This was a quick and easy read for me but it reminds me so much of other books of its kind. It’s difficult for me to not be able to predict these at some point and this was no different.

Great thriller which I could not put down. Brilliant characters, and twists and turns. Highly recommend to others!

Girl Most Likely is full of revenge and twists and turns. An engrossing novel set in a small Midwest town where twenty-eight-year-old Krista Larson has made her mark as the youngest female police chief in the country. She’s learned from the best: her father, Keith, a decorated former detective. But as accustomed as they are to the relative quiet of their idyllic tourist town, things quickly turn with Krista’s ten-year high school reunion.

A Must-Read!

The idea of this book is better than what has actually been produced. Starts off well and then peters off as you read more and more. Lots of potential, just not executed very well.

Give this one a try if you're looking for an interesting pair of detectives coping with those who are avenging old insults. It's a fast paced read with topical issues.

Idea is better than the real execution. While I find the father-daughter detective team being lovely, I also find the whole story being only surface-level and superficial. The usage of popular and controversial topics (including the abuse of authority, sex-related crimes and same-sex related opinions and prejudices) seems to be meant as the reader's attractor factor, but without actually going even a bit deeper on those topics. The murder/s seem not to be taken seriously and the solutions is somehow randomly reached.
But on the other side this is a fast romp and the small-town feels real.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I have been a fan of Max Allan Collins for years, enjoying all his series books as well as the stand-alones. I truly hope this is the beginning of a new series, because I really enjoyed Krista Larson! The youngest female police chief in the country, Krista has a lot to live up to, but Galena is a quiet town with little crime - and hasn't had a murder in over 20 years. Until, suddenly, there are two!! On the weekend of the class of 2009's 10-year reunion, there are a lot of non- and previous residents in town, but could one of them have brought murder to this little town? And are these two murders connected to the death of a fellow alumnus in Florida six months ago?

With the help of her father, retired detective Keith Larson, Krista does get to these answers - and a few more!!

Tense chilling so involving picked it up got so caught up in the story the investigation.Read late into the night the ending shocked me A new author for me I’m looking foward to reading more of his books.#netgalley#thomasmercer

Girl Most Likely is a thriller, fast-paced but easy to read. This is the first book in a new series about Krista Larson who has the distinction of being the youngest female police chief in the country. Her father, Keith, a former detective comes out of retirement to consult and assist her in solving a crime which involves former classmates. Krista and her father cover quite a bit of territory as they work together to determine who has it in for Krista’s classmates: from their small mid-West town to Florida and even up to Chicago. I found this to be an enjoyable read, kind of like an easy ride on a Sunday morning, with a few hairpin turns thrown in to keep life interesting. It is a great combination of mystery and police procedure with enough description thrown in to give a since of déjà vu in some cases, especially when dealing with former classmates and the reunion. The relationship between Krista and her father is great and explores the difficulty of a father having to come to terms with separating his feelings when it comes to his daughter and her job. All in all, this is a good read. I look forward to the next book. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to review this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced review copy. The story follows Krista Larson, who at 28 is the youngest female police chief in the country. Along with her father, retired detective Keith Larson, Krista is tasked with solving the gruesome murder of a former classmate, right after their ten-year high school reunion. I felt like the plot of this book had real promise, but it was bogged down by excessive descriptions of what characters were wearing and too much sitting around and talking. My favorite parts were the chapters from the killer's perspective, it was really the only time there was any sense of suspense or urgency. There was very little action until the last quarter of the book, and then it started moving a little too fast to keep up. I also was not satisfied with the resolution, I would have liked to know more about the killer's motives.

one of my all time favorite authors. very good book, love the sparse style of collins, will forever be a constant reader of his books. cant go wrong here.

Published by Thomas & Mercer on April 1, 2019

The villain of Girl Most Likely is you, given that part of the novel is written in the second person. That almost never works and this novel is no exception. In this case, the “you” is a murderer, which didn’t seem convincing to me because I know for a fact that I have never murdered anyone.

You meet Sue and ask her not to talk about what happened in the past. She won’t commit to silence, so you stab her to death. That was probably your plan regardless of her answer. But who are you? If you care, you need to read to the end to discover your identity.

The story adopts the third person when it introduces the protagonist, Galena Chief of Police Krista Larson, the youngest female police chief in the country. Her father was a celebrated cop, she broke up with her reporter boyfriend, etc. Krista is a bundle of stereotypes. A high school reunion (Krista’s class) is coming to Galena, minus a woman named Sue, who was murdered in Florida.

After meandering through the first third of the novel, the plot focuses on a female reporter who was once the victim of sexual abuse. The reporter is apparently working on a story about sexual misconduct. She is reunited at the reunion with a man who abused her (the unidentified “you” of the chapters written in second person). The encounter leads to a crime that Krista is called upon to investigate, one that echoes the Florida murder of another classmate.

Krista and her dad solve the mystery, not by piecing together clues in an interesting way but by badgering people who attended the reunion until one of them says something that makes the killer’s identity reasonably clear. That’s an accurate reflection of police work but it isn’t very interesting. And that pretty much sums up my reaction to Girl Most Likely.

I generally like Max Allen Collins’ books — I particularly enjoy what he’s done as a successor to Mickey Spillane — but Girl Most Likely is uncharacteristically dull. Perhaps that’s because it is set in Galena, a city that fails to inspire excitement. Collins tries to work in a couple of action scenes, but they are predictable and do nothing to supply the novel with the energy it lacks.

The relationship between Krista and her father is typical of cop-father, cop-daughter thriller relationships. Neither character has enough pizazz to make me care about them. But they constantly make clear that they love and admire each other, and that is apparently meant to warm a reader’s heart. I prefer meaningful characterization to fuzzy heartedness.

Collins is a capable writer and there are readers who like dull mysteries with sweet protagonists. I’m not in that audience. Girl Most Likely isn’t bad enough to condemn, but I have serious reservations about recommending it to fans of Collins’ better novels or, for that matter, to most crime novel readers.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

DNF (Did Not Finish).

I put this book down after getting about halfway through. The opening chapter, written in the second person, is amazing, but it also feels like a high point I haven't seen in the rest of my reading.

Now I'm having to admit I don't feel like finishing the story. There isn't anything I'm finding that compelling here.

I liked the premise of this book: a young female police chief and her retired father work to solve a murder at her high school reunion. I liked the characters and it was a good mystery. The ending, though, felt a bit rushed and there wasn’t a clear explanation of motive. I like to know why people do what they do when I read. Thank you @netgalley for this book!

Thank you, Thomas and Mercer, for the ARC.

I dislike writing bad reviews. I am sure there are many that liked this book, or would like it, but it just wasn't for me. I thought the premise sounded interesting, but the story was a bit silly and ended VERY abruptly. It was OK. The writing style threw me a little bit also, as I guess I didn't realize it was written by a man as I was reading. I didn't like the way he wrote about and described the women characters. It wasn't a BAD book, I want to make that clear. Maybe just not my cup of tea.

Kind of a bland read. I'm not sure marketing the book as a "thriller" is doing it much good. This was okay, but I'm not sure I'd pick up the next book in the series.

This was an original, well paced thriller - I loved the plot taking place at a school reunion, it resonated with me as there were many secrets and romances at school and everyone takes different paths. This book kept me guessing - I suspected almost every man for different reasons and never twigged who the real killer was until the end. The characters were well rounded and interesting. My only reservation was that the ending seemed to be very abrupt and left me a little wanting. I felt as though I wanted to know a little more about the killer - what lead to him suddenly resorting to murder?

I'm a sucker for a good series and I was excited to be able to read this one. I have to admit that it took sometime to really get into this book. Once I was able to really get into this book it moved at a faster pace. I don't know it would call this a book thriller exactly but I thought that over all the story was intriguing.

Quick read, but a good one! Fast paced and kept me reading. Threw it in my purse to pick up while running errands and waiting for kids. Looking forward to see where the series goes!

I've been struggling to complete this book for over a month now with no luck. I'm about 30% done and that's as much of the long overly descriptive paragraphs that I can stand.