A thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. An FBI agent who after finding a missing girl realizes her abuser is her own father loses it on him and gets mandatory time off. While at home her roommate and best friend Gwen goes missing and is eventually found dead. Kendall Beck throws herself into investigating what happened to her friend.

Detective Adam Taylor is already working a murder when he is additional assigned to Gwen's case. He and Kendall team up and go through a slew of potential subjects.

Peripheral to all of this we know there is a serial killer named the Reaper who not only has a past with Kendall but is still actively killing and may or may not be related to the cases.

This was defiantly a strong debut by the author. I had some minor issues with the story at the end but on the flip of that in the matter of just pages the suspense racked up ten fold and you were glued to story. I defiantly hope this is a start to a new series.

FBI Special Agent Kendall Beck is working a case of a missing child. What looks like a kidnapping at first turns out to be something else. The child is found hiding in a neighbor's garage and near to death from exposure. The story the little girl tells about what her father did to her changes the case to trying to prove that Scott Williams abused his young daughter.

Meanwhile, Denver Homicide Detective Adam Tyler is trying to solve the murder of Jenny Rose who was found dumped on a golf course after being tortured and murdered. When he's the last one out of the office, his boss sends him to Kendell Beck's house because she reported her car stolen.

Kendell's housemate Gwen had borrowed the car and no one has since her for a few days. Her fiancé doesn't seem concerned, but Kendell is. when Gwen's tortured body is found a few days later, Adam and Kendell begin working together to find out who killed her.

This was an excellent story. I liked the fast-paced action. I also really enjoyed getting into the mind of Kendell who is dealing with grief because of the loss of a woman who was like a sister to her. I liked her growing friendship with Adam.

I enjoyed the way the various cases Kendell and Adam were working on came together and how the story was gradually revealed. Fans of fast-paced and introspective mysteries will enjoy this one.

This was a fantastic debut - I was hooked from the start! While the main character is Kendall, I really liked how the chapters would alternate between her, her own investigation of a missing child and her reaction to Gwen's murder, and Adam, the detective leading the investigation into Gwen's murder. I thought it was skillfully written & there never seemed to be any moments that dragged. I hope we see more of Kendall & Adam - they make a great investigative team!

FBI Agent Kendall Beck is investigating a child’s disappearance when her best friend, Gwen disappears. Her disappearance is investigated by Denver detective Adam. Unfortunately this turns into a murder investigation when her body is found. Kendall assists Adam in tracking the killer. After a few false starts as you can probably guess they get their man. Kendall is a very likeable character with an interesting backstory. I would be happy to read more of her exploits.

Possible new police/FBI series? Hmm.... I would most definitely be interested in that! :-) This was the first I've read by this author and it was a solid read. I enjoyed the story, the characters and the pacing of the story.

Thank you #netgalley and #crookedlane for the eARC.

This was a solid police procedural. There was plenty going on to keep things interesting. Full of mystery and suspense.

I love a good thriller. Something to get the mind working, heart racing and having you on the edge of your seat. Great writing, great characters and a great storyline.

This is one of the kinds of mysteries I like, where there is more than one plausible suspect. Also, the investigators act logically--no "we're not investigating this one obvious suspect until the plot climax demands it." So I liked it!

I opened this book and didn’t look up until I finished the last page. A debut and a humdinger - lots going on. She set the hook, tugged and I was all in. Great characters, horrific crimes, long term and abiding friendships and love interests, maybe.

Kendall Beck, FBI Agent and crime survivor.
Jake Alexander, Her partner - not a major player in this story
Adam Taylor, Denver Police Detective up to his neck in bodies
Gwen Tavich, A Best Friend and a Restaurant Owner
Quentin Novak, A Best Friend
Ty Butler, A Fiancé and a Restaurant Owner
Scott Williams and a host of other Unsubs, maybe
Many others adding to the narrative.

There are so many twists, turns, wrong turns, switchbacks and action, always a bad feeling of what is impending. Whew - Please write another one soon.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane for a copy

The Wrong Woman by Leanne Kale Sparks is about FBI Special Agent Kendall Beck. Kendall’s roommate Gwen goes missing one night after borrowing Kendall’s car. Later the car is found and soon after so is Gwen’s body. Kendall decides to investigate on her own with some help from the detective assigned to the homicide, Adam Taylor. The case takes many twists and turns. This was a quick read and I’m thinking this is the first in a series. I felt like some details were lacking concerning Kendall’s past. The characters were likeable and I would be happy to read more about them. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The Wrong Woman by Leanne Kale Sparks is an intense, suspenseful, and engaging debut novel featuring FBI Special Agent Kendall Beck and Denver police detective Adam Taylor. This police procedural, romantic suspense, and crime thriller is mainly set in late February and March with a waning winter in Colorado. The book starts with a chilling prologue from a killer’s point of view and then proceeds to engage the reader with multiple cases. Kendall is investigating the disappearance of five-year-old Emily Williams and Adam is investigating a case where a young woman was found dead at the edge of a golf course. When Kendall’s roommate, Gwen Tavich, goes missing, Kendall and Adam meet.

Kendall is a strong female protagonist and has plenty of character depth for a first novel. Her friends are the biggest part of her life besides her job. She’s compassionate and relentless in her pursuit of justice, but she also has flaws such as a temper that can get her in trouble. Readers gradually learn about her past and how that influences her actions and thoughts today. Adam seems more laid back than Kendall, but just as devoted to his work. While readers also get insight into his relationship with a past girlfriend, his character isn’t as fully fleshed out as Kendall’s is.

The opening is strong, chilling, and memorable. The plot and sense of urgency move the story forward. Both story lines have twists that keep readers guessing. The writing was well-done and transported this reader into the dark and gritty world of victims and investigators. While the ending was a little over-the-top, it wrapped things up nicely, but left an opening for a thread to be followed in future books. The emotional toll on victims, families, and investigators was shown throughout the novel.

This novel shows how hard it can be to get an investigation going when an adult goes missing. Themes include abduction, murder, assault, child abuse, torture, friendship, family, grief, severe trauma, and much more. Readers should be aware that there are descriptions of torture as well as descriptions of crimes against a child.

Overall, this was an intense and gripping thriller with complex and compelling characters that kept me turning the pages. It’s an impressive start for a debut novel. I am looking forward to reading more from this author and hopefully about Kendall and Adam. Readers of police procedurals and crime thrillers may want to check this one out.

Crooked Lane Books and Leanne Kale Sparks provided a digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for February 08, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

This book was so dark and disturbing, but completely immersive. I love how the author sprinkled a few funny moments in to kind of lighten the book up, which contrasted some of the disturbing subject matter very nicely! Given the ending of this book, I do hope this is the beginning of a series as some things seemed a little too convenient and I would love to see where this story and these characters go!

Okay so mixed with this review, I read most of this book with thinking that this was a standard police procedural and I knew who the killer was. SPOILER Well then it got really interesting and boy was I wrong and I really enjoyed it.
Now I am going to investigate more by this author - well done you have thrown me and given how much I read really appreciate that.

I was given an advance copy by the publishers and netgalley but the review is entirely my own.

Years ago, Kendall Beck’s path collided with that of the notorious serial killer known as “Reaper.” She survived, but the traumatic events of that day have haunted and driven her ever since. Now an FBI Special Agent, Kendall will stop at nothing to secure justice for other victims. While in the middle of a heart-wrenching case — the disappearance of a five-year-old girl — Kendall’s own best friend and roommate vanishes only to be found dead, floating in a lake. To find the murderer, Kendall joins forces with detective Adam Taylor. She soon discovers that those around her concealed more secrets than she ever imagined, and the Reaper might not be as far in the past as she thought.

Leanne Kale Sparks’ The Wrong Woman is an intense, twisted thriller. While a strong debut, it felt a bit like a rollercoaster at times — a slow start, brilliant middle, and disappointing end. The novel opens with several seemingly unrelated threads. Although everything connects eventually, at first it comes across as too disjointed and feels like too much set up while waiting to reach the actual story. As it is no spoiler, Kendall’s traumatic past and how it has colored her present should have been hinted at from the start as it made her more relatable. In addition, it would have tied the events together more seamlessly.

Once Gwen’s body appears and the investigation begins, the story kicks off, gripping the reader. I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough. I was riveted and needed to know what would happen to the characters, why Reaper had come back into Kendall’s life after all these years, and how they would stop him/her. Sparks masterfully built up the story, pinning me to my seat and snatching the air right from my lungs. I couldn’t wait for the big twist. The end came, but not the twist. Reaper turned out to be the obvious character who didn’t make sense or fit as the serial killer. The investigators themselves mentioned that the culprit didn’t follow the known pattern for that type of serial killer and that the case wrapped up a bit too nicely. Possibly, the story is being set up as a series, but if so, that should have been made clear. As is, with all the build up, the reader walks away feeling disappointed and cheated.

Although the crimes take place off the page, due to their disturbing, sexual nature (toward women and children), I had to skip over a few of the conversations between the investigators. While it is, unfortunately, a horrid reality for some, I just couldn’t stomach it.

All in all, Sparks talent for storytelling and mysteries has me looking forward to what else she brings in the future.

Spoiler alert: This book is outstanding and five stars.!

We are introduced to two main characters in this book: Kendall a FBI agent and Adam a police officer who are working on two cases which may/may not connect. Kendall is working on case involving a young child (this one is very disturbing. It may be a possible trigger for some) And Adam in investigating the murder of Kendall's best friend and roommate. All the while there is a possible serial killer on the loose.

I loved both characters, especially Kendall. She is raw and gritty but has a ton of heart. She reminds me a lot of Josie Quinn in Lisa Regan's excellent police procedural series.

The book itself is very well written and all the separate plot points conclude very well. The pace is fast and towards the end goes even faster which I loved. I thought I figured out who the killer was but was wrong. And actually we may all be wrong because I'm not sure the story is even resolved. Which is fine because I really hope this is a series.

To sum up: Excellent book by Leanne Kale Sparks. And I think this is her first novel? If her first is this good I can't wait for the second.

Thank you to netgalley for giving me a free version to read for a honest review.

Very good read. Strong characters, good plot. I like Leanne's writing style - bold, straightforward, no unnecessary extras (like lengthy description etc). I found all what is needed in crime/detective story in this book. I hope I'll have a chance to read more of Leanne's books soon.

This is another book that had me hooked from the first chapter. I love a good serial killer story, even if its fiction (you may wonder what's wrong with me), although he doesn't play a huge role in this story. An action packed story about an FBI agent working a case about a father pedophile, a local cop working a murder and then the death of the FBI agents best friend.

Kendall Beck is an FBI agent who lives with her best friend, Gwen. Gwen owns and helps run a local restaurant with her fiancé Ty. While Kendall is working the molestation case, Gwen goes missing one weekend and Kendall has alarm bells going off inside and knows that something isn't right. At the same time, a local cop, Adam Taylor, is working a murder/body dump case and starts to realize that they might be connected to a string of serial murders in the area. As the cases progress, the pedophile, the murder of her best friend and the serial murders, a killer comes into focus and its pulse pounding action to see if they'll catch their man before he escapes or kills again.

I really liked this story. I felt all three cases were tied together in a believable way. The descriptions of the crimes were intense but I'm used to reading things like that as I like to read true serial murder cases but if that's something you don't like then I would skip this story. The characters are well thought out and have rich backgrounds with potential for future showings. The ending was all wrapped up although I felt a hint that maybe The Reaper, as the serial killer has been dubbed in this book, may still be out there, I'm not sure if this is a book series or not but I would definitely read more from this author and would like to see more stories involving Kendall in the future.

Wowza, what a book! Intense, fast paced, and unputdownable! Extremely well written, with fantastic character development made me even more engaged and captured by this story! Very uniquely written, in such a gripping, intense manner! Cannot recommend enough! Prepare to finish in a sitting though, as it truly is completely unputdownable, although a bit dark!

The Wrong Woman features Kendall Beck, an FBI agent... in the middle of a particularly disturbing case, Kendall's roommate, Gwen, is murdered. Between her current assignment and dealing with her grief, she works with Detective Adam Taylor to sort through Gwen's murder. With a solid supporting cast, this is a good mystery... I have a hunch that this isn't the last we read of Kendall Beck as there seem to be a few unanswered questions (and maybe clues) at the end of this book.

FBI Special Agent Kendell Beck is the only known survivor of serial killer known as the Reaper and the trauma still haunts her years later. She is called in to investigate the disappearance of 5 year old Emily but her attention is soon drawn away when her best friend Gwen Tavich is found dead.

Kendells emotions are stretched to the limit as she tries to cope with Gwen's death whilst dealing with the truth behind Emily's disappearance but little does she realise this investigation will bring her face to face with the Reaper one more time. Can she survive a second time?

A brilliant book