After some confusion, I wondered had I already listened to this title, given that it was originally published as Taken From Home, and that it is the first in a series of 12 I was convinced, however as the story progressed I realised I hadn’t, but it’s very reminiscent of another series, I wish I could remember which one 🤔

I really enjoyed this title, it a fantastic start to a series, we get to know our protagonists really well and if this is anything to go by it’s set to be a brilliant series.

There’s a large amount of distressing content regarding child trafficking that readers may find traumatic, however I felt that the author dealt with it in an appropriate way, it fit the storyline especially well, considering that we meet Casey taking a break from work but still searching for her own daughter, abducted from her front lawn.

Great start.

Excellent narration 🎧

Huge thanks to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧

*there is a slight recording issue at around 68% where the story repeats itself.

A fast-paced mystery that is also a riveting story and plot line.
I really enjoyed the thrill of it and the twists that so engrossing.
The narrator was excellent and has given the characters life.
This was a really good mystery and thriller!

Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher Bookouture Audio for the opportunity.

I'm just going to jump right in and say Casey and Jericho annoyed me. Two police officers that seemed to be very incompetent at times. I get Casey is a newbie detective, but like....really? The narration was good but the story was nothing to write home about. Could be because it's the first in a very long series so it was more background but meh.

I guess I had higher hopes for this book. It sounded great but I struggled to get into it. It just didnt hook me like other books do. I did continue to listen because I was intrigued though so I never gave up on it. I felt the ending was a little rushed but gave some answers. I will say that it did intrigue me enough that when the second book is available I will read it as I want to know more. So that means alot if I am wanting to continue the series and keep reading!

Audiobook

Reeling from her daughter's abduction many years ago, Detective Casey White jumps on a report of a found girl in the Outer Banks. The body is not her daughter, but she is brought into the investigation. Partnering with the locals and the FBI, Casey helps solve a massive operation.

This is the first in a long series, so I will forgive some first-book qualms as I did like the cast of characters and look forward to their stories strengthening.

Detective Casey White moves to the Outer Banks hoping for a fresh start, but peace isn’t what she finds. When the body of a teenage girl in a white nightgown is discovered on the shore, Casey is pulled into an investigation that quickly turns personal. The more she digs, the more disturbing connections she finds—missing girls, past disappearances, and a predator who has been lurking far too long.

As someone who loves detective thrillers, I was hooked from the first chapter. Casey is a compelling lead—she’s tough, relentless, and haunted by the disappearance of her own daughter, which adds a deeply emotional layer to the case. Her pain and determination drive her forward, making every clue, every setback, and every twist feel personal.

The pacing is fast but balanced, with just the right amount of tension to keep you flipping pages. The atmospheric setting of the Outer Banks adds an eerie, isolated feel that enhances the suspense. And the mystery itself? Dark, layered, and completely gripping. Just when I thought I had things figured out, a new twist would throw me off.

Overall, this is a strong start to the series, and I’ll definitely be picking up the next book. If you love small-town mysteries, tough-but-vulnerable detectives, and cases that get darker the deeper you go, this one is worth reading.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Just be prepared for a ride.

I adore this author. She takes a slice of life and shares the intricacy of it in beautiful words. We meet and follow Gail on the weekend of her daughters wedding. The story is viewed from her vantage point. These are ordinary people, living ordinary lives. What bothered me was that there was no one in this that was particularly likable so it was hard to get invested in the story. Usually the characters are quirky or have something I could emotionally connect to. In this I found most of them had no self awareness, rude, classist, never met a boundary they wouldn’t cross and are generally unpleasant. Not my favorite from this amazing author. Just missed the mark for me.

I wanted to love this book, but it was just a bit all over the place for me. I think it started off great, but just ended up with too many side stories. It was hard to keep up.

There were times where I thought the narrator did a good job and times where I thought it was a little too rushed.

I know this is the first book and 11 more have been written since then, so I know they are probably better. I genuinely hope he is successful with his latest book.

This is one of those books you get into from the very first page - or minute in the case of an audiobook. I was hooked from the get go.
A tragic book and super dark. Child abduction and the murder of young girls make this a difficult subject but so well written. The end was a little unsatisfying. Guess I will have to wait for the next to find out what happens.

First and foremost, thank you to @netgalley and @bookoutore audio for the opportunity to listen to Patricia Rodriguez’s narration of “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘎𝘰” by B.R. Spangler, the first in the Casey White Detective series.

Starting with the narrator: she took some getting used to. Her voice is reminiscent of that of a news anchor or a plucky investigative reporter from times long gone. While not necessarily a dealbreaker, her voices for different characters, particularly those of the teenage girls and the “Big Bad” at the end of the read were grating. Thankfully, they were infrequently used throughout and really only made an appearance toward the end and only very briefly. I’m not sure I could have endured if they were peppered throughout.

As for the story: I wanted to love it, but I just didn’t. There was entirely too much going on plot-wise and I didn’t sympthize or connect with any of the characters, which made it hard for me to immerse myself in the story and really enjoy it. The author’s descriptions didn’t work for me a majority of the time, though I think the description early on of the detective “brushing” against a presumed dead girl’s “nipple” really turned me off the story. It didn’t help either when later on one of the victims was referred to as “coma girl.” I also don’t buy that Detective White came into town, essentially weaseled her way into a crime scene and was then invited to be the investigator without any sort of fact-checking of her credentials etc. The romance aspect between the two main characters was also unneeded and added nothing to the story as the connection did not feel authentic but more exploitative and toxic.

I may give this series and this author another chance, but as of now I’m undecided.

#bookstagram #books #audiobooks #mysterybooks #thrillerbooks #booksbooksbooks #netgalley #bookgirly #bookreviews #brspangler

Wow! What a roller coaster ride! This is not your cozy slow-paced mystery but a fast-paced suspense that will keep you head spinning. Protagonist Detective Casey White has been searching for her kidnapped daughter for 14 years as she goes about her job. She never expects to stumble across a mine field of mysterious deaths in sleepy Outer Banks, N.C. She is determined to solve what’s behind these mysterious deaths and the route that takes her there is a curvy one.
This series should be exciting and I can’t wait for the next installment to come out!
Note: please for trigger warnings before you read this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Patricia Rodriguez does a great job narrating this story.

Detective Casey White lost her young daughter at an early age when she was kidnapped right in front of her. The rest of her career is spent searching for her daughter while she investigates other crimes. Presently, while on leave from the department, she stumbles into a crime scene that she helps the local police along with Jericho Flynn of the Marine Patrol. Will this be the case that helps her find Hannah?

This was an okay book. I was more frustrated than engaged with this one. I liked the characters, the relationships and the plot. However, the writing is a bit clunky, verbose and some of the scenes felt contrived. When would a small town police force welcome an out of town detective's help on their case? There were two cases going on and while they did connect in the end, it just didn't read as well as I wanted it to. Her actually finding her daughter as well was unrealistic. This was just an okay read for me.

I enjoyed it! It’s a mix of a serial killer, kidnapped kids, a human trafficking ring, and a cop in desperate need of a vacation, all wrapped into one! Casey White is a seasoned detective, but she's haunted by her past. When her daughter was a toddler, she was kidnapped during a brief moment when the door was left open, and Hannah wandered into the yard where a car picked her up. Casey never saw her again. This event haunts Casey, and she sees her daughter everywhere. While working a case, she pulled a gun on a cop because she thought she saw the woman who took her daughter, leading her to be given a vacation to clear her head.

On this vacation, she stumbles upon a bleeding teenager who looks like she's been through a terrible incident. When Casey takes her to the hospital and waits for news, she's asked to aid the local department. She agrees, and while investigating, they find a deceased girl and then another girl on a yacht. Casey dives into the case headfirst. She then delves into the county's cold cases and finds several linked cases. But will she find the connection before it's too late? Will she ever find Hannah? Check this one out for the answers! The audiobook was compelling and brought the story to life, keeping me on the edge of my seat! This narrator was a perfect fit for the story and delivered it exceptionally well! She was not only compelling, but her tone also matched the story perfectly.
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen and review this one!

I was drawn into the story from the very beginning when Casey white encounters a half-naked, bleeding and pregnant young girl on the side of the road. Detective White is determined and driven, as she tries to find out the truth of her tragic past, and discovers it inextricably linked with the investigation she has been invited to join. Definitely a detective to follow.

A promising story-line and interesting set up. However this is where the positives end for me.

Firstly, I didn’t like the audio book narration. The intonation was samey and sometimes didn’t feel appropriate to what was happening.

In regards to the book itself, I felt the writing was an odd mix of overwritten/too much or long in parts, where in other aspects more information could have been given.
The plot seems to rely on a lot of coincidences, unbelievable at that. There is quite a lot going on at once as well which is a bit confusing. A fair few inconsistencies in the story as well, like a lack of police staff to investigate serious crimes in a small place but then police being called and arriving within minutes ready to get involved, including search dogs.

I feel there is potential but could do with a lot of editing.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.</i>

Audio

2.5 stars rounded up

I love a good detective book and this story had really good bones but I just felt like there was SO much going on but none of it actually helped to develop any of the characters. Also how many times in one book can the main character put herself in extreme damage before it gets old?

Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook. Good narration. Great storyline. Detective Casey White’s toddler daughter is kidnapped. Fast forward 14 years. On a forced vacation Casey is following up a lead to her daughter’s kidnap when she takes a wrong turn and finds a teenage girl who has just given birth in a filthy nightgown. So begins her working with the local police to look at the unsolved missing child cases in the area. What is the connection to the detention center? I loved the way the plot unfolded and revealed who was involved in the crimes.

Review to follow on Goodreads

Absolutely gripping! I had to know how everything was connected…. Definitely one of my top reads this year!!!

This review is going to be a bit harsh, but I see a lot of potential for this author and this series. All this is meant to be constructive.

Briefly: I have very mixed feelings about this book. Overall, I liked the premise for the most part, however there are issues. I do think this series has potential but editing and “trimming the fat/excess” should be done in future books (some examples below). If this wasn’t an ALC, I would have stopped listen, however i did like the story in general, it was the writing that needs a little work. I will read/listen to the next book to see if there are improvements.

The narrator was very emotional at times but didn’t really do different voices. Occasionally I wasn’t sure if a male or female was talking.

More details:
If this wasn’t an ALC, I would have stopped listening after the first 7 minutes; the first 10 minutes of the book could have been cut down to 5 minutes and I was getting pretty impatient. Not just that part either. There were several scenes that were just too much (if it’s possible to be too descriptive, this was it) i.e the kidnapping, the first girl’s death, repeating facts (yes, I understand you used to vacation with your family at the jersey shore, I got that the first 4 times. And please cut back on the similes). Many scenes, especially action scenes seemed just a little too unbelievable (and why did it take them forever to leave the crazy lady??) The villain is predictable and obvious (personally, I don’t mind this, but sometimes readers do). Also, she went on a fixed vacation but was allowed to work for another department?? It would have been more believable if she quit Phili PD and either went there for a new job or it could have been a vacation, I just really don’t understand the working for another dept when they told you to go on vacation.
Unfortunately, it appears the author does not know much about police investigations. A few quick Google searches could have fixed that. i.e toxicology results take weeks, not hours, even in a rush, it’s going to take more than a day.
I do have several issues with the FMC. Somewhere midway through, I decided she wasn’t very bright, which was her excuse for some very poor decisions and actions. Also, I don’t think she’s a very good cop. The kidnapping scene…I was kind of left speechless (it was too unreal). Going places by herself when she knew she shouldn’t?? Instead of rushing the first victim off to the hospital, she kept talking to her!!?? Kids are absolutely NOT fingerprinted in schools in case of Amber Alerts. A cop who is shot, even grazed but required stitches, would not be allowed in the field (and what happened to the injury, it kind of just disappeared). There is no way the yacht (aka evidence) would have been used in the sting (the FBI can get a ton of money to pay for sex traffic it can’t find a yacht to use??). Also, it seemed like it was a novel idea for the police to check missing person records to help ID some victims; that’s one of the first things police do.
Some of her actions could be explained by her obsession with her daughter’s kidnapping, but others are just bad, especially for a cop on the job for almost 20 years. (Some thoughts and action would have been forgivable for a new cop, but not her, especially since she was a cop in Philadelphia, not some backwater.)
Other details were strange. I.e. the computer guy was explaining metadata to the FMC, but that’s something she would have known. If the author was afraid readers might not know, some inner monologue in 1 sentence would have sufficed.
Something that really bothered me was when the 2 MCs got intimate. It kind of came out of nowhere: they got to sleep. End of chapter. Beginning of next chapter: “so we did it” (not literally the worlds but that’s what it translates to. There was no fade out (close the door) or even any indication they were going to do it. It was a strange way for it to have happened.
Above isn’t everything I noted down, but it’s the gist. One last thing: the book description is misleading: the MMC doesn’t come across a body, she comes across a living person.

I really enjoyed Where Lost Girls Go. I liked the storyline, characters, and especially the location - Outer Banks. The rollercoaster of a mystery kept me guessing.

It is the first book by B.R. Spangler in the Detective Casey White series and I have already downloaded the next book. Patricia Rodriguez did a great job with the narration.

Thank you to NetGalley & Bookouture Audio for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

PS - my favorite character name was Gladys as I have a cat name Gladys. And it made me smile everytime I heard her name.