Thank you NetGalley for the eARC Little Girl Vanished. This was a slow burn but once it got going it was a really good story. I hope this turns into a series. Definitely keeping an eye on that.

Thank you to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The story kept me engaged enough that I wanted to keep reading, but there was something missing. The characters were very typical for modern day whodunits, but this book felt off - as if I was reading the second book in a series. While the story focused on Harper trying to locate her childhood friend Vanessa's daughter who has gone missing, a lot of back story had to do with Harper's former life as a police officer in Little Rock. There was so much of a story that I felt that should have been book 1 of the series and then this book 2.

While this book was not my favourite by the author I will continue with the series.

I really enjoyed this book! I like the ending and I wasn't sure how it was gonna end, which I liked. I would reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries or thrillers. 10/10 Highly recommend! Special Thank You to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing to read a copy free of charge in exchange for a review.

My Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗

This is the first book in the Harper Adams Mystery series.

When Harper Adams is thrown off the police force for a crime she did not commit, she is forced back to her parents' house with no job and no money. Suddenly she is forced into the nightmares of her past, that she has been trying to escape for twenty years. When a little girl is kidnapped in the town she grew up in, she's suddenly thrown back to the days when her little sister was kidnapped and her murdered body turned up a few days later. But this should not be her problem any more, or should it? Should she bury her sorrows in bottles of booze, or should she try to find some closure to her past and also reclaim some of her reputation back?

This book was so well paced, it kept me turning the pages without any effort at all. It was interesting from the very beginning. I loved how the story was more plot-based than just being character-based. The character development was really good, but I found the plot to be more intriguing. The character of Harper was developed well as the story progressed. I also liked the development of the side characters. This is a clean murder mystery, and the twists till the end kept me guessing the kidnapper. Overall, it was really well written and kept me glued to its pages.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the author for this gifted copy in return for my honest review. I'm really thankful for this amazing story and I am looking forward to reading many more books from this author, especially the next books in this series. I recommend this book to all lovers of mystery and murders.

Little Girl Vanished by Denise Grover Swank is a captivating mystery. Harper Adams is a force to be reckoned with and I look forward to Long Gone.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Sanctum is a thriller Mystery

Rating: 4.5 stars

Synopsis: Harper Adams, a detective in LRPD, was forced out when she shot and killed a kid even though the kid shot at her first. The responding officers say there was no gun found on the kid. She also experiences a string of break-ins before she goes home with her tail between her legs while spiraling with alcohol. However, she learns that her sister's old friend, Vanessa's, daughter has disappeared. When she looks around the crime scene she locates a red ribbon that connects to her sister's abduction and murder. She goes down the rabbit hole to find Vanessa's daughter before it's too late. I can not wait for the next book in the series!

This book was so great and I kept double guessing myself about who took the girl, and whether or not Harper was losing it. I kept trying to figure it out, and I still didn't guess correctly by the end! I could not put this book down!


Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Little Girl Vanished by Denise Grover Swank
Publisher: BooksGoSocial
Release Date June 20, 2023

Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Pace: 5/5
Suspense: 5/5
Overall Enjoyment: 5/5

Let me make one thing clear about this book, I love it. I love it more than my husband and almost more than my children. If it brought me the remote, I would love it more than my children. Swank is one of the best writers out there that also has the ability to tell a great story with women as the heroine protagonist.
Harper Adams was once a detective but was disgraced by her partner. Now having to move back to the one place she doesn’t want to go back to… Jackson Creek Arkansas. Adams seems content after losing her job, home and now
her reputation. But going home is not the worst thing to happen to her just yet.
When Adams learns of a missing young girl, she sets out to find her along with an unlikely partner, James Malcolm. This missing girl case is eerily similar to when Adams and her sister were together and her sister went missing. The town blamed Adams as if she had something to do with her disappearance. Can Adams find the missing girl in time?

This is a fast paced, heart pounding thriller that brings new life into this amazing thriller. I can not say enough about what a terrific writer Swank is and how her books just get better and better. The characters are heroic, amazingly developed, flawed and likable. You will not predict anything here. So hurry up and get your copy. The thrill ride is waiting.


5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

This is my first book by Denise Grover Swank and I enjoyed this book. It wasn't your typical detective story. The characters were likeable and it kept me engaged. Overall a good read

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the E-ARC

All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

When you read a book and review it sometimes it's really hard to put into words how much you liked the book. This book needs 10 stars and there is not one thing I can say I would change about this book. Mystery, suspense and a great female lead character ! Everything I love! Harper goes back to her hometown and finds herself involved in finding a friends missing daughter. So many suspicious characters that you can't help but flip threw the pages trying to figure who took Ava. Look forward to book #2 in this series. SO GOOD!!!

Okay, so I have to admit to being a huge fan of Denise's books, after first falling in love with her Rose Gardner series. Little Girl Vanished is the first book in a new series with Harper Adams as the protagonist. She is an ex Detective, having left under a cloud after a fatal shooting and some dodgy colleagues setting her up to be investigated.
She moves back home to live in her parents garage until she can recover and get back on her feet financially. An early morning frantic knock on the door informs her that a local child has gone missing and her first instinct is that there is a connection to her sister's murder over 20 years ago.
An old favourite character; James Malcolm returns in this (yay!) and he is his normal sexy self. Without spoiling anything, this is an absolutely cracking introduction into this new series and I can't wait to see what comes next. A whopping 10 stars for me!!

Disgraced, ex-detective Harper Adams is perfectly content wallowing at rock bottom. She’s lost her job, house, and reputation, and it only gets worse when she’s forced to move back home to Jackson Creek, Arkansas, the one place she swore she’d never return.

But everything changes when she gets chilling news. A childhood friend’s daughter is missing…and it’s eerily reminiscent of Harper’s sister’s kidnapping and murder two decades ago.

Not her business.

Except with the police fumbling the case at every turn, Harper realizes she might be the only one who can save the girl.

A perfect whodunit. Harper Adams has hit rock bottom and it doesn't help matters any when she returns to her hometown. I was hooked from the beginning. Loved it from start to finish.

A bit if a slow burn but it definitely got under my skin and I couldnt put it down til I'd found out what had happened. This was my 1st book in the series and I loved everything about it from the writing style, the plot, the characters and the twists. It's not just another police procedural or another misfit vigilante cop story, it's really original and feels like such a fresh take on a female lead

I loved this book. There was a great storyline with lots of tense moments but I think it was the characterisation that really appealed to me. Harper and her friend Louise. TJ, the odious father of the missing girl. The dodgy but appealing James Malcolm. Every one of these characters were described so vividly that I almost knew what they were going to say next. I can't wait for the next book in the series so I'll have to pass the time by checking out this author's back catalogue.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. This is a really good suspense book! You’re constantly wondering who is behind everything! There were a few things I wish had been answered and I did kinda hope for a little romance between Harper and James but maybe in book 2?!

Firstly, Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Little Girl Vanished by Denise Grover Swank.

One of my favourite genres include crime and mystery so best believe I was hooked from start to end. This was my first book to read by this author and let's just say that I am obsessed with Harper Adams as a character because the way she is just herself and does right by other people makes the story! Harper was a cop in Little Rock before a situation caused her to lose her job and move back home with her parents.

Little did we know that she would be faced with a kidnapping close to her heart. Who kidnapped her? Does it connect with her sister? Is she at fault? With every question you have, this book will answer them for you in the best and most in depth way. With help from a former crime boss, will Harper Adams uncover the crime?

All of the little twists and turns made the book for me because it kept me guessing and made me read pages and pages of the book in one sit in. Cannot wait for the next book in the series as well as many more of Denise Swanks books! And if you want a fast paced but amazingggg book, then this is the one for you.

A damaged and traumatised ex police woman returns to the family home, disgraced, jobless and relying on alcohol to get her through each day. Traumatised by her sister’s kidnapping and murder over two decades ago has resulted in survivors guilt and a long standing rift with her family. Then her worst nightmare is realised when a further child is missing in mysteriously similar circumstances suggesting a copycat scenario. Intent on correcting what she perceives as her mistakes from the past a lonely and frightening investigation commences to solve both mysteries. A deeply flawed character mistrustful of everyone and everything she has been told leads to a race against time to prevent another child suffering the same fate as her sister. An exciting conclusion that gives long awaited answers if unable to rectify and reconcile the tragic events of the past. Many thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for this advanced review copy.

I always love jumping into a new mystery, and this was no exception. This is a new to me author, and I’m already a fan of her work. This story is very well written and keeps you engaged all throughout.

The female main character is Harper Adams, a woman with many inner demons. She’s an ex-officer herself, who came back home in disgrace. When a case very similar to her sister’s comes along, she is determined to get to the bottom of it and get a better outcome.

Harper gets help from, but is wary of, James Malcolm, an owner of a local bar. He’s worked with law enforcement before and ends up helping Harper out as well. There is definitely tension between these two.

I loved all the twists in this book. I kept thinking I knew and guessing along the way, and was still shocked. It was everything I love in a mystery.

This is the first in a new series, and I can’t wait for the rest.

This is a great start to a new series from Denise Grover Swank. I’m a big fan of her Rose Gardner and Carly Moore series and I’m enjoying Harper Adams just as much. It’s a nice bonus if you’ve read some of her other books and are familiar with James “Skeeter” Malcolm, but it’s certainly not needed to enjoy this book.

After losing her job and having to move back home, Harper learns of a little girl that has gone missing. Since the local police department screwed up the investigation into her sister’s kidnapping years ago and nobody seems to be taking this new disappearance seriously, she starts her own investigation.

This was a great story in the search for whodunit and I enjoyed riding along with Harper during her investigation. There were several mysterious things going on during this story and left me wondering if they were all connected somehow. I was certainly surprised when all the mysteries were revealed.

I’m very curious where this series will go and I can’t wait for the journey. I did read the synopsis for the next book in the series and I’m happy to see James Malcom will be making an appearance in it too.

A fantastic start to a new series!
This was my first time reading a book by Denise Grover Swank, but it definitely won't be the last. The pacing was spot on from start to finish, keeping me hooked and up far too late because I was unable to put it down!

The main character, Harper, is flawed in more ways than one and yet she's still someone you can root for, hoping that she finds the light at the end of the tunnel. While the main mystery of this first book was wrapped up nicely, there is definitely more for Harper to do and I'm really looking forward to seeing how she develops throughout the series - as well as what comes of a certain relationship between her and another character.

I will be keeping an eye out for the next book, Long Gone, in January 2024!

Really enjoyed this thriller. It was kind a slow but still liked it. Will continue reading other books by this author. I got this book as an arc from Netgalley and I’m leaving this review volunterily.