out of order obviously as this is book one, each lends themselves to being read as standalone books, but following the series in order, will allow for some of the characters backstories to be followed. Very realistic storylines with a good dose of mystery and thrills. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
May 23, 2023
I was totally sucked in to the beginning of the book--both Keenly's situation/struggle to survive and the desperate search by her parents and the town. The suspense was extremely well done, and I was wracking my brain to try to figure out who was responsible. There were some crude references I didn't like, but things I could overlook, and then I ran into profanity, which is a line I've set for myself in fiction, and I had to put it down.
However, I decided to glance at the end to see who the bad guy ended up being, and I'm now afraid I would have ended up with the same rating even if I had finished. The story took some extremely dark turns and went down paths I didn't like at all and ended up leaving a really sour taste in my mouth, even just skimming portions of it. As intrigued as I was at the beginning, I'm afraid I can't recommend the book at all.
However, I decided to glance at the end to see who the bad guy ended up being, and I'm now afraid I would have ended up with the same rating even if I had finished. The story took some extremely dark turns and went down paths I didn't like at all and ended up leaving a really sour taste in my mouth, even just skimming portions of it. As intrigued as I was at the beginning, I'm afraid I can't recommend the book at all.
November 5, 2022
Keenley Davis decided to go bike riding on a trail she usually didn't go on. But she never expected to have a flat tire and then get kidnapped, escape and try to find her way home. The whole town is looking for her, but are they looking in the right spot? As the days go by without finding her, things get found out that wasn't supposed to. Does she make it back? An interesting story. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.
May 26, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. It’s a well written suspenseful thriller that had me on the edge of my seat. The characters are well written as well. The storyline holds your interest from start to finish. I would recommend reading.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
March 7, 2022
I got this book for free and was very surprised at just how muchI loved it. It had a bit of everything—-wilderness, survival, rescue, young romance, a mystery, bad guys, tragedy and a good ending. Our heroine was trying to find herself and assert her independence from her parents. She manages to do this by surviving family friend with murderous intentions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2023
Unexpected good read. Just looking for something new to read after finishing a couple really good books, first the title intrigued me, then read a sample and couldn’t put it down. A relatively simple-seeming plot during the first part blossomed out to a surprisingly complicated one in the second half. I will try the next book.
January 3, 2018
Page turner!
I couldn't stop reading this book. I started it on a road trip and couldn't wait to pick it back up after my driving shift. The story was written in a real way and there was enough suspense to keep me wondering what was next.
I couldn't stop reading this book. I started it on a road trip and couldn't wait to pick it back up after my driving shift. The story was written in a real way and there was enough suspense to keep me wondering what was next.
November 16, 2020
Unexpected story.
This is a possible event. Any place has good and bad people but sometimes the ones you expect to be bad for you are the ones who will be there when you need them most!
This is a possible event. Any place has good and bad people but sometimes the ones you expect to be bad for you are the ones who will be there when you need them most!
January 6, 2026
Death in the Desert.
I think the story got too dragged out ani then too many happenings that really didn't fit together. And too many people that turned out bad. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
I think the story got too dragged out ani then too many happenings that really didn't fit together. And too many people that turned out bad. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
October 28, 2017
Lost
Lost in the desert or lost in greed both are equally unfortunate. Hopefully you find your way without hurting others.
Lost in the desert or lost in greed both are equally unfortunate. Hopefully you find your way without hurting others.
October 6, 2020
What a story! What a harrowing experience! I found it hard to put the book down once I started reading. I wanted to see what would happen to Keenley and was shocked after all the twists and turns to learn “who done it”. You won’t regret reading this Lost Gorge Mystery.
October 20, 2020
It is very rare for me to give a book 5 stars. This mystery kept my attention and definitely kept me guessing. No sex scenes or crude language, I will definitely follow this author.
October 19, 2021
Interesting plot with plenty of strong characters, including Keen.
Enjoyable read - good plot development and suitable ending.
Enjoyable read - good plot development and suitable ending.
October 14, 2020
It isn't often that a mystery suspense novel surprises me...but this one did.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews