ARC from NET GALLEY

Once again (I have read many of his) Mofina, is MO-FUN!

Terrifying premise of losing a child on a trip and not exactly sure where are the trip and then as usual he keeps your suspicions snaking to multiple characters. Another GREAT standalone for thriller fans like me.

A family that is relocating from San Diego to Pittsburgh stops at a mega service station near Las Vegas with their RV. After a 20 minute break they leave and it is only some time later that they realize that their teen daughter Riley has been left behind. By making a u-turn to return to the service station, they get into an accident. This is the start of a frenetic search for Riley and for the truth.

Let me start by saying that the story would make a very good movie. It is action packed, fast paced with twists and turns all the way through. However, there would be a high need of A class actors to pull it off, as the characters that are depicted in the book are cardboard with little to go on as to their inner workings. Mainly the only voice is that of Grace, Riley's mom and she is - understandably - hysterical, so that sense of alarm is something that carries all through the book.

The twists and turns are many but predictable, as of course the police will search for a pedophile, and maybe she has been kidnapped for trafficking or it is related to drug smuggling. All these lines of inquiry are thoroughly investigated and make out a large portion of the story.

I also found that there were too many characters, to a point that every police officer, security agent, FBI or Missing person unit agent were classified as "authorities" in my mind, not paying attention to the name or function. Same for all the friends and neighbors, same for all the journalists and reporters. This approach worked just fine and allowed me to get into the story without having to memorize dozens of names.

Another thing that irked me were the religious references. Everyone was "praying to God", "Keeping the Faith", and "feeling so Blessed". At some point, it was so abundant I thought it might lead to a new lead: "Kidnapped by mysterious cult". But the biggest let-down was the end, where everything was explained in the last two pages, just in case we - the reader - wouldn't have understood.

So all in all, a good read if you are on a beach and you want something easy and you crave a good fast paced story, without expecting too much.

A sincere thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC.

This was not the typical missing girl book, as there were so many family secrets and twists revealed throughout. I had to read this in one sitting because I had to know how it ended. Great writing!

*Thank you to NetGalley, Rick Mofina and Jaffe Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Search for Her by Rick Mofina catches the reader from the very first page with unique prose, interesting characters, and quick action.

Grace Jarrett and John Marshall are moving across the country with Grace’s 14-year-old daughter, Riley, and John’s 17-year-old son, Blake. Theirs is a blended family, both having lost spouses in tragic accidents five years ago. John has accepted a better-paying job in Pittsburgh and is moving the family from San Diego. But what represents a new start for the family has Riley angry and upset, forced to say goodbye to her friends and break up with her much older boyfriend, Caleb. Blake, at seventeen, seems indifferent. But their trip starts off with arguing as Grace confiscates both teens’ phones so they can look at scenery.

The Silver Sagebrush is a huge truck stop, with a casino, hotels, restaurants, and shops. Thousands go in and out by the hour. When the family stops there to use the bathrooms, Grace allows Riley to keep sleeping, leaving a note as the family goes inside. When they return to the RV, they ask Blake to check on Riley, which he doesn’t do but assures Grace she is fine. When Grace checks on her after they have driven about an hour, she realizes Riley is not there. Chaos ensues.

As John frantically tries to find a place to turn the RV around, Grace frantically calls the Silver Sagebrush to have Riley paged. Unfortunately, an irate driver, cut off by the huge RV, tries to get in front of them and it forces them off the road into a terrible accident which totals the rental vehicle. The fast pace of this mystery leaves the reader wanting more, as secrets reveal themselves and red herrings appear.

Search for Her is both a mystery, as it draws the reader into the secrets this family holds while searching frantically for Riley. The constant action and introduction of new characters and new twists kept this reader on her seat, finishing the novel in one day. As the Silver Sagebrush is one of the largest rest stops in the country, the investigators know that anything could have happened to Riley, including kidnapping, trafficking, or murder. From the very beginning, the family is suspect, and it leads the reader to believe they may be involved in her disappearance.

Search for Her is fantastic. Sure, all the characters are well developed and interesting, but really it is the non-stop action that makes this book unputdownable.

Previously posted at https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/search-for-her/

This one thing that a mother doesn't want to happens, happens to Grace. Her teenager daughter, Riley is missing. All it took was one stop at a gas station and she was gone. Now Grace will face the second hardest time in her life but can she find her through all the lies from others. From even her own family... Search For Her is one that you will read in one day because you wont be able to sleep with not knowing what happened to Riley. Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin for the advance read.

At the start of a family’s cross country journey, their fourteen year daughter, Riley, goes missing at a busy truck stop. What follows is a police investigation into a troubled family and a race against time to find her. Every minute counts when a young girl is missing.
Another great, faced paced thriller from Rick Mofina. Although the characters were quite aggravating and made so many poor decisions, the author kept me guessing with all of the twists and turns. I was not expecting that ending!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

I’ve read some of this author’s other books and was pleased to be approved for his latest one. I really enjoyed this book, it started off very well and quickly became a thrilling, fast paced read. The story is told through the different characters which I loved and who all had their own secrets. I liked most of the characters, especially the two main detectives and correctly guessed who was behind Riley’s disappearance. I thought this was a very well written, engaging story with many twists and it had my attention all the way through. A great read.

I am quickly becoming a Rick Mofina fan!! Search for Her kept me guessing as to who was the villain right to the very end. Lots of twists and turns, lots of family drama. Some of it may have been a little overboard, but who knows, all families have drama. I enjoyed it and definitely recommend it.

A tense and taut thriller that brings to shocking life every parent’s worst nightmare, Rick Mofina’s Search for Her is a highly charged chiller that will take your breath away.

Grace and her husband John are moving across the country to start a brand new life with their blended family. The last couple of years have not been easy for either of them as both have experienced their fair share of loss, heartache and tragedy, but this move represents a second chance and an opportunity to leave the past behind to make new memories as a family. Having packed up their lives – despite their children’s reluctance – Grace and John and the kids start the long journey to their new home. Stopping at a truck stop for a break, Grace and John leave daughter Riley in their rented van for a couple of minutes while they freshen up – only when they get back to their van for the second leg of their journey, they get the shock of their lives as Riley is nowhere to be found…

Where has Riley gone? She had made it very clear that she didn’t want to move across the country and leave her friends behind. Could she have made her way back to their old town? Did she hitchhike her way back home? Or is there something far more sinister and terrifying going on here? Grace and John are desperate for answers and they vow to leave no stone unturned until they find their daughter safe and sound. But is Riley lost to them forever? Will all their frantic searches for their daughter prove groundless? Will Grace and John find Riley? And who is responsible for her disappearance? A perfect stranger? Or someone who is very close to home?

Rick Mofina’s Search For Her is a fantastic page-turner guaranteed to send shiver after shiver racing down your spine. A talented writer who certainly knows how to keep his readers glued to the pages of his books, in Search For Her Rick Mofina has penned an intense, electrifying and nerve-twisting read that will send your heart rate soaring through the roof.

Clear your schedule, switch off your phone and get ready to devour in one sitting Rick Mofina’s brilliant thriller, Search for Her.

Well written with Lots of suspense, emotion and tense moments. I found the story hard to put down and ending was a surprise I didn’t see coming. I recommend to anyone who enjoys a good mystery with a lot of emotion.

Search For Her by Rick Mofina is fictional novel that reads very much like a True Crime book with it's painstaking detail on police procedure and an investigation into the hunt for a missing girl.

Grace Jarrett and John Marshall are a married couple whose previous spouses have died in tragic accidents. Along with Grace's 14 year-old daughter Riley and John's 18 year-old son Blake they decide to move from San Diego to Pittsburgh,where John has a new job lined up. Riley is against the move,not least as it means splitting from boyfriend and leaving her friends behind. At a massive truck stop all except Riley,who they believe is asleep in the back of their RV take a break and head inside the building to get supplies. After pulling away and continuing on their journey a check on Riley shows that she's no longer in the vehicle.

Once the Police are involved the book takes on a documentary style with a barrage of detail,names and procedures that can be a little confusing and I must admit to struggling to keep up with who was who in the Police characters. It is quite an effective style though and largely works.
As the investigation proceeds the plot thickens and it becomes obvious that all of the family have secrets from each other,let alone the Police, and the finger of suspicion turns their way.

It's a good read,as in a real investigation there are dead ends and more than possible motive for Riley's disappearance. My only complaint is that I very quickly had my suspicions about one of the characters and was proved correct. I suspect most avid readers of crime fiction would immediately be making their own correct predictions as well. When all is revealed it's a bit of a disappointment as well ,apart from the Perp being flagged very early on the evidence they leave is very hard to believe in.
I did enjoy it,it has it's faults and the ending gets a bit silly but overall an enjoyable and entertaining read.

I have read Rick Mofina books in the past so I was very much looking forward to reading this one and I wasn't disappointed.

The story grabs you from the early pages and doesn't let go. Riley, who is 14, disappears from a truck stop and so begins the search for her or more importantly to uncover what happened. As the story progresses it becomes more intriguing as Riley's step brother, step father and mother all have secrets they a keeping hidden. In addition Riley was forced to break up with her boyfriend so there is always the possibility that she ran away to be with him. False leads, suspicion, drugs, debt, love and jealousy all play a part in this fast paced story that kept the pages turning all the way to the total shocker of an ending. I had several theories that kept changing all the way through the book but never in a million years would I have guessed at the truth. An absolutely stunning read with flawed, realistic characters that develop well throughout the book.

Love, love, love it. Definitely 5 stars from me.

13-year-old Riley was accidentally left at a huge truck stop while her mom and step-father and step-brother were driving a rented RV to what was to be their new home. When they went to check on her in the bedroom of the RV, they discovered that she wasn't there. They did a quick turn to go back but unfortunately they got involved in an accident delaying their return by several hours.

Investigators have their work cut out for them. The massive, bustling truck plaza in the desert is the perfect place for someone to disappear—or be taken.

Everyone—from Riley’s mom to her stepdad to her stepbrother and her ex-boyfriend—has something to hide. And their secrets could prove deadly.

What did happen to Riley? Did she get tired of fighting with her mom and just take off. Did she make arrangements to meet someone? Was she specifically targeted .. or just a random abduction? And what are the family members hiding ... from the cops and each other?

This is full of action ... angst ... suspense from the get-go. What you might see as a typical blended family was anything but. They each have secrets .... but what would they do to keep those secrets from being held up to the light? As I have found from other books by this author, the characters are deftly drawn. The conclusion came as quite a surprise.

Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Books n All Promotions / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions are unbiased and entirely my own.

A couple years ago, Grace's husband had passed away in a car accident and John's wife and daughter had passed away in a boating accident. Grace and Tim meet, fall in love and get married bringing together Grace's 14-year-old daughter, Riley, and Tim's 18-year-old son, Blake to form a new family. Looking for a fresh start, they head from San Diego to Pittsburgh where John has a new job in an RV. Blake finds it boring and Riley is mad because she's forced to break up with her boyfriend and leave her friends behind.

The family stops at a huge truck stop. Leaving Riley pouting in the RV, they go in and get food. They are miles down the road toward Las Vegas before they realize that Riley isn't in the RV. Heading back to the truck stop, they get in an accident and the RV is totalled. By the time they get to the truck stop, lots of time has gone by.

Was Riley kidnapped and a family member involved? Did a local pedophile grab and kill her? Or did Caleb, Riley's ex-boyfriend, arrive to come get her? As the police get involved, they discover that Grace, John and Blake are keeping secrets.

I've read a few books by this author and thought this one was okay. I liked the writing style and it is written in third personal perspective with the focus on wherever the action is. There was a lot going on with everyone have secrets that are hinted at and eventually revealed. I thought it was obvious what happened to Riley and I wasn't buying it.

Search For Her is the latest standalone thriller by Mr Mofina, set in the neighbouring states of California and Nevada and revolves around a missing daughter, a family with secrets and a race for the truth. Grace Jarrett, a nurse in San Diego, lost her first husband, Riley’s dad, in a car accident. After several painful years, Grace met and married John Marshall, who had lost his first wife and teenage daughter in a sailing accident in San Diego Bay. John’s son, Blake, seventeen, is only a few years older than fourteen year old Riley. Both families were from San Diego, California, where Grace worked at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center. John worked as public relations manager at a clothing chain in San Diego, where things had not been going well for him. So he accepted a new job as communications director with a Fortune 500 retail company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where they will move to. Riley has deep roots and a boyfriend, Caleb, in San Diego and opposed moving from the area in which her dad died. However, her mother, Grace, despite uncertainties, agrees that they should move and create a new chapter in their lives as a blended family. Having only been married a short time, two years, Grace and John thought that a family vacation drive in a rented RV across the country would be a good way to create new memories. After an argument about the move Riley stomps off in a strop to take a nap in the RV's bedroom. At the Silver Sagebrush truck stop near Las Vegas, one of the largest in the US, they stop to buy supplies and ask Blake to check on Riley.

He informs them that she's still asleep so they set off but sometime down the road they realise Blake lied and she was gone, turning their cross-country dream of starting over into a nightmare. Naturally, John turns the RV around immediately believing they accidentally left her behind at Sagebrush. They inform the police and she officially becomes a missing person, but the investigators have their work cut out for them. The massive, bustling truck plaza in the desert is the perfect place for someone to disappear—or be taken. Detectives pursue every chilling lead as all eyes fall to the newly blended family with a tragic past. With the clock ticking down on the likelihood that Riley’s alive, suspicions run deep. Everyone—from Riley’s mom to her stepdad to her stepbrother and her ex-boyfriend—has something to hide. And their secrets could prove deadly. Where's Riley? Who's taken her? The search is on. This is a riveting and compulsive thriller written by one of America's most accomplished crime writers. There was everything you need for a good thrill ride: ample twists, liberal use of misdirection, drama by the bucketload, emotion and a high-stakes situation in which time is of the essence. Nothing and nobody is as they seem and you can't take any of them for their word making this a scintillating and unpredictable tale, and Mofina's career as a journalist who has spent time looking at crime helps create a believability. The number of secrets the characters hold is unparalleled when compared to all the thrillers I've read recently so if you enjoy the unravelling of dark, disturbing family secrets this unmissable. Highly recommended.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

3.75 Hearts First you should know that Mofina has a unique way of writing. If you are a fan you can delve right into this story. If you haven’t read him before it may take a little time to mesh but you will not be disappointed.

This book had me wanting to stay up late and yet it was one I would fall asleep trying to figure out what was going on. Riley is a pain in the butt and so moody and as a mom of a teenager she is the poster child for teenager attitude so you would think you wouldn’t really care about her but then she is only 14 and, again, as a mom of a teenager I felt every feeling the family of Riley had.

So much happens. A number of times I thought I had it down and then the book would go a different direction. I ended up sorta figuring out who but never got the why until I was reading the ending. And those are the books I enjoy.

Another great read from Mofina. Pick it up but be ready to be entranced.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this. A family is traveling to Pennsylvania from San Diego after accepting a new job. While driving near Las Vegas their 14 year old daughter Riley disappeared. This book kept me guessing until the very end.

4.5 stars, rounded up
Love the writing style and how it puts you right in the middle of everything. A lot of tension and drama in this one and lots of twists and turns.

Rick Mofina is the master of suspense & this latest book, ‘Search for Her’ does not disappoint.
In short it’s about an intense 5 day search for a missing daughter which exposes a minefield of secrets and chaos making it a grade one headache for the police to solve. In the words of detectives McDowell & Elsen, ‘This investigation is like peeling an onion!’
I loved it, lots of unexpected twists & turns and it’s the first book I’ve read that refers to COVID! I’m looking forward to the next ride Mr Mofina.
Thanks to Rick Mofina, Joffe Books & NetGalley for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Another great book from Rick Mofina.; he never disappoints. A 14 year old girl is missing from her familys RV at a large truck stop. Everyone in the family has secrets so its hard to tell how this is going to end up. The police follow every possible lead. A real page turner. Unexpected ending wraps it all up.