Thank you to the publisher, MIRA, for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Gist
At the time I decided to read and review <i>No One Saw</i>, I was not familiar with the characters of detectives McKittridge and Morgan or the previous story that did the initial introduction of them.

I jumped in with both feet, ready to embark on a mystery story with a police-procedural flair to it.

The story accomplished that and yet it didn’t. There was a distinct divide between solving the case of the missing child and adding more personal details to the detectives to further flesh out the characters. Of course, to keep the reader’s interest in future installments in this series.

Now, I’m sitting here, finding it extremely challenging to be diplomatic. Or maybe it’s just the heat. I’m struggling to untangle my opinions of the investigation and the personal stories.

I’ll try my best.

The Details
I couldn’t stand the main characters. I thought they acted very superior and judging towards certain minor characters that appeared to be unique. They even started a running joke that lasted half of the book.

This one minor character appeared in the story at most for two pages, but it was a telling scene that set the stage to unveil better understanding of the detectives.

I don’t want to give anything away, but pay attention to one of the potential witnesses the detectives interview and how they keep referring back to this witness. I found it quite eye-opening.

There were other, small details – comments made by either a character or the narrator – that showed how clearly superior these two protagonists feel with respect to others.

I found them to be prejudiced and blinded by their own world view.

They also had a lot of stock-like characteristics; very obvious signs of who belongs into which mental and societal box.

We have the female detective, who desperately wants a child. There is nothing wrong with a woman wanting a child. It becomes a bit tedious, though, when all we get to know about this character is that she feels like an empty womb.

Then we have the male detective. He is divorced, of course, with a borderline unhealthy dose of “my little girl” syndrome. He also has a girlfriend, who is just so swell. All she wants to do is please her man with her naked body. No other personality traits or character depth is wasted on her.

The investigation part of the story was fast-paced and very intriguing at the beginning. I remember flying through the first 20% of the story without blinking an eye. It was good. I liked it.

Then I noticed signs of a wild goose chase started to appear. The detectives kept going back and forth, wanting to get more information on numerous red herrings.

They ignored obvious facts. I assume this was done to create tension and entertainment.

Sadly, I figured out who was behind it all at around the 50% mark. Any seasoned mystery lover would have had no problem with this little puzzle.

The Verdict
Overall, there were just way too many little details that kept me from enjoying <i>No One Saw</i>. The protagonists just came across too much like jerks and the very last scene had me eyeroll so hard my head started to hurt.

I wondered, if the author meant to create characters that were supposed to be complex and blur the typical line of bad cop versus good cop. At the end, I couldn’t find any sign of that particular social commentary and I had to dismiss that perspective.

Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me.

No One Saw opens with the disappearance of a young girl from her daycare center. Her grandmother swears she handed her off to the teacher. Her teacher is adamant that young Emma Whitman never arrived at school. No one seems to have seen her. As far as Rena and A.L. can guess everyone is lying about something. Emma's parents. Her grandmother. Her teacher. The principal. Everyone has something to hide. Are any of these secrets motive enough to kidnap a 5 year old in broad daylight? Will Morgan and McKittridge find Emma in time? The clock is ticking and the odds of finding her safe and alive diminish with each passing second.

My introduction to Beverly Long came with Ten Days Gone, the first book in this series. I was really taken by both Morgan and McKittridge as characters and loved their dynamic. So I was really excited when Lia Ferrone at Mira Books invited me onto this blog tour. Although the camaraderie and rapport between the two detectives is what brings me back to this series, I do not feel that it is necessary to read the books in order. Long gives enough background to convey the detectives's relationship and personal lives. With her deft hand this information does not come across as redundant for those of us continuing with the series. All in all, both books are great police procedurals and will leave even the discerning reader satisfied.

This is a police procedural that is full of interviews, suspects, and lots of names. It slowly picks up speed as the people of interest jump from person to person.

No One Saw is a story that has all the signs of child abduction. Emma’s grandmother routinely drops her off at pre-school. Though when questioned later she remembers certain things happening, while the girl’s teacher doesn’t agree. Regardless, Emma has disappeared. Did the grandmother not drop her off? Were there any surveillance tapes? Did anyone see her being dropped off?

Someone is lying. But who? Detectives McKittridge and Morgan hope to work fast enough to discover the girl’s whereabouts.

Intermingled with their search is information on the detective’s personal lives. This immediately makes the characters more than just names, as it draws on their family concerns.
Though I didn’t read the first book in this series, Ten Days Gone, some of this might have been explained there. But in this standalone book, I learned that A.L. is a divorced single dad of a teenage girl. He is suffering from ex-wife problems and now has a girlfriend. Rena, the other detective, has some personal issues as well. She and her husband are facing infertility issues and her husband is experiencing a career change.

This book progresses at a slower, methodical pace with the unraveling and basics that detectives might undertake in such an investigation. But as more and more questions arise, you will no doubt bounce from this thought to that as to what happened to Emma.

Though I wouldn’t call this a thriller or suspenseful, I would classify it as very a believable police procedural with good character development.

Thank you to #NetGalley, @harlequinbooks, and #mirabooks for an advanced copy and the ability to print my opinion of the book.

I loved this book! I really enjoy police procedurals and this one with Detective A.L. McKittredge and his partner Rena Morgan is one of the best that I have ever read. The story is a compelling one since five year old Emma is missing from her daycare. Her grandmother insists that she dropped her off with her teacher. Her teacher denies ever seeing her that day. Her mom is late to pick her up, so she is missing all day without anyone’s ever noticing. The clues are there, but there are also the red herrings that kept me guessing. The ending was unpredictable for me which added to my enjoyment of the book and led to the five-star rating. The bonus in the book was learning more about the private lives of the investigators, with details that flowed into the main story line. This is an outstanding police procedural with a fast-paced, relatable plot and characters that were well-developed. By the end of the story, I felt like I knew A.L. and Rena well and I was rooting for them to find the little asthmatic girl before it was too late. This is the second book in the series, but it can easily be read as a standalone. With themes of family drama, lies and lack of communication, I highly recommend this book to fans of gripping police procedurals.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Harlequin via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

"No One Saw" is a police procedural about a five year old girl who goes missing from her daycare. Readers, that is my recurring nightmare. Well, one of them. I teach at a daycare, an early childhood center, and just about my biggest nightmare is to have a student go missing. My co-workers and I count all day long. What do I mean? Well, each age group has a state-mandated ratio of children per teachers. Then there's the schedule of which child comes on what day and what hours. So, we all know how many children we should have and which children we should have. I can't fathom not noticing that a child had NOT arrived on their scheduled day. I can't fathom not checking at the office to see if they know if the child is coming or not. I can't fathom not contacting the parents to inquire if the child is running late or will be out. All of this is a factor in the story of Emma's disappearance. Honestly, in my very biased opinion, those teachers should be fired ASAP. You know, if they were real. I was impressed with how well Long did with the daycare setting; she did some research and it shows. Oh, she made errors of course. Honestly, that's a given in books. It's rare that an author gets it completely right. Add in the differences from state to state and errors small and big will creep in. Though, if Long's depiction is accurate, Wisconsin is a very lax state when it comes to daycare and safety.

Okay, with that topic out of the way, let's move on. "No One Saw" was gripping and frightening. It was both plausible and crazypants. I worried all the while I was reading - would Emma be found, would she be alive, would she be okay, why was that daycare so damn sloppy with their record keeping, and so on. I did figure out who was responsible, though the why took me longer; I was about a half step ahead of A.L. and Rena, lol. They were impressively thorough in their investigation and Long gave us several plausible suspects. I kept changing my mind about the guilty party but always went back to my first choice. Long wrote complex, multi-dimensional characters who were a mix of good and flawed, just like real life. While most of the story was procedural we also got to see A.L. and Rena's respective personal lives which added depth and interest without taking the focus off of the search for Emma and what happened to her. While I wanted Emma found, I didn't want the story to end.

I liked this book so much I want to get my hands on the first book and spend more time with A.L. and Rena. This is book two and works just fine as a stand alone. I just want the story and more time with the leads.

Thank you to Netgalley and Beverly Long for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really liked this book. The plot was good. It’s been done a lot, but was still good. Kept me guessing until the end. It did get quite annoying in the beginning when things were compared to the detectives daughter Tracy. And the constant “everything and one more thing” towards the middle of the book. Overall a good story and look forward to more from the author

No One Saw is more procedural than thriller, in my opinion, but I do enjoy a good procedural, so I wasn't disappointed with that at all. The premise is intriguing, and it certainly makes for a suspense builder, so it's easy to get lost in the pages while trying to suss out the solution. There are a lot of characters introduced during the investigation, so it was a bit much to keep up with at first, but the story is a slow burn suspense, so I feel like there was time to figure out the who's who of it all. It was nice to revisit AL and Rena, but I would say that this book could stand alone for those unfamiliar with the series. In the end, I think this is a good addition to the series, and I like the main characters well enough that I'll look forward to whatever is next for them.

I was not at my best while reading it and could usually only grab little snippets of time but that didn't stop me from being pulled in and thoroughly enjoying this mystery from beginning to end. One thing I really liked about the first book that continued in this book was the characters. So often in police procedural the main characters are such dysfunctional disasters I have a hard time believing that they are able to be halfway competent at their jobs. However, while AL and Rena arent perfect they also read like real people who make reasonable decisions and don't go out of their way to self sabotage.

The mystery was seriously compelling and really pulled me in. I had no idea who it was until the very last though I had a million guesses. I did feel like the end was a little fast and I would have liked it to evolve a little more slowly. I think this was a problem I had with the first one as well. While everything was explained thoroughly I think I would have liked a few more hints before the big reveal.
The mystery was most definitely not a cozy but at the same time wasn't super graphically violent either. While this is the second book in the series they are only connected by the main characters and the bulk of the plot is a complete stand alone. If you're looking for a fast paced and entertaining mystery this is definitely a series you should pick up.

This is the second installment of the A.L. McKittridge series. A.L. is a detective with the Baywood Police Department. In the first of this series, Ten Days Gone, there was a serial killer killing women ten days apart from each other. As the story started, I was super interested. In No One Saw, there’s a little girl, Emma, missing and again, I was super interested. However, in both books, even though they started off super strong for me, I found myself never getting as interested again throughout the novel. Things of course pick up, but never as strong as the start of the novel.

I noticed in the first novel that there were a lot of characters that I was introduced to that I felt like I should’ve known already. Again, in No One Saw, there were so many characters introduced in the interviews. I felt as though I was getting confused on keeping track with who was who. I also felt as though I should’ve known them again, and I still had no idea who they were. On the other hand, I did enjoy A.L. and Rena again. There were some development in characters which I appreciated.

There was absolutely a shock factor to this book. In the first novel, I wasn’t too sure about the story. However, in this novel, I was definitely surprised about the reveal. The burn was definitely slow, but I did get a surprise which is good!

Overall, I would keep reading this series. The second book in this series was definitely stronger than the first. If you’re interested in a detective mystery with strong main characters, this is definitely for you!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: No One Saw

Author: Beverly Long

Book Series: A.L. McKittridge Book 2

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: mystery, thrillers

Publication Date: June 30, 2020

Genre: Thriller/Mystery

Recommended Age: 18+ (violence, death, TW kidnapping)

Publisher: MIRA

Pages: 384

Synopsis: Nobody saw a thing. Or so they say…

Baywood police department detective A.L. McKittridge is no stranger to tough cases, but when five-year-old Emma Whitman disappears from her day care, there isn’t a single shred of evidence to go on. Neither the grandmother who dropped her off, nor the teacher whose care she was supposed to be in, can account for the missing child. There are no witnesses. No trace of where she might have gone. There’s only one thing A.L. and his partner, Rena Morgan, are sure of—somebody is lying.

With the clock ticking, A.L. and Rena are under extreme pressure as they discover their instincts are correct: all is not as it seems. The Whitmans are a family with many secrets, and A.L. and Rena will have to race to untangle a growing web of lies if they’re going to find the thread that leads them to Emma…before it’s too late.

Review: For the most part I felt like this was a well done novel. The plot was well done and it kept me intrigued throughout the novel and the characters were also very well developed. I also liked how the world building was done and writing wise it was solid.

However, I did feel confused when the novel began. I was dropped into the middle of a timeline and it took me awhile to orient myself. This is also the second book in a series but it can be read as a standalone.

Verdict: It was a good book!

I'm a big fan of Detective A.L and his partner Rena, love to following their personal problems, things that makes they're just a normal person who has problems but still have to give more 100% to solve the case.
And this one is a tough case, a missing five year old girl from her daycare, no witness and it seems like everyone is telling the truth. Yup a complex case for the detectives to find the girl, to find who's lying, to find who has secrets, and to find who has motives, where time is of the essence, they're running out of time.

Yes totally love this mystery read, although it's full of tedious works of cops, but it's worth it, love when the layer upon layer of truth finally unveiled. Totally recommended for mystery readers.

In the past few years I've enjoyed crime novels more and more. I've loved discovering established authors such as Louise Penny and Cara Black. And finding authors that are new to me, such as Beverly Long, the author of No One Saw. This was an exciting thriller that I devoured in two days! I could not put it down.

This is the second in a series centering around A.L. McKittridge, a police detective in a small Wisconsin town. A.L. has a teenage daughter, an ex-wife, and a female partner who has her own dramas. This is a nice counter-balance to some harrowing criminal investigations.

If you like crime novels, this series will have you staying up all night to see who done it!

A.L. McKittridge is an excellent detective. His skills are critical when it comes to his latest case - solving the disappearance of a five-year-old girl, with hopes of getting her back alive. It is first thought that the child, Emma Whitman, disappeared from daycare, so that is where A.L. begins his investigation. It doesn't take A.L. and his partner Rena Morgan very long to discover that not everyone they are interviewing is trustworthy. Now the pair must dig really deep to discover who is lying and why.

I really enjoyed this second book in the A. L. McKittridge series because it had a lot of layers. I didn't experience the frustration that I did in the first book in this series. For one thing, the Whitmans, Emma's parents, were hiding something. I loved the intrigue that forced A.L. to dig deeper. Also, the foundation for the characters was built in the first book, Ten Days Gone, and by reading that one previously, I had a lot of appreciation for A.L., his daughter, and his partner. I loved seeing these detectives as people behind their investigations.

I also enjoyed seeing A.L. find something in his life beyond his job and his teenage daughter. Those snippets of his life were enjoyable to read. Another aspect of this book that I enjoyed was seeing how and why some people lie, and how lying can have long-range and tragic results. The last thing that I will mention (while avoiding spoilers) is the reason behind the kidnapping in the first place. That part tugged on my heartstrings.

No One Saw is an excellent police procedural. This book and series holds a lot of promise, leaving me to look forward to reading whatever A.L. and Rena have as their next case.

Many thanks to MIRA and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Title: No One Saw
Author: Beverly Long
Genre: Suspense
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Baywood police department detective A.L. McKittridge is no stranger to tough cases, but when five-year-old Emma Whitman disappears from her day care, there isn’t a single shred of evidence to go on. There are no witnesses, no trace of where she might have gone. There’s only one thing A.L. and his partner, Rena Morgan, are sure of—somebody is lying.

With the clock ticking, A.L. and Rena discover their instincts are correct: all is not as it seems. The Whitmans are a family with many secrets, and A.L. and Rena must untangle a growing web of lies if they’re going to find the thread that leads them to Emma… before it’s too late.

I enjoyed the first book in this series, Ten Days Gone, and this one was right up there with it for suspense, keeping me guessing, and having me racing through it to figure out who had taken Emma. There’s a lot of red herrings and false trails that kept the detectives—and me—guessing.

I love reading series and getting to see how characters grow and change throughout, and although this is only the second book of the series, there has already been change and events to keep up with. The writing here never pulled me out of the story at all—a sure sign this is a winner!

Beverly Long wrote her first book when she was in the fourth grade. No One Saw is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/MIRA in exchange for an honest review.)

No One Saw
An A.L. McKittridge Novel #2
Beverly Long
MIRA, June 2020
ISBN 978-0-7783-0965-9
Mass Market Paperback

From the publisher—

Detective team A.L. McKittridge and Rena Morgan are back on their beat after solving the brutal Baywood serial killings, but crime doesn’t rest for long in their small Wisconsin town. In book two of Beverly Long’s electrifying A.L. McKittridge series, NO ONE SAW (MIRA Mass Market Paperback; June 30, 2020; $7.99), a child seemingly vanishes from a day care into thin air and A.L. and Rena must race to bring her home before time runs out.

Baywood police department detective A.L. McKittridge is no stranger to tough cases, but when five-year-old Emma Whitman disappears from her day care, there isn’t a single shred of evidence to go on. There are no witnesses, no trace of where she might have gone. There’s only one thing A.L. and his partner, Rena Morgan, are sure of—somebody is lying.

With the clock ticking, A.L. and Rena discover their instincts are correct: all is not as it seems. The Whitmans are a family with many secrets, and A.L. and Rena must untangle a growing web of lies if they’re going to find the thread that leads them to Emma… before it’s too late.

There’s nothing much worse than a missing child and, when A.L. and Rena catch this case, they’re 100% focused on finding little Emma. The circumstances seem to be unusual as her grandmother says she dropped her off at daycare that morning but no one working there admits to having seen the little girl…and no one’s really giving the detectives all the cooperation they need.

The detectives are already eleven hours behind, a critical loss of time in a missing child situation, and it’s made even worse by all the lies coming from witnesses and family members. So much deception leads them down more than one rabbit hole and causes further delays in the investigation. Along the way, I was just as puzzled and anxious as our two main characters and found myself pinpointing and then discarding one potential suspect after another.

When I read the first book in the series, I thought the pacing was a bit slow but that doesn’t hold so true in No One Saw. Truthfully, the chase to find Emma built at a moderate tempo until it reached a riveting stage and I kept turning the pages, caught up in the tension and the unwavering determination of these partners to separate all the lies from the truth. I also found A.L.’s and Rena’s personal stories engaging; yes, they have baggage but none of it is abnormal and they work together with intelligence and creative thinking. Well done, Ms. Long!

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, July 2020.

From the depths of Nicole’s Book Cellar (Instagram.com/nicoles_bookcellar):

Book: No One Saw (Release Date: June 30, 2020)

Author: Beverly Long

Genre: Suspense, Mystery

Rating: 4.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Positives: A mystery that has you changing your mind after every turn.

Negatives: If child abductions are a trigger then this isn’t the book for you.

Recommend?: Yes! I did not figure out what happened and that makes my little book heart happy.

Plot: 5-year-old Emma goes missing one day after her grandmother swears that she dropped her off at her daycare. But her teachers and the rest of the staff at the daycare say that Emma was not there at all. Is the grandmother lying or mistaken? Does anyone at the daycare have anything to gain from snatching a 5-year-old? And what about her parents, The Whitmans? They seem to have secrets of their own. This is book 2 in the A.L. McKittridge series. A.L. and Rena join forces again to solve this mystery and they will stop at nothing to do it.

Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book which I think might sound weird based on the fact it is a book about child abduction. But what I liked is the mystery and clues that were given which had me on my toes the whole time.
I didn’t read book 1 in the series and there are mentions of things that happened in the book. But I did not feel lost. I do want to go back and read book 1 though. But back to No One Saw. I love books where I can’t figure out the mystery or twist. If someone figures it out, I do not believe they will put all the pieces together.
Final drinking thoughts: If you want a good mystery that will keep you guessing then read No One Saw. I don’t think there are major twists but I do think there are reveals that you won’t see coming.
Thank you to @NetGalley @Harlequin @BeverlyLong for the advanced copy of #NoOneSaw
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I read TEN DAYS GONE by this same author and loved it. This is another very good book also. It’s not as intense or as full of thrills but it will grab ahold of you and not let go. It will touch your heart.

A five year old child goes missing from a daycare and everyone in the town is searching. Everyone wants to know how a child can just vanish from plain sight. Who could or would do such a thing. It takes a monster to put parents through such horrors. Though I did guess who did it and with whom except for one out of the three. One was only mentioned near the end so it would have been impossible to guess that. But the other two were pretty much a given in my opinion. But still, this book will keep you turning pages. It will make you want to know for certain and want to know WHY.. Why would anyone do such a thing.

The detectives in this story did a great job. They left no stone unturned. From far and wide they searched. Talked to people of interest. Found people that you would never think of. They worked hard even while going through problems in their personal lives that were hard. I was introduced to them in the first book and now in this one.

This book was well written and had many likable characters. Even the villains were likable although you will despise them in the end. It’s not really an edge of your seat thriller until the ending but still it’s a great story. A mystery to be solved. The descriptions were great and some of the names were ones that will give you a chuckle. You will have to read it to know what I mean there.

I look forward to more by this author. She knows how to weave a story that will have you in tears, holding your breath and praying for a happy ending.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #BeverlyLong, #HARLEQUIN for this ARC. This is my own review. I was in no way compensated for it.

I gave it 4 stars and highly recommend it.

A.L. McKittridge has another case and this one is time sensitive. A young girl, Emma has gone missing from her day care and nobody saw or heard anything. The parents are panicked, the grandmother swears she dropped her off and the teachers are adamant they were in their classrooms. As A.L and his partner Rena Morgan start to investigate, secrets, and lies start to unravel. Who is hiding the truth? Will they find Emma in time?

I absolutely loved this face paced mystery by Beverly Long. She is a brilliant author and as soon as I was convinced who the culprit was, something would happen, and I was left wondering all over again. This was the second book in the series, but it could be read as a stand a lone novel as the characters backgrounds were woven into the main story. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Thank you so much to the author Beverly Long, Harlequin and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book to review. It was fabulous! All opinions expressed for this review are unbiased and entirely my own.

Five-year-old Emma is dropped off at her daycare center and promptly goes missing. No one notices until the end of the day when she isn’t there when her father comes to pick her up.

This book had me on the edge of my seat. Every time I thought I was near to figuring out who took Emma and why another twist would occur and start me guessing again. At some point, I think I suspected pretty much everyone in the story. Some red herrings thrown in. I lost some sleep with this book as I could not put it down.

I have not read the first book in this series, but this book works as a stand-alone. I really liked the interplay between the detective partners A.L. and Rena.

As much as I enjoyed this book, there was one flaw for me that resulted in the four-star rating versus five stars. As the wrap up is given at the end of the book, there were some factors that were suddenly dropped in with no earlier hints. But I still enjoyed the story.

Thank you to MIRA/Harper Collins for the advance egalley to review.

5 year old Emma is discovered missing when her parents come to pick her up from daycare. No one has seen her all day. Detective duo A.L. McKittridge and Rena Morgan are called in to the case. This was my first book from this author, and I was left with a good feeling about my reading experience when I finished No One Saw.

The book covers the cops investigation of this crime. There are many suspects and sometimes I did find it hard to keep all the names straight. As a reader, there was one point that I thought I had it all figured out, and then it turns out I didn't, so that kept me engaged in wanting to know what happened to Emma. I thought the crime was well-crafted in this respect. Things get even more complicated with a similar crime happening in a near by town ten years ago. So there are many clues that lead to the kidnappers and many that don't.

What I liked most about No One Saw is the chemistry between A.L. and his partner. I loved how they worked together to solve the case, and that the author also showed a deep friendship between these two. I want to know more about what happens with both of these characters.

Overall, a well-crafted crime drama, with some romantic overtones. It's a quick read, I finished it in a day. I will probably be on the lookout for more books in this A.L. McKittridge series.

An ARC was provided by the publisher. This is my honest review.