New author .... new book .... Fantastic start to a new series I look forward to reading!!!

Hooked from the beginning...great action .... great flow .... great characters. You are completely invested in the outcome. Looking forward to the next one in this series.

Thank you #netgalley and #bookouture for this eARC.

First Shot, the first in a new series by John Ryder, opens with some fantastic scene setting and that killer hook prologue that I always crave in my reading materials. I immediately settled myself into the pages but boy I was not settled for long!
Set in USA, Georgia, in the fictional town of Daversville, I found myself transported there in an instant; I was in that small town diner, I could see the look of suspicion on the faces of the locals and I could smell the hostility radiating from the pages! Such visuals and a sense of place created right from the outset.
Grant Fletcher is the main protagonist in this novel and he is one of those guys that as soon as you meet, you just know you are going to have a bit of a character crush on him! Fletcher is doing his friend a favour when his friend’s daughter goes missing while passing through this isolated little town. And when her boyfriend is arrested on suspicion of harming her, Fletcher soon finds out is that she is not the only missing woman from this small town.
Fletcher is one of those smouldering characters, military background and some deeply emotional personal issues. He is definitely the type of guy you would want on your side when the chips were down. He doesn’t mess around and takes no shit from anyone. There is enough of his backstory there to make him not just an "action man" type figure but also multi-layered and a man you want to get to know, a man who is hurting just as much as he hurts others.
Joining Fletcher in this novel is Zoey Quadrado, an FBI agent who’s been sent out to investigate the disappearance of the missing women and she’s not too happy at being sent out to the back of beyond but she wants to impress her bosses and make a name for herself, but like Fletcher she has a hard time fitting in with the locals.
Zoey and Fletcher meet under dubious circumstances and while he intrigues her she makes it clear she is the cop and she wants him out of there, but you might have guessed by now, Fletcher is not the type of man to do as he’s told. I enjoyed observing the sparks between both characters, they rub each other up the wrong way but there is also a bit of a mutual respect and understanding from both of them. Getting an insight into their personal lives and their motivations for doing what they do meant I felt as though I got to know them and I’m sure as this series pans out a lot more will come tumbling out about these two.
The small town of Daversville is as much of a character as some of its "strange" inhabitants are. It’s not a lie when I say you will hear the banjos start to strum as you read. With a great sense of place I soon found myself totally creeped out by this town steeped in racism and a deep mistrust of the world outside its borders. I could picture the dusty streets, the old fashioned diner and the posse of local "hard-men" coming to deal with any stranger in town. It’s clear that there is a dark secret being kept in this small town and that townsfolk are not ready to give it up easily and the influence of the Blackett family who own the saw mill and indeed the whole town it would appear.
The plot moves along swiftly with just the right balance of action and suspense. There is also a touch of dry humour and I had a gnawing sense of unease created at the pit of my belly while reading it. The story line is engaging with the most cleverly crafted jaw dropping moments sneaking in and what an ending, bloody hell, I had to lie down in a dark room after that! Action, twists, turns and a bloody good story! What more can you ask for! This is crying out to be made into a TV series!

The review will be on my blog as part of the blog tour.

Great suspense/mystery book, couldn't put it down.
When Lila and her boyfriend take a detour on their car trip they end up heaving lunch in a little town in Georgia. When Lila steps outside to smoke, she suddenly disappears without a trace. Her father saved the life years ago of a man called Fletcher, and he calls upon him to go investigate what happened to his daughter.
At the same time, FBI agent Quadrado is also sent to the small town to investigate the multiple disappearances of women from this town over the last 18 months.
Fletcher and Quadrado often clash on their investigative methods, but one thing they both agree on is that something sinister is happening in town, and they need to get to the bottom of it before anyone else goes missing. What they uncover will give them (and the reader) chills and a bigger determination to bring about justice. But will they be able to legally find and free these women, and will the end justify the means?
Loved this book, filled with lots of action, mystery, and great characters. Really looking forward to the next book in this new series.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The First in a new series by an author who has such a great talent.


Fletcher in some way reminds me of another character that this author has written about.  While he uses a pen name for this book the talent and the great ability in which he writes his characters is evident.


Fletcher is a no nonsense character that does what he thinks is right.  He is a helpful person who is there because of a friend who was in need of his help.


The story is great as girls are going missing and Fletcher is asked hy a friend to help as his daughter went missing.  I find the story enthralling and that it is extremely well written


This book has so much suspense and had me in shivers due to the buildup.   I haven't felt that way about a book in a while.


I didn't really like Quadrado.  That character just drove me nuts but then again some of the best characters I have seen are those that you don't like.  Part of the best thing is when an author has the ability to make you feel something strongly about characters.


The action scenes were so realistic and the author certainly has a great ability to write a fight.


For a series that is brand new you can just tell that this series is going to be something special.