This mystery held my interest and kept me guessing. I loved the setting and felt the plot was fast paced
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

What starts as a standard missing person story develops into a real mystery once it is discovered that this was not the first person to go missing along that road. It quickly becomes a hunt to find the connection between these women and so to discover what really happened to them all. A mediocre start but the build up was great and the ending was really good with a final surprise in the last gew pages.

From page one, I knew that Dark Highway wasn’t for me: a bunch of riffraff driving around in a car with a dead body in the trunk (I am not giving anything away here, this is the first sentence), a nasty, nosy cleaner going through her employer’s garbage and medicine cabinet and crowing about the misfortunes of her wealthy friend who gave her a job. There was nothing decent or likeable about these people and they were not worth my time. Give it a chance up to Chapter 3, then cut my loses.

Thank you to Net Gallery for giving me the opportunity to review many other wonderful books (unfortunately this wasn’t one of them) in exchange for an unbiased review.

I downloaded this book from Netgalley on a whim, attracted by the book cover, ominously dark and rather restrained compared to other mysteries and thrillers (my latest pet peeve is the thriller cover with a woman running away seen from behind – I’ve seen it way too much). I really lucked out on this one; I’m glad I discovered Lisa Gray and that she has other books out there!

I didn’t know that it was part of a series, but it did read very well independently, although I missed some back stories about PI Jessica Shaw and how she came to work for another PI. I didn’t get to understand exactly why she needed some practice hours before having her own license and business, and what kind of dark trauma she experienced before, but I found her endearing enough, and tenacious as hell, which is a good quality for a PI!

In this story, several people go missing around Los Angeles and Southern California. One is a young female artist, whose affluent parents are paying for a private investigation, as the police is not convinced that the disappearance is suspicious. The young woman’s van was found in a remote part of Twenty Nine Palms highway, without any personal belongings inside, and her mother has heard of two other women disappearing in the same area over a decade or more. Still, given that the client is rather highly strung, the idea that those disappearances might be connected is rather far-fetched, as the three potential victims have nothing in common.

The story really took me for a ride! (pun wholly intended) I began to suspect who the bad guy was at about 3/4 of the book, and still the end of the book managed to pull out some more surprises. The book is clearly more about plots and twists than about character development, and I frankly didn’t care much for Jessica’s personal life itself. There are some titillating flashbacks but not so much that the pace didn’t flow smoothly: I really couldn’t turn the pages fast enough!

I didn’t know that the book focused on Twenty Nine Palms Highway of all places, and had I known, I might have skipped the book and missed out. This place (I’ve never been to California) always reminds me of one particular movie, that really shocked me when I watched it many years ago. When it comes to movies I’m really a scaredy cat, but I’m quite ok with violence in books, funnily enough!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley. I received a free copy of this book for review consideration.

I struggled with this book, probably because it is the third in a series that I haven't read before. The story was good and didn't end where I thought it would however the pace was rather stop/start. I'd recommend starting at book 1 because starting at book 3 was too confusing.

Dark Highway would have gotten 5 stars but the authors style of writing or choice of writing from so many different points of view will have readers trying to remember what happened or read the same scene over again with a "Different point of view." Really its the same story and nothing much was added to the story. The flash backs sometimes helped move the story forward but most of the time just stalled out the movement of the story.

Readers will enjoy the lead characters and be able to enjoy the read.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of Lisa Gray Dark Highway.

A solid four star read. Good premise. Great characters. Enjoyed the style of writing. Plenty of mystery to keep me interested. I guessed the culprit hence the four star review. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it

A good entry into the Jessica Shaw series. As usual, Lisa Grey does a great job of creating mystery and intrigue throughout the novel. Loved the setting of LA once again. Unfortunately, the wide array of narrators let this installment down a bit.

If you're searching for a missing person, Jessica Shaw is the one you want on your team. When Laurie Simmonds disappeared from a motel on the Twenty Nine Palms Highway, her family hires her to find their daughter. Jessica and her boss, Matt, discover that Laurie is not the first woman to go missing on this highway. As the pair is following leads to the past of some former college friends and discovering a link between those friends and the missing girls, Laurie's parents ask them to stop their investigation. Jessica has a hard time understanding why parents would do such a thing and continues on the case on her own. She has to find out, what happened, the truth to all the missing girls.
This was a thrilling read and I recommend to read this series in order to fully understand the person that is Jessica Shaw.

This is the 3rd book in the Jessica Shaw series. Jessica has teamed up with Connor to solve the mystery of 3 women who have disappeared. Matt Connor is definitely not at the top of my favorite character people - enough said there.

Jessica starts pulling together the pieces of the missing women and the story jumps from her current day investigation to the past where each of the missing women are showcased. It does jump back and forth a little too much for my preference but I understand why it was done. It fleshes out each of the missing women.

I liked how Ms. Gray pulled all the pieces together from the introduction scene, to the missing women, to the families that missed them and the reason behind the crime.

At first I could book the book down, but the further I read the harder it was to put down. This is a solid addition to the series and I look forward to the next book.

Wow. Lisa Gray is quickly becoming an auto-buy author for me. Her Jessica Shaw series is just incredible, and Dark Highway was no different. Going into this third book, I was a little apprehensive as Bad Memory was such an incredible book and I was worried that Dark Highway would not live up. I was definitely wrong. Dark Highway is my favourite book in the series so far, and I cannot wait to see what happens in Jessica’s story next. I could not rate this any less than 5 stars!

Murder mysteries are one of my top genres to read, but I think it is because of this that I can be quite selective. I often find they are predictable, or the plot just isn’t developed. Dark Highway has all the components of what I consider a phenomenal murder mystery. An inimitable plot, that was suspenseful and plausible, but not predictable. I was sat reading and my family had to put up with all of my theories, many of which were wrong or quickly changed once I read another part of the puzzle!

I remember reading and reviewing Bad Memory, the second book in this series, and saying that it was a spectacularly written novel. I am going to amend my statement. Lisa Gray is a spectacular writer. I say this because Dark Highway was fast-paced and held my attention throughout. The flashbacks and multiple point of views, something that I struggle with when reading, were absolutely fascinating and added to the overall impact of the novel. This is all the result of Lisa Gray and her incredible writing. She takes a stylistic choice that has the potential to be disjointed and detached, and makes it flow seamlessly. I could not speak any higher of a book as I am.

This book, I have no doubt, will be on my list of favourite reads of 2020. I will be recommending this book, and the Jessica Shaw series to anyone and everyone who will listen. If you are searching for a murder mystery series that will completely captivate you, provide an intriguing plot and main character, and have a story that will leave you questioning what is right and wrong, I recommend you pick up Dark Highway, and the rest of the Jessica Shaw series. This book was truly incredible, and I look forward to reading Lisa Gray’s future books.

Dark Highway is the third instalment in the Private Investigator Jessica Shaw series, set in Los Angeles, California. Jessica specialises in missing persons cases and is currently logging hours towards her California PI license working for Matt Connor’s company MAC Investigations, with whom she has a chemistry with from previous books. The story opens with Nick, Junior, Zee and Dusty driving down the highway in Zee’s Cutlass with a dead woman in the trunk. They stop and Dusty directs his fearful acquaintances to dig a grave and bury the body. Meanwhile, Jessica and Matt hold a meeting with a wealthy new client, Renee Simmonds, the mother of twenty-four-year-old missing Venice artist Laurie Simmonds, who has been missing for two months. Renee informs them that Laurie’s VW campervan was found on the shoulder of a remote and deserted stretch of Twentynine Palms Highway and strangely none of her personal items were inside. Renee feels she has no choice but to hire PIs as the police investigation has stalled. They also know that two other young women, Mallory Wilcox and Amanda Meyers, disappeared from the same area in similar circumstances in cases stretching back three decades.

It doesn't take long before, out of the blue, Laurie’s parents remove MAC from the case. Jessica feels they were getting close to discovering the truth about the three missing girls and isn't about to give up now. This is a compulsive and exciting thriller with a whole lot of action, a believable plot and a cast of engaging characters. I found I wasn't so keen on the sexual tension or romantic attraction between Jessica and Matt as it didn't really add much to the story. That said, I love Jessica as a protagonist as she's a strong, independent woman who knows her own mind, gets results and is nobody's fool. The plot is quite convoluted as it shifts between multiple points of view as well as including flashbacks and although at the beginning it took a little getting used to it, I felt that the transitions were executed pretty seamlessly. There's also a backstory to Jessica that is interesting and is explored more throughout this book. There are ample twists and turns and a great use of red herrings/misdirection with Gray really pulling out all of the stops by ratcheting up the tension towards the end culminating in a spectacular conclusion. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Amazon Publishing for an ARC.

Dark Highway is the third book in the well-written Jessica Shaw series, about a prickly but determined PI working cases in small-town Southern California, by Scottish former journalist Lisa Gray. I had read the two previous instalments but you can easily get into this as a stand-alone, as you get all the necessary backstory and it doesn’t spoil the earlier books either. I enjoyed this missing-person case and am liking Jessica more and more as the series progresses.

Lonely and looking for work, Jessica has ignored her better judgement and gone to untrustworthy but attractive fellow PI Matt Connor for a job. A young artist has gone missing in the desert and her anxious parents hire Matt & Jessica to find her. They soon discover that other women have also vanished in the same area - how do these cases connect to the fate of a young bartender thirty years earlier?

This was a smoothly paced mystery with intriguing characters, and a great sense of place, although for me there were too many clues, so that it was obvious what was going on by at least half way through - I prefer the suspense to last for most of the book. I was still glued to the kindle to find out how things would turn out, and definitely liked the unexpected ending. Jessica is tough but compassionate and smart enough to both solve the mystery and get herself out of trouble without her unreliable partner. I’ll happily continue this series to read more of her adventures.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon UK for the ARC which allowed me to give an honest review. Trigger warning for rape (mentioned, not described in detail) and violent attempted rape (described.) Dark Highway is published today.

The story was a very intriguing one and it was fast! Made me feel like I was on the Starship Enterprise! Jessica Shaw is drawn into a case of a missing woman at the request of her parents. Soon, she finds herself faced with he fact that there are other missing women and she feels there is a "link" involved.

I didn't realize this was Lisa Gray's third book in the series. Now I'm on a quest to read the two books that I've missed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing house for allowing me AC!

Dark Highway by Lisa Gray picks up where Bad Memory left off. Private Investigator Jessica Shaw picks up a missing persons case on the first day of her new job at MAC Investigations. 24 year old Laurie Simmonds disappeared without a trace a year earlier. Laurie’s mom hires MAC to search for her believing that there is a link to her daughter’s case and two other missing girls. Jessica’s investigation leads her to some suspicious links between the three women, but is it truly a connection or just a coincidence? And will working with her former love interest prove to be a good idea or lead to more heartbreak?

I really enjoyed this book. I had a really hard time putting it it down. I’ve become a big fan of Jessica Shaw and as much as I wanted to solve the mystery I also wanted to find out what would happened between her and Matt Conner.

A young woman is missing and her mother contacts Matt Connor of MAC Investigations. With the help of former detective Jessica Shaw, who is now working with Matt, they take the case. Jessica knows about missing persons…she once was one. Finding out that there are two other missing woman who disappeared in the same general area widens the investigation. By adding the two other women to their case, they hope to ascertain if the three women were connected in any way. I was a little confused at first as the story rotates back and forth from the past to the present, but once I realized who the original murder victim was, the story really took off. A very unique and twisted mystery with an ending that I did not see coming. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

Twentynine Palms Highway is as isolated as it sounds. It is also the last known location of artist Laurie Simmonds before she disappeared leaving only her campervan behind. Jessica Shaw is the private eye Laurie's parents have hired to try and find their daughter before suddenly changing their mind soon after it is discovered two other girls have also disappeared nearby.

Working with her boss Matt Connor her discoveries led them to believe they were getting close to at least working out what happened before they are removed from the case by Laurie's parents. Jessica is unwilling to let things go, but she is searching for a dangerous perp who is beginning to set their sights on her.

This is a fast paced, completely engrossing, storyline which draws you in and holds you until the very last page. Although I hadn't read the previous books I enjoyed this and didn't feel disadvantaged.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the opinions expressed are my own. If you are looking for an easy way to lose a few hours this might just be it.

I am fast becoming addicted to this series and Jessica Shaw grows as a character with every book. Jessica is a Private Eye who, until recently, had been itinerant, picking up jobs as she travelled. Now though, needing to up her hours to get her California PI licence, she has taken on a job working in L.A. with Matt Connor, a PI she goes back a way with and with whom she has some chemistry.

Jessica is in part driven by discovering that she herself was a missing child and that helps fuel her ability to dig deep into missing person cases. This time, Matt’s Agency has been tasked with tracing a missing 24 year old young woman, Laurie, the artist daughter of a wealthy couple.

Jessica is intrigued by this case because the mother has gone to some lengths to suggest that her daughter’s disappearance is linked to other missing women who have disappeared in the same vicinity. The woman’s father though is sceptical and unhelpful; he clearly feels his wife is clutching at damaged straws.

Dark Highway utilises different timelines and characters to give the reader a bird’s eye view of each of the women who went missing, and to introduce witnesses and potential suspects. We learn about the lives of these women and how they lived prior to their disappearance, but it is Jessica’s investigation techniques that will have to piece together what any connection might be and whether that can be helpful in leading to Laurie’s recovery.

The book is fast-paced and the narrative flows really well, despite the changing voices and timelines which serve to keep the readers interest high as we understand the events that led up to the disappearances and also offered some hints as to why they may have been taken.

Jessica, doggedly determined, unsure about what she’s doing back working with Matt Connor but liking it just the same, is an investigator you’d love to go for a drink with. An independent woman who seeks to keep her vulnerable side tucked away, she is a character you warm to, not least because you see and feel, as she investigates the missing women, how strongly she needs to find out what happened to them.

Lisa Gray’s book doesn’t hesitate to go dark and there is one completely relevant, disturbing scene which leads the reader into understanding exactly why these crimes have been committed. Her sense of place and atmosphere is excellent and if I never have to visit the Twentynine Palms Highway, (California State Route 62) I will not fear I have lost out!

VERDICT: Gray brings drama and thrills to these missing person investigations. A gripping narrative arc, some tight plotting and warm, relatable characters make this third book in the series unmissable.

A solid mystery, as usual I would have benefitted from reading the other books in the series, I am forever doing this and not reading previous books and it does make a difference. I did still enjoy this book although I found it a little slow in places. I would read more books in this series, and I thought this was an entertaining read.

After reading and loving the first two books in this series, I was so excited to see where the story would lead in book 3. Maybe I had my expectations too high but this book felt very underwhelming to me. I had no problem figuring out the big twist and from early on I knew where the book was going. While I did enjoy seeing Jessica again, overall the story just felt one dimensional to me. Also there should have been a major trigger warning for rape included in the beginning of this book.

While this book is part of a series, I do not feel like you have to read the first two books to understand what is going on.