Gripping and suspenseful! A very well-written book with wonderfully-interesting characters. The tension builds at just the right pace as the story unfolds. Will keep you swiping the pages furiously. Worthy of your TBR list.

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book from in order to read and provide a voluntary and honest review, should I choose to do so.

It was a little difficult to get into this tale, but perseverance paid off. The characters developed over time and the mystery turned out to be very well written overall.

This book is about an ex cop who takes on an old cold case. In the mean time he is being pestered by his ex-fiance, and sister. He picks up a hitch hiker who hurt her knee, but when he goes to the hotel where she is suppose to be staying, they never heard of her. I found the book is in need of editing really bad! That made it hard for me to read. I am sure the story would have been more interesting if I didn't have to "figure out" what was being said due to the poor editing job of this book.

This is a good mystery, a little touch of the British, easy to read. I didn't get one other thing done while I was reading it because I didn't want to put it down. There’s a little bit of everything in this McLaren mystery…he’s a former cop, now a laborer, a repairer of stonewalls and one who likes his solitude. Yet he is still a friend to some of the Constabulary and very much needed for his intellect and instincts. There are good friendships and a touch of love or passion in the book. This character, Michael McLaren, that I am so crazy about while moody, is also a very caring person.
I am a mystery nut and one thing that makes all of the difference to me about a good mystery is the ability of the author to create a character, maybe a rascal, maybe a little bit of a rebel, maybe someone that thinks those little sarcastic things in their mind that I'm thinking, just someone I'd like to meet. And Jo Hiestand does that with Michael McLaren in this series, appropriately called the McLaren Series. Hiestand puts plenty of twists and turns in this book and she describes her settings (which I think of as scenes), as well as she does her characters. She has you sitting right in the midst of the story with her characters. She has a way with words that can make you see as if you are right next to her character. Not always beautiful descriptions, most mysteries aren’t always beautiful but always distinct, clear cut visions. Writing like that causes you to become a part of the story. When that happens, you don’t want to put it down. This is Book 1 of the series. I won't miss another book.