In the early 2000s, a string of abductions rocked the small upstate town of Reine, New York. Only one girl survived: Alex Salerno. The killer, Ken Parsons, was sent away. Life returned to normal. No more girls would have to die. Until another one did.

It’s been twelve years since Kira Shanks was reported missing and presumed dead. Alex Salerno has been living in New York City, piecemealing paychecks to earn a livable wage, trying to forget those three days locked underground and her affair with Sean Riley, the married detective who rescued her. When Noah Lee, hometown reporter with a journalistic pedigree, requests an interview, Alex returns to Reine and Riley, reopening old wounds. What begins as a Q&A for a newspaper article soon turns into an opportunity for money, closure and—justice. The disappearance of Kira Shanks has long been hung on Benny Brudzienski, a hulking man-child who is currently a brain-addled guest at the Galloway State Mental Hospital. But after Alex reconnects with ex-classmates and frenemies, doubts are cast on that guilt. Alex is drawn into a dangerous game of show and tell in an insular town where everyone has a secret to hide. And as more details emerge about the night Kira Shanks went missing, Alex discovers there are some willing to kill to protect the horrific truth.

In the modern vein of Girl on the Train and The Bone Collector, The One That Got Away is a dark, psychological thriller, featuring a compelling, conflicted heroine and a page-turning narrative that races toward its final, shocking conclusion. *******goodreads.com

Are you looking for a suspense book to read on a lazy afternoon? Then this book is for you.

Alex Salerno, the protagonist, was the one that got away as the title states. She was abducted at the age of 17 and held by a sadistic killer, but she escaped. Now she has been lured back to her hometown through the request of an interview. She thinks she is strong enough to handle it but the evil memories and being back in the town where it happened proves to be overwhelming. While staying in the rundown town she learns about another girl that was kidnapped and the possible suspect is now in a psychiatric facility after being beaten by town vigilantes. She is drawn into the investigation.

The story is raw and gritty. The small town seemed to be reflective of a rundown factory town and I just kept imagining it being cloudy all the time. The author digs deep and ably describes the setting and the dark emotions that the story invokes. I feel sorry for the protagonist who is wandering aimlessly though life no doubt due to what happened to her.

The novel is well written and has a great pace. I didn’t read it all in one sitting, but I did complete it in a few days. The characters were well developed and believable. The plot was intriguing and could happen in real life.

This book is one worth reading. I had a difficult time when I first began the book, but the story drew me in. This is the first I have read from Joe Clifford but will not be the last.

Thank you Netgalley and Down & Out Books for the opportunity to read and review this book. This review is my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley, Down & Out Books, and Joe Clifford for an ARC ebook copy to review. As always, an honest review from me. Sorry about the late review folks, my power was out for 3 days due to a winter snowstorm, so I’m a bit late on my book reviews.

My rating is actually 3.5 stars, but since there aren't half stars I always round up.

The One That Got Away is all about small towns. Their secrets, the people, the drama. There’s certainly no forgetting and no forgiving in this town, and yet people don’t really want to investigate the truth.

I like that the author explores that a small destitute town can be filled with so much drama, complex interpersonal relationships, and heartache. Nothing and no one is perfect. And nothing is as it originally seems. People are complex and so are the life lessons in the book. It also explores how people seem to want the perfect little victim and Alex, the main character, isn’t that.

What happens when the victim grows up, has difficulty in life or just doesn’t fit into that cookie cutter mold of a sweet innocent victim? What if she has a voice that isn’t calm, polished and poised? What if she speaks her mind no matter what?

Despite all of these great questions and conversations the book brings up, there are some downsides to it. I didn’t like that the “r” word was used multiple times. Yes, it fits the ignorance of the characters who use it, but it still bothers me. Also the police detective … oh let me count the ways he crossed the line.

Overall, there’s more than what initially meets the eye with The One That Got Away. Complex themes, complex flawed characters, lots of drama and mystery fill the pages, keeping you captivated throughout.

“The One that Got Away” by Joe Clifford starts with a terrifying prologue, a girl locked underground, and then moves to “now” centered around Alex Salerno, the girl who got away from a killer. Alex tells herself that she has moved on from her traumatic experience, but she really has not. Holes in her memory form Swiss-cheese excerpts of the past, and the terror always comes back. She has returned to Reine, her hometown into in Upstate New York town because a reporter wants to tell her story again. The reporter, Noah Lee, promises that the focus will be on her, her struggle, her victory, the one good thing she has done with her life: she has survived. The narrative centers on Alex as she struggles to finally overcome her own trauma. She is also troubled by unanswered questions in the murder of another girl from Reine, and the possibility that Benny Brudzienski, the person who was accused of her murder, is innocent. Is there a conspiracy? Benny Brudzienski is institutionalized, incapacitated, and yet has secrets to share.
Clifford skillfully creates characters that are flawed, human, and compelling. Alex is at the same time helpless and forceful, haunted and liberated, and always truth seeking. Readers fear for her safety and applaud her determination. Is there a killer roaming free, or is Alex only hearing what she wants to hear? The town, Reine, barren and empty, is as much of a character as is Alex. Readers sense the malevolent curse that hangs over the town, harming everything and everyone.
The haunting trail of clues leads to a startling truth in the end. This book will keep readers turning the pages and yet fearing what might come next. I was given a copy of “The One That Got Away” by Joe Clifford, Down & Out Books, and NetGalley. Readers will not soon forget this book.

Edgy and emotional, suspenseful mystery!


This is a story about Alex who was abducted by a serial killer and rapist at the young age of seventeen but was rescued by Detective Riley before any physical damage was put upon her body yet her emotional trauma was not so lucky as it was several days before she was found without food or water.
. ,The story evolves 12 years later, when she is contacted by a reporter who is interested in writing a story about Alex and another teen who disappeared several years after Alex was kidnapped.
Alex is barely living life drinking and doing drugs, just trying not to live in her past. Having no real friends or family left Alex is a hardened young woman wanting to live her life yet unable to embrace any happiness. When Alex visits the the reporter near her hometown where the kidnappings took place, a series of mysteries concerning the past takes Alex on a new journey and a new purpose for living by finding answers to questions that she thought she had put behind her.

This was a fast paced story which had a lot more downs than ups. A very emotional read for me. There were only a few likeable characters but that was important for the bleakness and sad coldness that was conveyed to understanding how depressive and worn down the personalities of people can become in a poor and rundown small town. I did enjoy this book as it was not predictable and it was quite a page turner. I did find some inconsistencies in the beginning of the book yet it did not affect the very good writing by this author. I would definitely read more of Joe Clifford's books.

I highly recommend this book and have rate it 4 suspenseful 🌟🌟🌟🌟 stars!!

I want to thank Down And Out Books and Netgally for the opportunity of reading this book for my own and unbiased opinion!!

At 17 Alex Salerno was abducted by a serial killer. Now she's back in town investigating the disappearance of the girl believed to be murdered after her. I don't know how I'd handle living through what she went through so I really can't judge her life being a mess years later. Through the entire book I kept thinking she needed a hug and someone to show her some real love.

I chose to read this book because I have read everything else Joe Clifford has written. Best known for his Jay Porter series, Clifford writes what can only be called elegant noir. I always highlight multiple lines that are “zingers” in their fresh turns-of-phrase.

The One That Got Away is set in Upstate New York, and having spent many years visiting my in-laws in Little Falls, I know the area well and can guarantee that Clifford fully captures the bleak ambiance of the little towns in the area, dying on the vine because factories closed years ago. This line proves it: “…there’s nowhere like Upstate New York. It’s a dirty, ugly place that’s never possessed the hope to lose.”

Better yet are his characters. Told from the points of view of Alex Salerno (a thirty-ish young woman, who’s an anti-hero, a complex character, strong, intelligent, yet ultimately self-destructive) and Benny Brudzinski (a man with degenerative neurological deficits that cause him to be intellectually challenged). Alex returns to Reine, NY, to look into the death of Kira Shanks, a young woman who disappears twelve years after Alex’s own kidnapping at the age of seventeen.

Clifford uses Benny’s chapters to reveal the pathos of a man “locked” into himself, incapable of verbal communication beyond a few grunts, but whose brain clearly continues to function. Though I found the thought patterns and vocabulary to be inconsistent with the supposed degree of Benny’s retardation, these chapters are poignant and elegant. Though he is featured in fewer chapters than Alex, Benny is the axis around which this mystery revolves. It is particularly appealing that the twist is revealed in Benny’s POV.

If you like mysteries with a clear-cut ending, you will be disappointed, but I loved the ambiguity of Clifford’s ending.

Fabulously paced and an excellent story. Clifford uses words like a surgeon does a scalpel. I will read anything he writes.

The One That Got Away is an amazing book. Packed full of suspense, but there are plenty of triggers. So, pick it up with caution.

The book had pages where there was hope, and some pages told a very dark story. But, on the whole this book is a great read for those who love dark mysteries.

Alex returns back home or back to the place she would rather forget. She was abducted when she was a teenager and kept locked underground until Detective Sean Riley rescued her. This lead to her downfall as well as his. But that does not stop Alex from trying to find out a terrible secret from her home town.

I have been a fan of Joe Clifford’s writing for a few years now. And I will tell y’all something. No one has better characters than Joe Clifford. Alex is one of his bests. She is no nonsense, “hasn’t got time for that” type of woman. But, she is very self destructive. However, there is something so appealing and magnetic about her. I don’t know if it is her terrible ordeal which keeps the reader championing her or if it is her UNIQUE attitude.

Then there is Benny! My heart went out to this man! He is at the center of this mystery. The only problem is Benny cannot communicate in any shape form or fashion. Alex is determined to be his voice.

This is a non stop story which keeps you enchanted with every turn of the page. The great characters, the twists and turns, the non stop guessing makes this a tale not to be missed. Who is the killer and why?

I received this novel via Netgalley for a honest review.

Idlewild Motel, what really took place on that cold November morning seven years ago the one that got away must uncover, almost as a therapy to her own terrible days past.
There is Kira, missing, still no body.
The main protagonist Alex Salerno, the one that got away from being snatched and imprisoned against her will.
That time left behind many things, scars, faint scars on the undersides of her forearm and wrist, and tender things, vulnerable things.
One that got away needs to stay safe treading on familiar dark passage of time again battling all that went on and a little town she wished never existed, bad times, bad mums, bad peoples, finding truth on one suspect that seems to be in a corner.
"Blood and DNA found at the Idlewild Motel just off the interstate where Benny worked as a handyman linked him to the scene."
The first person narration of Benny was engrossing, with his complexities and point of view of what had partaken in Kira’s days alive.
There’s a rhythm to his writing, I like the cast of characters he used in this and previously read Broken Ground. At odds, truths uncovered, and rising above things, grit, flawed, his themes give revitalising lift to mystery telling.

The One That Got Away is a bit of a slow-burn. While this is a thriller/mystery book, it doesn't necessarily jump-scare you into terror. There is character development and an emotional connection that many popular thriller lack.

Alex was abducted by a serial killer at age 17 - and Alex was able to escape. As the 'final girl' she spend her life wondering if she missed out - by not dying like the others. She returns to her hometown for an interview and finds that the story is less about her and more about the girl who vanished after she was rescued.

This is very much a small town book. Everyone knows something and someone knows everything.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Down And Out Books and the author, Joe Clifford, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The One That Got Away in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.
I am ashamed to admit, this is the first novel I have read by this author, but it certainly will not be the last.
I thought the storyline was well written and fast paced with plenty of twists. The characters drew me into the story and I couldn't wait to see how the story was going to end.. This is my type of thriller.
Well worth a read.

Excellent book. loved the character. Joe's writing gets better with each book, nice to see something else from him.

Many thanks to NetGallery, the publisher and author "Joe Clifford" for the opportunity to read "The One That Got Away" in exchange for a honest review.
I found "The One That Got Away" to be a suspenseful mystery/thriller. The main character is Alex who is the sole survivor of a string of abductions and murders, she was a teenager when this happened. When Alex hears that another girl is missing in her home town, she decides to investigate what happened.
Very good psychological mystery, well written, with lots of twists and a ending I did not see coming.

The one that got away is dark. It’ll disturb you and make you think. Told from different perspectives I loved it. It’s not easy at times but it’s well written and it’s gripping. Go buy it!

Dark, gritty, depressing but fascinating. Alex Salerno was lucky enough to escape rape and torture at the hands of a serial killer. It is her claim to fame in her small town of Reine, New York - which is why she left. Alex returns to Reine when a journalist wants to do a story on her escape and life thereafter. But when Alex arrives in Reine, she realizes that she's been duped - the journalist isn't real - he's just a snot-nosed college student looking for someone to do his work for him. and he isn't even interested in Alex - he really wants the story of Kira Shanks, a girl who disappeared five years after Alex escaped. But Kira wasn't killed by Alex's captor, he was in prison. As angry as Alex is that she was played, she becomes intrigued with Kira's story and becomes driven to untangle the mystery. But Reine holds it secrets tight and won't let them go without a fight. Good writing, sad but real characters and a twisty plot.

Alex was abducted as a teenager but rescued before she was killed. She was somewhat of a local celebrity until another girl went missing and was never found. years later, she is back in her hometown and decides to investigate the other girl's disappearance. It was an okay book, a quick read, although Alex was pretty unlikeable and I couldn't really see that she had much reason for getting involved in the first place. The ending was a bit of a letdown for me. Overall 3 stars.

The One That Got Away by Joe Clifford, thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for letting me read this ARC book for giving my opinion.
This book is written very well with each chapter being a different post from one of the characters, the Bennie chapters to me very sad and heart wrenching and really make you think, Alex I didn't care for as a person very much, kind of abrasive and in your face type of person, however, with what she survived when she was 17, I would imagine could definitely mess a person up....this was a pretty good psychological mystery and it kept me involved and reading til the end. I will definitely read another novel from this author!

Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was my first time reading Joe Clifford and it was a great introduction to his writing. The book centres on Alex who was rescued by Police from a serial killer when she was 17. Years later she returns to her hometown where people are talking about the disappearance of Kira Shanks another girl from her hometown several years after her own abduction. The town think the killer of Kira is safely being held in a mental institution. Benny the alledged murderer is in a catatonic state. The book gives insight into Benny's world by containing several chapters written from his perspective which will tug at your heartstrings and make you want justice for Benny and Kira. Alex is determined to get to the bottom of what has happened. This book kept me wanting to read more to find out what did happen to Kira. Suspensefully written with an ending you will not anticipate. #netgalley #joeclifford #theonethatgotaway #litsy #tea_sipping_bookworm