Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg is the first book in a new serries introducing homicide detectives Eva Ronim andher partner Duncan pavone. Eve is just beginning to be a lead detective and her partner Duncan is ready to retire. Her first case is a challenging, violent and bloody murder case. She is determined to bring the man she feels is guilty and risks her life trying to bring send him to jail for life. .

It seems I have a new can't miss series. Is it brilliant? Probably not, but it's sharp as a tack and way more fun to cuddle up with on the couch.

4 stars
Lost Hills
by Lee Goldberg
How have I missed reading this author before now? This book was so good! I was leery at first, as I thought the blurb sounded a bit trite and cheesy. But, I was so wrong. I was drawn into the story and the life of Eve Ronin, homicide cop from the first page. I really hope this series lasts for a long time.
The writing is superb. The plotline was brilliant and I would have never figured this one out on my own. I truly enjoy a good, fast-paced mystery book with believable characters. I cannot wait until book two!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. The views given are my own.

Lee Goldberg writes consistently excellent stories that set an example of what readers expect from a mystery/thriller. As the 1st book in his newest series, LOST HILLS introduces us to Eve Ronin, the youngest person to ever be assigned to the Robbery/Homicide division of the Los Angelos Sheriff's Department. The story line will keep you looking for clues as Eve pulls the many differing crimes together to a satisfying solution. I'm glad we will see more of Ev Ronin and her mixed family of characters in future stories

Wow, what a great novel! This was my first time reading anything by Lee Goldberg and definitely not my last! Loved the characters Eve Ronin and her partner, Duncan - looking forward to many more in the series. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I love it when I read a book that was really exciting and kept me guessing. I especially love it when the characters are likable and interesting. This book has it all! I really liked Eve as well as her relationship with Duncan. I can see this series going a long way! The story was great and the writing kept the suspense building to an explosive ending. Can't wait for the next book in this series!

Wow! This was a great read. I love reading an exciting book, centering on a great female police detective. We have a new one, Eve Ronin. Goldberg has created a female detective up to the standards set by Michael Connelly.

The story moves quickly, centered around Eve Ronin a new homicide detective surrounded by skeptical colleagues. She proves her instincts are correct and solves what turns out to be a quadruple homicide.

I urge all of you who love Connelly to grab this book, put up your feet and meet Eve...you will love her, as I do.

Thank you Netgalley, for allowing me to meet Eve Ronin, looking forward to our next visit.

It will be interesting to read the next in the Eve Ronin series. I enjoyed the characters and the relationship between Eve & Duncan. I felt pieces fell into place too quickly in the last quarter of the book. I look forward to learning more about Eve and her past.
Goodreads

"Lost Hills" was like a drug. I got completely hooked on the first chapter, so much that I almost read it front to back in a sitting. While reading it I couldn't help but imagine it on the big screen, as I think it would make a great movie. It's a fast paced police procedural, with a gruesome crime scene, some forensics thrown around and an action packed last chapters that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Eve Ronin was a likable character and I was rooting for her from page one. I specially liked how she hold her own ground against her male colleagues. Now I'm curious to see how they will treat her after the resolution of this case. I can't wait to meet her again in book 2.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fantastic! When I finished it (in just a few hours), I immediately went on to Amazon to check out this author (this was the first I've read by him). Imagine how excited I was to see that book 2 in this series will be out January 2021. It's already on my wish list.

Check this one out! You won't be disappointed.

Thank you #netgalley and #thomasandmercer for the eARC. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Deputy Eve Ronin has been lucky. On the way of her bike ride to work, she stumbled into a domestic assault case, and trashed the man responsible. Unknown to her, she had just sucker punched and pinned down an Hollywood action star, has been filmed by several onlookers, became viral, and earned the nickname « DeathFist ». This presented as a good opportunity for the Sheriff of Los Angeles Country whose department has been recently plagued by scandals. Eve Ronin is ambitious, doesn’t see why she should apologize for it, and jumped on the opportunity, taking an offered promotion to become the youngest Homicide-Robbery detective in history.

She makes of for her lack of experience thanks to her studying of police procedural books, her previous experience in burglary, and a very keen eye for details. She’s also helped into her new role by Duncan, her assigned partner, five months to retirement (who, for reasons known only to my mind, reminds me of modern age Batman’s Detective Harvey Bullock). He has unofficially positioned himself as a mentor for Ronin, and cares much than he lets show. Bit by bit, Ronin quickly overcomes her insecurities.

Her first major case stems from the discovery of what can only been called a slaughterhouse. Gallons of blood missing a few important things : bodies, and a murder weapon. The suspect will come soon enough, but how to pin the murders on him ?

Lost Hills is all what thriller fans want to find in such a book. No lengthy exposition. We learn about the characters through tidbits thrown here and there during action or investigation. The crime is no laughing matter, but humor (sometimes dark) is omnipresent, mainly through the funny back and forth banter between the cops working the case. The longer flashback I’ve found into the book was two paragraphs long. In spite of this, by the end of the book, it’s like we’ve known the characters forever.

Michael Connelly and Harry Bosch are (quite cleverly) name checked in the book. One of the many strengths of Connelly is being able to make the city of Los Angeles a character as alive as the rest of his cast. This is the case here, as well, as Lee Eldridge uses Detective Eve Ronin’s knowledge of the LA suburbs to achieve the same effect. This story couldn’t have taken place anywhere else.

The last act is a fast paced race against time, as Eve Ronin finally manages to fit all of the puzzle parts into place. As it’s the first book in a new series by Lee Eldridge, it’s no spoiler to reveal she’ll win this race, and will also earn, for reasons I’ll keep to myself, the new nickname of « DeathFist II ».

This is the best American style thriller I’ve read in a while, and Lee Eldridge should take his place up there with the great contemporary thriller authors.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for this unbiased review