Finding J. Hubbard - Second Edition

by Elizabeth L. Young

In "Finding J. Hubbard," amateur Black detective Zora Erickson reopens the cold case concerning the disappearance and presumed death of her old teaching friend, Jane Hubbard. Jane was swindled by a broker who feared her testimony, but there are plenty of other suspects who might have wished her dead. Zora collaborates with the detective who originally handled the case, and along the way they form a friendship. But suddenly Zora finds hew own life threatened by a persistent, anonymous enemy. She must take a daring trip to solve the mystery of Jane Hubbard.

274 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 24, 2020

About the author

Elizabeth Young has worked in the telecommunications and satellite industries since starting her career in radio in Washington, DC. After serving as President of the Public Service Satellite Consortium, she joined COMSAT as VP and General Manager of Aeronautical Services and after a brief retirement spent teaching and writing, she became a General Manager SITA, the international company providing communications services to the aeronautical industry. She lectures frequently and maintains a consulting practice that includes clients in the US, Europe and Australia. She has held teaching appointments at The American University, The Ohio State University, Emerson College and Christopher Newport University. Her doctoral degree is from Columbia University.

Reviews

[Teresa Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the main character in this story. Zora is intelligent, resourceful, loyal, determined, and just a bit stubborn, and I think because she's not much older than I am, she was very easy for me to relate to. She also gave me hope that being in my "golden years" didn't mean my life was over. Quite an inspirational main character.

The story here is a cold missing person case that Zora determines must be solved. There are twists, turns, and red herrings galore, which keep the reader on their toes and fully engaged in the storyline. Until they are jarred out of the story because of a lack of proofreading.

This would be a solid 5-star rating for me if it weren't for the editing or lack thereof. I can't tell you how many sentences I had to reread to determine, not what it said, but what it was supposed to say. That is so distracting for this particular reader. (I can be a bit OCD about typos.) Because of these simple to catch errors, the manuscript comes across as if the author didn't really care about the quality of her work. It seems as if she published the first draft without any proofreading at all. I think what's so frustrating for me is that these errors are not in the realm of obscure grammar; they are incidents where it appears the author's mind was working faster than her fingers and words were accidently repeated or left out. Simple things to fix that present a much more polished version of a manuscript than what is presented here.

I will be looking for the first book in the series and any subsequent books because I love the stories and the characters. I'll just have to try and not throw my Kindle in frustration when I come across all of the errors.

I received a review copy from BookSirens and I want to thank them and the author for the opportunity to read and review Finding J. Hubbard.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finding J. Hubbard by Elizabeth L. Young is about Zora Erickson, a widow who is now retired. The disappearance of a friend many years ago plays on her mind, no body was found. Determined to find out more, talks to her son, Detective Roy Erickson. From here the story evolves around Zora talking to people who were in Jane Hubbard's life. At times I was reminded of Agatha Christie's character, Miss Marple. People talked to Zora more than they did to police officers. If you like amateur sleuths or women sleuths you might enjoy this book. Gave the book 5 stars for the surprises along the way. Book was easy to read.

I received a copy of this book for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Marty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was a smooth running mystery about a a missing woman and the friend you tries to determine if she is still living after 12 years of silence. After many thin leads Zora flies to different locations to try and piece together what happened to Jane. While I noted some spelling/grammar errors the book moves along and has a nice twist at conclusion.

I did not care for the style of writing and found it a bit stilted but it was fine for a quick read.

[Patsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story and searching for clues along with the main character. I’m not sure how realistic it is for a retired woman to be taking a lot of the risks, or for her policeman son to allow and even help her efforts, but it was still a delightful read.

I’m deducting one star for the lack of editing, which made reading a bit difficult in several places - and most noticeably toward the end, where it seemed the author was just trying to meet a deadline.

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

[Carol Stefanik · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a mystery this was really quite good. 4 stars instead of 5 because I dont actually agree with the ending, but I love the characters and the careful progression of the plot. A few typos.

I would read more of this characters stories. Easy to read,and nicely believable. Hoping Pete and Zora have something moving forward. I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Leslie Tayloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put the book down! So well written. Very captivating! I'll be reading her other books.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from BookSirens and this is my voluntary honest review.
This book was well written. It was a quick pace, non-violent, clean mystery. It was an enjoyable relaxing read with an exciting ending. Read and enjoy every page.

[Sofe · Rating 5 out of 5]

EBook Review: FINDING J. HUBBARD by Elizabeth L. Young

(F) orgotten
( I ) nvestigation
(N) eeded
(D) on't
( I ) gnore

(J) ustify

(H) elp
(U) nderstand
(B) etter
(B) e
(A) ccurate
(R) estore
(D) ignity

FINDING J. Hubbard, it was important.
A good friend, is still missing.

Time to find, what happened.
Then a memorial, to honor her.

Discover much is, not what seems.
Looking more closely, making no assumptions.

Going to places, where need to.
So do we, carefully following along.

Is friend found, the case closed?
Just drop in, yourself find out!