This book blew me away! I was unable to but it down. Perfect, dazzlingly, very well written. The details the author described throughout the book was so amazing. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

If you like this kind of book, this is a great example of the genre. Bonus points for fresh sounding (reading?) dialogue, and for the addition of a couple of mini-mysteries to keep the main story from getting stale.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.  

Annalisa Vega is a detective, the daughter of a detective and she lost someone she cares deeply about to a Serial Killer when she was a teen. Grace Harper is an online sleuth investigating this serial killer who gets much closer than she imagines.  When Grace is killed in a similar style to the murders she is investigating, Annalisa must begin to follow the trail of this killer in order to bring him in.  Annalisa partners with her ex-husband, who is also a police officer to find the killer, but the killer is much closer than either of them could have imagined.  

I really enjoyed this book.  It was fast-paced, engaging and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

As a teenager, the mother of Vega's beau was a victim of the infamous Lovelorn Killer. Vega is following in her cop dad's footprints when the the killer becomes active after 20 years. His newest victim Grace, was involved in the Grave diggers, a web club that researches cold cases. What did she uncover? As Vega and her team investigate many questions and closet skeletons come to light and the action heats up. Closely plotted and with good character development this was a strong opener to what could be a solid police procedural series.

I'm wary of detective novels, since they usually fall into such a predictable pattern, they're often not very engaging. This one was a pleasant surprise! A main character that's not an alcoholic, a couple moments of real, nail-biting tension, and some well flushed out character development. I would definitely read more in this series.

I had the chance to sample a few chapters from this book from a the Minotaur Sampler Volume 2 - of books to be released Spring/Summer 2021. I am SO happy that I had a chance to find this book amongst the 4 others in that sampler! I was hooked from the first 3 chapters or so.

Annalisa Vega is a detective whose most recent murder case ties back to a murder of a neighbor from her young adulthood. A serial killer has emerged 20 years later, confusing the police about where he/she has been all this time. The story takes a couple of interesting twists and turns and has an even more shocking ending. Could you see it coming? Sort of ... but you still don't believe it when it happens!

All-in-all, I am very happy to have been exposed to this author. I will absolutely read more of her books!

This review was also published on Goodreads.

Annalisa Vega is a newer detective. When she was just a teen, the Lovelorn Killer ripped her family and neighborhood apart. Grace Harper is part of a group that calls themselves the Grave Diggers. They are amateur sleuths that try to solve cold cases. Grace thinks she has figured out how to get the Lovelorn killer to come out of where he's been hiding for the past two years. Detective Vega and Grace's path intersect when Det. Vega is called to the murder scene of Grace. Annalisa is now trying to figure out why the Lovelorn Killer has come out from hiding 20 years later, and she ends up in his crosshairs. She also wants to catch the killer because she thinks that he also killed her teen self boyfriend's mom before he went into hiding; as she continues to investigate, people around her start getting seriously injured or dying because the Lovelorn Killer can't seem to make contact with Annalisa. While she is trying to solve this mystery, she is also dealing with both her ex-husband and her boyfriend, from when she was a teen, coming back into her life due to the case. Some clues are thrown the reader's way, and that leads to the reader questioning who is really on Annalisa's side and who isn't who they seem to be. We also get to read notes that Grace took before her death on both the Lovelorn Killer case and another case, which it is nice to get some perspective from a character that is no longer alive. There are also two other cases that are twisted up between the Lovelorn Killer and Grace that Annalisa is trying to solve. The only minor issue I had was that her parents are called Ma and Pops for most of the book, and towards the latter half of the book, someone called them by their given names, and it threw me for a loop for a second. This book definitely had me on the edge of my seat.

What happens when a serial killer starts killing again? Is it a copycat or is he back after 20 years? I liked this one. The amateur sleuth group was a great storyline. The plot twist at the end was a real surprise. Action packed.

Twenty years ago The Lovelorn Killer bound and tortured seven women in a bizarre ritual sending love letters to the local newspaper addressed to his victims. Grace Harper is a member of a group of amateur sleuths that look into unsolved cases. Grace comes dangerously close to discovering the identity of The Lovelorn Killer. After years of silence The Lovelorn Killer resurfaces and Grace becomes another victim. Annalisa Vega is the detective called to the scene of Grace’s murder. Seeing the horrific scene brings back memories of a murder of a close family friend that had been a victim of The Lovelorn Killer. Annalisa is determined to find the answers that eluded detectives years ago and finally identify the killer that ruined so many lives. This was a quick read that kept me up all night reading.

Fun and fast read! Totally engrossed and here for all the twists and turns this book put me through! Excellent murder mystery with excellent characters!

#GoneforGood
#MustRead2021
Another hit for Joanna Schaffhausen! What a great suspense thriller! Gone for Good should stay around. LOL! It is a edge of your seat mystery that will have you buzzing right through it.

I couldn't put this book down. I like to guess who the killer is, and every time I formulated an opinion I ended up being wrong. Really wrong. It had everything a good thriller has - a good detective (extra points for being a strong female!), lot's of twists, character development but not too many that you can't keep track and development on the case as it happened.
I can't wait to see what comes next for Annalisa Vega!
Thanks NetGalley for the chance to read this before the publication date!

What a fun read! Gone for Good by Joanna Schaffhausen is the first in the Detective Annalise Vega series. This was well written, and I like the character development. The plot was engaging, and action packed, full or twists and turns. I enjoyed this book even though some of the twists were obvious. The ending was not as satisfying as I wanted it to be. I cannot wait to see what happens to Detective Vega next.

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my honest review. *****

Thank you #Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of Gone For Good by Joanna Schaffhausen. I read the Ellery Hathaway books by this author and loved them so I thought I would give this new series a try. I am so glad I did, this book was fantastic! I loved the characters - Annalisa is a wonderful main character and I can't wait to read what she does next. The story was intriguing and I loved Grace's notes and how they added to the story. Of course, I knew the writing would be stellar as it was in the previous books.
My only regret is I will have to wait a long time for book two!

This murder mystery involving a serial killer and a sleuth club is riveting I was hooked from the beginning and didn't figure out the amazing twists at the end. A very good read that I was happy to discover is planned as part of a series
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

This book had me hooked from the start and didn't let up until the very ending. I wanted to keep reading and never stop! I really enjoyed all of the characters and their personalities, and couldn't wait to see around each new twist and turn. I highly recommend this book! Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

Gone For Good is the first in a new mystery series from award-winning author Joanna Schaffhausen, featuring Detective Annalisa Vega, in which a cold case heats up.
I like this new series a lot. The protagonist is not your typical flawed detective trying to redeem herself....there is much more to her story. The cold case itself is creepy and the story is well told until it gets closer to the end. Without offering a spoiler, there is a bit of a plot hole and the ending was just too neatly wound up and didn't make a lot of sense. It was also not much of a mystery since it was easy to figure out the bad guy. Other than that I am looking forward to another book in what I hope will be a long series. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

It has been twenty years since the Lovelorn killer claimed his last victim. A cold case, mostly forgotten, except for Grace Harper and the amateur sleuth group she belongs to The Grave Diggers. When Grace is murdered, Detective Annalisa Vega is stunned by this brutal crime; the MO belongs to the Lovelorn Killer.
Annalisa remembers the last victim and the case quite well. The victim was her boyfriend's mother, the wife of a cop, and a very close friend of her parents. Not only did Analisa lose her sense of security that night, but she also lost her first love. Everyone assumes that the Lovelorn Killer must be dead or incarcerated for another crime. But Grace must have been close to figuring out his identity, which means Annalisa will have to use all of her skills to finally unmask this killer.
There were so many things I liked about this book. Annalisa has a complicated backstory; her family, her first love, her ex-husband, and her work relationships were all explained in-depth, but not in a way that felt overwhelming. The narrative worked seamlessly between her personal and professional issues, and I actually felt as though this must have been the second or third book in the series(it is not, this is the first). There were enough twists, turns, and red herrings to keep me guessing, and even though Annalisa did more than one thing that had me rolling my eyes, it didn't take away from my wanting to know the who and the why. I was wrong about one twist, and I managed to figure one out, a good day for my super sleuth reading superpower! A page-turner and one that when it ended, left me wanting more. 4.5 stars.

Detective Annalisa Vega is on the hunt of the reimurgence of the Lovelorn Killer, who murdered and tortured 7 women, and left love notes. One of the victims was Kathy Duffy, a neighbor and family friend. Killer never caught . 20 years later the killer comes back again and kills Grace Harper, a member of internet sleuths The Gravediggers. Grace thinks she found out who he was, which got her killed. Annalisa tries to solve these 2 cases and discovers secrets no one saw coming.

I really enjoyed this. A little slow start but really picked up with many surprises.

My thanks to Net Galley for this arc to review.

I’m not sure what it says about me that I’m reviewing a book about a serial killer called the Lovelorn Killer on Valentine’s Day, but it’ll give me an excuse to go cheer myself up with chocolate afterwards so … here we go.

Annalisa Vega was 17 years old when her neighbor, Katie Duffy, the mother of her boyfriend, Collin, and wife of her cop dad’s partner became the 7th victim of The Lovelorn Killer, a serial killer who courted the attention of the media by writing love letters to his victims after their deaths. After going dormant for 20 years, he suddenly reappears with a new victim, Grace Hopper, a member of an online amateur sleuthing club called The Grave Diggers, who started re-examining his cold case.

When Annalisa, who is now the newest detective on her squad, and Detective Nick Carelli, who just happens to be her ex-husband, get partnered to solve the case that no law enforcement agency from local cops to the FBI have been able to for 20 years, it gets the attention of The Lovelorn Killer, and becomes an increasingly dangerous cat-and-mouse game, with Annalisa becoming the Lovelorn Killer’s newest “mouse” to play with.

I loved this story. Annalisa is a great character, with a nice combination of hard and soft personality qualities to keep her balanced. There were twists, turns, red herrings, misdirects, and constant suspense as the Lovelorn Killer gets closer and bolder in his efforts. There’s even a big reveal AFTER the main big reveal that added an interesting avenue to explore in later books. There’s a little bit of romance, but not in a distracting way, with the big three characters: Annalisa, Nick and Collin forming a potential love triangle that will be a lot of fun to watch as the series continues.

A couple things in the final stretch of the book that knocked this down from a sure 5-star to a 4-star read is that I was able to predict who the killer was pretty early, and I felt the reveal went just a wee bit silly in its execution, including one major gaping plot hole that I’d love the author to explain to me. I also had hoped for a happier ending than I got, but seeing as this is the first book in a new series, I think it makes sense not to wrap things up in a neat, happy bow.

Do I wish the ending had been more of a surprise? Yes. Am I disappointed? Only the teeny tiniest bit. I was all in for this book, and I can’t wait to see what Joanna Schaffhausen thinks up next for Detective Vega!

★★★★ ½ (rounded down to 4)