Fallen Angel is the first in a series of crime novels featuring aspiring private investigator Carol Karuso, an interesting woman with a complex back story. Asked by a family friend to investigate the disappearance of a young woman twenty years previously Carol embarks on a journey that puts her own life at risk. An enjoyable read and many readers will want to carry on with Carol's adventures.

Carol Karuso has just dropped her best friend Matty Cruz off at Portland airport she's off to join the love of her life Sam Bester in Spain. She then heads to Jacob's Detective Agency where she has been learning her craft as a Private Investor for the last three months. Her boss Emily is sure her second husband Giorgio is having an affair and she thinks its with Carol. Deciding to clear her name and get proof of Giorgios cheating she passes it on to Emily who tells her to take the week off while she sorts it out. Returning after her week off she finds she no longer has a job Emily has closed the agency as Carol doesn't have the experience to run it.
When she gets home she receives a visit from Iris who is Phil Besters wife and Sams sister in law. Iris wants Carol to check into Sams past she hands her an envelope when she reads the letter inside its from Rose his biological sister it explains how Miss Perkins arranged a private adoption with the Besters and now Rose really needs to find Sam who has no idea he has a sister.
After some persuasion Carol takes the case but with very little information will she be able to find Rose? Carol really has her work cut out she has a long road ahead where theres so many twists and turns it will make you dizzy.
I didnt know what to expect when I started reading this book but I really enjoyed it nothing is straightforward in this book so you had yo keep reading to find out the whole story. Definitely recommend it.

Published previously under the title of Fallen Angel

Carol Karuso is a Private Investigator in the making. A friend asks her to help find a woman who disappeared 20 years ago. Carol agrees as this will help her investigating skills.

After 20 years, there's really no leads but Carol is a bulldog if nothing else, and she has sunk her teeth into this one. But she does find a tenuous link here and there and she follows each and every one ..... even when one of those leads her to a man who will stop at nothing to keep the secret of the missing woman.

This is first in a new series and Carol Karuso is a terrific character. She's been married 3 times and each of her husbands have died. That could be a story in and all by itself. She's a natural redhead with a bit of temper to go with it. Her teen years were not great as she had an abusive stepfather. But she's changed her life completely and should be proud of herself.

As she follows the steps that Rose made 20 years ago, she talks to the people who knew her. Some liked her, some didn't. Some talk to Carol, some don't. There are small town secrets and big city lies. And not everyone wants the light shined on Rose's disappearance.

Every other chapter or so, the reader is treated to the words of the people who knew her. And at one point, Carol is given a journal written by Rose. With Carol reading from that journal, Rose becomes a real life person... her loves, her hates.

This is a very subtle murder mystery. There's very little signs of police, no screaming sirens, no bodies falling. The story is very well written and quite an enjoyable read. I look forward to seeing more of this author and of Carol Karuso.

Many thanks to the author - publisher and Netgalley for the advance digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Great mystery. The cover/title did not appeal to me. The synopsis did catch my attention. Spousal abuse and the harm it causes others weighs heavily in the plot. It was quite a page turner and kept me guessing. Nice ending to a horrific tale of murder and abuse. A few tears of sympathy may be shed along the way. I am glad the book was brought to my attention. I look forward to reading more about this new private detective with red hair.

This was suspenseful, exciting and a quick read. I couldn't put the book down.