Today is the first day of Fall in the Northern Hemisphere. Here in the southern US, we've been promised some cooler temperatures by the weekend. I'm a bit of a mood reader and in the Fall, I start wanting darker stories, and I have several thrillers on my TBR pile. Today's featured book came out last month, but if you were like me and still trying to cram in a few more beach reads you might have missed it. It is the perfect time to curl up with a blanket and a book you won't want to put down.

Gone for Good is the first book in a new series featuring Detective Annalisa Vega. It leans more towards suspense than police procedural.

A ritualistic serial killer is back after a group of amateur true crime sleuths. They are closing in an his identity when one of their own is foound dead. Detective Annalisa Vega is called to the all too familiar scene. She had lost someone to this killer years before.

The plot is intricate with a lot going on. You will need to pay close attention to have any hope of figuring out who the killer. I had a feeling early on it was going to be someone close to the investigation but as there were so many people I was not able to narrow it down to exactly who. it was fun to wonder if it was this character or that as I would think one or another was a bit too interested or maybe had info that they shouldn't.

I enjoyed the plot and the characters. It did bug me that Vega was kept on the investigation. I think having known a previous victim but then she becomes a target would have been grounds for being removed in real life. But it does add another layer of suspense to the story.

I read this book in large chunks as I wanted...no needed to see where each twist and turn would take us. I look forward to reading more books in this series.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Wednesday, Sept. 22 - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2021/09/gone-for-good-by-joanna-schaffhausen.html

GONE FOR GOOD is my introduction to Joanna Schaffhausen. Not sure why or how I’ve missed this talented author but so glad that I stumbled onto her. GONE FOR GOOD is a crime novel surrounded by character development and studies. With each page you seem to meet still another character that niggles your mind. Joanna Schaffhausen makes the reader an armchair investigator in this who-dun-it. Annalisa Vega is front and center as a detective who is faced with a murderer who is very familiar. The police had spent several years investigating the Lovelorn Killer. Then all roads ended in a dead end – no pun intended. Now twenty years later it seems as if the killer is back. Annalisa’s father was one of the cops on the Lovelorn Killer case so many years ago. The last victim was someone near and dear to Annalisa and her family. Not only that but it was the wife of a cop.
It seems almost obvious that this killer has a system for choosing his victims. They are a type. And this killer is bold. Annalisa isn’t sure exactly why this maniac has decided to come out of hiding and strike once again. But they all know this is a case that can’t go cold again.
There are a bunch of characters that belong to an amateur sleuth group called the Grave Diggers. The latest victim belonged to this group. She was intent on finding this killer, so much so, she basically put herself in his crosshairs.
As with any good crime novel, facts keep surfacing and suspects evolve. In GONE FOR GOOD Joanna Schaffhausen unleashes a myriad of interesting clues, all designed to keep you busy turning pages. In some ways Joanna Schaffhausen reminds me of Lisa Gardner with her amazing characters. It is those characters that keep you mesmerized. Hard to walk away from GONE FOR GOOD. It is a compelling, well written read. Sure to gather new fans and reward returning ones.
Looking for an excellent crime story. Get your hands on GONE FOR GOOD, settle into a comfortable chair, you won’t be going anywhere any time soon.

⏰ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫: Annalisa Vega is a legacy cop, and that legacy includes finding The Lovelorn Killer, the same serial killer her father hunted 20 years ago. Now, the killer has gone after Grace, an avid member of an online amateur sleuth group, and Vega has drawn Lovelorn’s attention in her pursuit to uncover what it was that Grace knew and why that resulted in her death…

💡𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: Don’t let the length of time it took me to read this book throw you off. I started a new teaching job and this was the perfect respite (killers? Murder? Uh yes!). I’m thrilled to see that Vega will return as this is a planned series. The writing was by-the-book mystery fun: twists, turns, surprises. A dash here and there of suspense. That pinch of intrigue. Lovely recipe!

Vegas is intensely likeable - she’s independent, feisty, and no sign of a damsel-in-distress trope here (if you’re like me and sick of THAT hot mess). She makes smart decisions and is quick on her feet - a detective I look forward to spending more time with.

𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆𝗠𝗮𝗴𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

📚𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Mystery/Police Mystery/ Serial killer

😍𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: straight-up mystery lovers will be happy with this one

🙅‍♀️ 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: can’t think of any groups that should avoid this.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced copy in exchange for my always-honest review and for being patient with this over-worked teacher.

Thanks Netgalley for a copy of GONE FOR GOOD by Joanna Schaffhausen.
Great read . Great main character that could easily be a main character for a book series. Very suspenseful.

Thank you Negalley, the publisher St Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and Joanna Schaffhausen
This is the first book in a new detective series. Detective Vega is investigating a case that is very similar to a cold case dating from 20 years ago.
You put in the mix an ex-husband, high school crush, family and you get this crazy story which I could not put down.
Fast paced, quick read, loved the main characters.
Recommend 4 stars

Gone For Good is the first in a new series featuring Detective Annalisa Vega of the Chicago PD and it is a very promising start to the series. It’s a combination of a police procedural and a mystery/thriller. Twenty or so years ago, Chicago was plagued by a serial killer who has never been caught, nicknamed the Lovelorn Killer. Vega grew up in a neighborhood filled with cops and their families and a very close neighbor was the last known murder by this killer, which seriously affected all their friends and family. The repercussions of that murder continue in the present. A group of amateur sleuths, who call themselves The Grave Diggers, work on solving cold cases (one of the cases they have been working on is the Lovelorn case). When one of their members is murdered in the same fashion, Vega is the officer assigned to the case. Vega is a smart, hard-working detective but she is emotionally involved in this case, due to her neighbor’s death (who was also the mother of Vega’s then-boyfriend Colin, who hasn’t been back to Chicago in the many years since then). Verga’s family is an important aspect of the story. Her retired-cop father’s suffering from Parkinson’s is heartbreaking, as she recalls what a vital man he was in his younger years. Vega’s relationship with her police partner is interesting because he’s her ex-husband, Nick! The plotting is excellent, with lots of twists and turns and red herrings along the way. People familiar with Chicago will also enjoy all the local color. I’m really interested to see where the author goes from here, but I can’t explain further without spoilers.

Thank you to NetGalley and St, Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to @minotaur_books for my advanced copy of Gone for Good, the first in a new detective series by Joanna Schaffhausen. This book surprised me in ALL the best ways!!

The tension started almost immediately! A cold case, a serial killer, online sleuths, and a strong female detective were the perfect combination to make this a compulsive binge read for me.

I love a cat and mouse game, constantly revising my suspect list. Could the killer be her dad, brother, partner...I love when an author immerses me in the story and I feel as if I'm part of the investigation.

Told from multiple POVs, Gone for Good kept the twists coming, page after page. I especially enjoyed Annalise as a strong female protagonist. She felt real with emotions I related to!

If you are a fan of Karin Slaughter or Lisa Gardner I think you will enjoy Gone for Good!!

This was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me!! I'm excited about the next book in the series!

RATING: 4.5 STARS
2021; Minotaur Books/St Martin's Press

Joanna Schaffhausen has blown my mind this year. I finally read her debut novel, The Vanishing Season and loved it. Ellery was a character I could relate a lot to, and the suspense was amazing. I slowly caught up and was so excited to see Gone for Good on NetGalley. Then I saw that it was a new series, not an Ellery Hathaway novel. I was still going to read it, but was a bit sad thinking no more Ellery. This week I found out that there was in fact another Ellery Hathaway novel coming out AND Annalisa Vega also kicks ass. Annalisa is different than Ellery in many ways, but yet the two are these flawed realistic women trying to solve murders. I highly recommend this novel, and past books by Schaffhausen.

Annalisa Vega is a detective who saddening be on es the hunted when an old case is reactivated. The twenty year old case seemed to have become a cold case until a true crime group started to investigate the old case. Annalisa discovers secrets that affect almost everyone in her life and she has to make a difficult decision about a family member.

I really enjoy books about serial killers and this one did not disappoint. The lovelorn killer murder 7 women . he then sends gruesome letters to the local papers. Then he went quiet for 20 years and most people think it’s over then grace harper an amenity sleuth falls victim detective annalise Vega who lost so,even to the killer is brought in to investigate

Really good story

“Gone for Good” is about a group of amateur sleuths who try to solve old murder cases. They call themselves “The Grave Diggers,” and are ordinary people from various walks of life who chat online, search archives, visit crime scenes, and accumulate notes in an attempt to find what others have missed. The group is focused on one case in particular, the unsolved murders of multiple women by “The Lovelorn Killer” who made headlines when he killed seven women over a period of a few years in the late ’90s, and then suddenly dropped out of sight. The Grave Diggers’ theory is that he has been watching and waiting for someone to find him. They want to get him back in the news, draw him out, and identify him. Everything changes when Grace Harper, The Grave Diggers’ primary researcher, is found murdered.

Detective Annalisa Vega of the Chicago police investigates but finds few if any clues even though Grace left behind all her research and hunches. Alternate chapters are filled with Grace’s case notes and observations. Vega’s investigation is both complicated and assisted by the return of her ex-husband, Detective Nick Carelli. They try to put the past aside and focus on solving Harper’s murder. The chain of events is complex, and the case becomes a quagmire that threatens to suck in everyone. The intensity increases when the body count rises. The killer is hiding in plain sight, known to everyone, but seen by no one.

“Gone for Good” revolves around the characters. They are multifaceted, and their decisions drive the plot. What each character does changes both the current situation and the ultimate outcome. I received a review copy of “Gone for Good” from Joanna Schaffausen, Minotaur Books, and St. Martin’s Publishing Group. The pursuit is frantic; events from the past must be settled in the present, and the ending is unexpected.

This book was a good thriller detective read with the main character being Detective Annalisa Vega. Vega arrives to a new murder scene where she finds similarities to a cold case from 20 years ago. At the scene, Vega learns that her new partner is her ex-husband, the victim is tied to a group who tries to solve cold cases, and her high school boyfriend, who left 20 years ago, returns due to the reopening of the cold case of the murder of his mother.

At times, while reading this book, I could not put it down while I was trying to figure out who the Lovelorn Killer was. At one time or another everyone is a suspect but by the end of the book, You have to love a book that keeps you guessing. The book comes together and answers all the questions of the story.

I am looking forward to the next book in the Detective Annalisa Vega series by Joanna Schaffhausen.
Thank you Joanna Schaffhausen, Net Galley, St. Martins Press and Minotaur Books for this eARC.

This is the first book in a new series. I enjoyed the main character, Annalisa and look forward to seeing more of her world. I really enjoyed the story and it kept me guessing up to the end. I can't wait to see what the author has in-store next for Annalisa.

This book is first in its series introducing Detective Annalisa Vega. This is also my first book from this author and I'm so glad I read it.
This is a fast paced book with a lot if twist and turns full of deception. The ending was so good!
I'm looking forward to reading all of Annalisa's stories.

It’s been twenty years since the Lovelorn Killer murdered seven women, ritually binding them and leaving them for dead before penning them gruesome love letters in the local papers. The killer disappeared without a trace or another word… that is until Grace Harper, grocery store clerk and part-time Internet sleuth, starts digging in and winds up dead. Detective Annalisa Vega knows a lot about the case already. She lost a family friend at the hands of the Lovelorn Killer in her youth, and it terrorized her. Could she now catch the killer?

This book is so damn good that I almost finished it in one sitting. And I’m stoked to see that this is the first in a series with Detective Vega. If you are a fan of thrillers, I HIGHLY recommend this novel!

I don’t know why it took me so long to finish GONE FOR GOOD when I basically binged them last 50% of it in 24 hours. Thanks to @netgalley and @minotaur_books for my e-arc in exchange for an honest review! This one published August 10 so you can go grab your own copy now!

TW: graphic descriptions of brutal deaths, rape, alcoholism, hospital settings, gun violence

This book was the best kind of wild ride. It starts off with a bang with descriptions the the Lovelorn Kilelr striking again, which sets up the rest of the story. Due to the nature of The Lovelorn Killer case, and the suspect seeming to be one step ahead of the police crew, this one left me on edge. Along with Annalisa and her coworkers, I was waiting for the lovelorn killer to strike again, but seemingly also not wanting him to.

I had a few ideas of who the killer might be, but didn’t want to chance it. The ending was very fast paced and when it was revealed who the killer was, I was just as floored as the characters in her book! BUT then it goes one step further! Wow! I had a tiny inkling of this twist, but was still totally wrong about how it actually happened! So crazy!

I highly recommend this book to all thriller lovers! Just watch out for the trigger warnings. Also, might not be the best idea to read the last bit of the book during an intense thunderstorm…. Bad weather plays a role in the plot and the plot twist happens right after an intense storm. Last night, where I live, we got an INTENSE thunderstorm 😬

This is probably the best mystery/thriller I've read all year. I'm hoping that book #2 will be out soon so I can read more about Detective Annalisa Vega. Her resolve to solve seven murders committed by the Lovelorn Killer was amazing. I love how the author laid it out in the story line with one of the murdered women's notes being used as clues from what she'd gather herself. Reading her journals/note made me feel like I was actually going through some of her experiences, which was crazy.

As any really good murder mystery goes, there are more than one suspects that kept popping up in my head, but then I'd have reasons why it "wouldn't" be this or that person. I had several good ones in mind that I felt might have done it, but I have to admit that I didn't even begin to guess what happened and whodunit!

I am definitely going to be looking out for this author and series for sure. I am so happy I read this one, a truly sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat suspenseful page turner!

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-Arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

We've all heard about book clubs, chess clubs, knitting clubs, etc., but who has been a member of an amateur sleuth club? Grace Harper and her friends have decided to tackle the cold case of the Lovelorn Killer. Detective Annalisa Vega and her ex-husband are investigating the murders when it appears that the killer has returned after 20 years. Will they be able to solve the mystery before more people die?

This is an exciting mystery and I look forward to reading others in the series.

Absolutely loved it! Such a good, quick thriller. I will recommend this to anyone this spooky season!!

This is one story where the prologue definitely hooks you in ,and the book keeps that pace - it’s hard to put down . I thought the dual narrative was done really well. There were definitely a lot f clues along the way as to “who done it” and neither of the big reveals were a surprise to me, but I still really enjoyed this story and would definitely read the next in the series.