Reading Between the Wines book review #76/130 for 2024:
Rating: 4 🍷🍷🍷🍷
Book: One Step Too Far
Author: Lisa Gardner
Available now!!

Sipping thoughts: Frankie Elkin is my new favorite female character. She is far from perfect with her alcoholic demons but cares about finding missing persons. I missed the first book in the series but will be going back to read it and will be reading the future ones in the series. I hate that I waited so long to read this book because it was such a thrilling ride. It did have a few too many characters and at one point I lost track of who was who, but Gardner summed the story up in a way I could follow it. I can’t wait for the next one.

Cheers and thank you to @PenguinGroupDutton and @Netgalley for an advanced copy of @OneStepTooFar.

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Intense suspense, mostly relatable, good lesson on outdoor survival, nice pacing. But also, the ending with that person saving the two before falling down the ravina was cool but very unlikely. I didn’t like Bob and Josh’s characters. I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

I love love love Gardner's books & this one was no disappointment. Oh how I love Frankie! This one is VERY hard too put down so I recommend you don't even try!

Excellent writing as always. Lisa Gardner never fails to keep us entertained! This will have you on the edge of your seat up to the very end.

Well I’m a little bit speechless. What an absolutely brilliant book from the beginning, right up to the end!

Lately, I have been enjoying thrillers more and more. But for some reason, I could not get into this one. I think the build-up for this book and the pacing at the beginning was much too slow for me.

I am NOT going to post my review on Goodreads because I'm wondering if this was due to my mood and the fact that I hadn't read the first Frankie Elkin book. Perhaps someone who had already read Before She Disappeared wouldn't feel bored with the beginning pacing.

It’s rare that a sequel is better than the first book of a series but this is the case here! Frankie Elkin is an amazing character and I loved going on another adventure with her. This mystery was completely riveting and my heart pounded with the turn of every page. I can’t wait to read the third book!

Super fast read - another thrilling Lisa Gardner with twists and turns and lots of action. Frankie Elkin, the drifter who finds missing people and solves cold cases, is back again. This time venturing deep into the woods to help a man find his son who has been missing for 5 years. She is underprepared for the physical aspect of the treacherous terrain and is surrounded by a mixed group of experts and broken men who were friends of the missing man. Almost from the start, things become dangerous and it’s clear that they are not alone in the mountains and they are far from safe.

Love Frankie! Sometimes a sequel or second book in a series is never as good as the original or first book but this one I think is just as good as the first one. I can't wait to read more about Frankie's journeys. She is an absolute badass!

I'm a big Lisa Garner fan and this book did not disappoint. We join Frankie Elkie again from Before she disappeared and are in for a rollercoaster ride of a book, twists and turns galore.

Frankie Elkin, the ordinary but strong woman with a troubled past and a mission to find missing persons, was introduced by bestselling author Lisa Gardner in Before She Disappeared. Gardner was inspired to create the character when she happened upon an article about Lissa Yellowbird-Chase, a woman who gave up everything in order to pursue cold cases because of her belief that too many missing children of color are forgotten and the mysteries surrounding their disappearances never solved. Gardner found Yellowbird-Chase’s work "inspiring" and "a bit mesmerizing." She wondered, "What would that look like?" and decided to explore the question via Frankie's fictional journeys.

“I tried real life once. There was a house, a job, even a man who loved me enough to hold my hand as I fought my way to sober,” Frankie explains. But there is no longer a place Frankie calls home. Ten years ago, a woman in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting shared that the police showed little interest in her daughter’s disappearance. “I became intrigued, started asking questions, and the next thing I knew, I’d found the daughter.” In the years since, Frankie has traveled wherever the cases lead her, volunteering her services. She learns about missing persons in online forums and chat rooms by using computers in local libraries. She decides which cases to pursue solely by gut instinct. Frankie is searching for missing people, as well as something else. Gardner believes Frankie is “searching for herself. She's obsessed. She's looking for the why of it.” Frankie confesses, “I don’t always know why I choose the cases I do.” But “it works” for Frankie, who is an addict and an outsider wherever she goes.

In One Step Too Far, she pursues the case of Timothy O’Day, who went missing five years ago, in large part because Tim’s mother is dying and “just wants to be buried next to her son.” Frankie planned to go to Idaho to help search for an eight-year-old boy who vanished sixteen months ago. But when she learned that Tim’s father has been organizing annual expeditions to search for his son’s remains and has planned one final attempt to locate and bring his boy’s body home in order to grant his wife’s dying wish, Frankie just knows that she has to be part of the search team despite the fact that she is not ready for the harsh conditions she will encounter in the Popo Agie Wilderness. For one thing, she lacks the requisite clothing, equipment, and supplies, as well as the funds to purchase the items she will need. She is not an experienced hiker. And when she arrives, the members of the team are assembling and strategizing, but they do not readily welcome the outsider into their midst.

None of them expect to miraculously find Tim alive. Rather, the searchers will be accompanied by a cadaver dog because, if they are lucky, they will retrieve Tim’s bones so they can be buried next to his mother. Frankie knows well that the kind of search on which she and the other members of the team are about to embark is about “gaining closure.” Perhaps his parents can find some peace by finding tangible remnants such as bones or personal effects. Perhaps it will help them to simply understand, at long last, what exactly happened to Tim and caused his demise.

Tim was an experienced hiker and outdoorsman, having been taught by his father to survive in the wilderness. So he was the acknowledged leader of the group of five young college friends who decided a camping trip would be the perfect way to celebrate Tim’s upcoming nuptials. It was to be their last weekend get-away before the end of Tim’s bachelorhood. Tim, Scott, Neil, Josh, and Miguel set up camp. But after an evening of heavy drinking, Scott disappeared in the middle of the night and Tim ventured out to find him. Unfortunately, he never returned. He disappeared without a trace. Although hundreds of volunteers combed the woods for weeks after he vanished, none of his equipment (backpack, headlamp, clothing, etc.) was even found. Scott resurfaced, claiming to have no memory of what happened on that fateful night.

Eventually, Frankie convinces the group to let her join them, and she, along with an experienced resident, Tim’s grief-hardened father, Tim's four friends, a Bigfoot hunter, and a search-dog handler all head up the mountain. Frankie is well aware that the greatest danger “comes from the eight humans who just hiked” into the wilderness, and although she does not yet understand why it ultimately matters, she knows that she must get to know her companions.

In Before She Disappeared, Gardner established Frankie as an endearingly complicated and puzzling protagonist who must constantly safeguard her sobriety. Gardner revealed part of Frankie’s troubled history and permitted her to develop feelings for Dan Lotham, the lead detective on the case she worked in Boston. She was tempted to remain there and attempt to maintain a stable relationship with him but knew herself well enough to know that she had to continue her quest to find the missing. Gardner evocatively depicts Frankie’s longing for love and desire to run back to Boston and let herself fall into Lotham’s strong arms. “Except then it will be morning. There’s always morning.” Gardner says Frankie has to keep moving because if she stays in one place, she will drink.

Gardner ramps up the dramatic tension as Frankie learns about the histories of the other members of the search party. Details about their relationships, long-held secrets, and resentments come to light. Gardner surrounds Frankie with a compelling cast of supporting characters which includes her setting. The vastly beautiful but perilous wilderness area in which the search is being conducted serves as an additional character, providing context and heightening the intrigue. Gardner injects the tale with authenticity, in part because she is an avid hiker who lives in the mountains of New Hampshire. She relates that penning the book was one of her most enjoyable writing endeavors because hiking is an integral part of her writing process. When she finds herself stuck or in need of inspiration, she goes out on a trek. She spent more time in the outdoors when the world shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking longer and more adventurous hikes in areas beyond cell phone coverage or the reach of rescuers. She describes it as "isolating, exhilarating, terrifying.”

Gardner understands perfectly why Frankie has “struck a chord” with readers. “She is empathetic. . . . Frankie is not a crack investigator, she is not a hacker, she does not have superpowers. However, she is an excellent listener. And she cares. She’s an alcoholic and has done all sorts of bad things. Her family was imperfect. She does not judge. She is genuinely interested in people, in hearing their stories, and in providing that kind of balm she inevitably gets the information necessary to bring things together. I think she’s both fascinating and vulnerable, but soothing in a world where everyone wants to be hurt but nobody cares to listen anymore.”

Still, Gardner finds it challenging to write Frankie’s first-person narrative. “I am her and she is us. She is a proxy for the everyday, average person.” What sets her apart is her obsession with finding people who have gone missing. Frankie is adept at asking questions and the key to her success is the fact that she is an outsider rather than a trained member of law enforcement She can ask questions and employ techniques that are unavailable to professionals.

But in this story, Frankie is in the wild, isolated with a group of people she quickly discovers are not really a cohesive group at all, but they will have to rely on each other in order to survive. Frankie can’t simply pursue interviews with neighbors and friends of the missing person. She has access only to the members of the search party who Gardner gradually reveals to be untrustworthy. Equipment and supplies go missing. There is a strong sense of being watched. Soon bodies begin piling up. Someone is intent on sabotaging the expedition. But who? And why? Frankie soon regrets her decision to pursue the case as the group proceeds further into the wild and her lack of survival skills becomes increasingly apparent and potentially lethal. She has to figure out her companions’ alliances, as well as their motivations for revenge and the bases for their efforts prevent the truth from finally coming to light. If she fails to carry out her mission, she may not emerge from the woods at all. So Frankie has to bring something unique “to the table” in order to solve the case. “Her superpower is people – listening, learning, adapting.” Gardner poses the question of whether the result will be survival of the fittest or the most adaptable. Gardner propels the story forward at an unrelenting pace as Frankie, who “is not the fittest,” proves how adaptable she is. Adaptability is a skill that many people had to acquire during the pandemic, Gardner observes. And it proves to be the key to Frankie’s ability to solve the case and live to relate to readers how she accomplishes her goal.

One Step Too Far is yet another engrossing, propulsive, cleverly-plotted, and unpredictable mystery from a master storyteller who again demonstrates that she is at the top of her form with this series. Gardner says, "I read for character, character and character. I’m looking to see the world through someone else’s eyes and in doing so, having my own eyes opened to fresh experiences, issues and ideas." The series succeeds because it is, at its core, an intriguing exploration of Frankie's psyche. In her second outing, Frankie’s quest to discover what happened to Tim is an emotionally resonant examination of the grief of loss, guilt, and the tenuous bonds of friendship. Readers will find themselves further enamored with the irascible, stubborn, but compassionate woman who is compelled to keeping moving from place to place, and clamoring for the next volume, anxious to see what case Frankie next pursues . . . and if she will find what she is looking for.

Frankie Elkin knows how to find people. For the past few years, her job has been to join search parties and help people find their loved ones who have gone missing. When she comes across Timothy O'Day's story, she knows that she needs to join the search party to bring his family some type of closure. Timothy disappeared the night of his bachelor party during a camping trip with his best friends in the world. Now, Timothy's mother is dying, and his father has put together a last party search that includes his guilt-ridden friends and a group of online sleuths that will hike into the woods to try to find Timothy, or at least, some clues about what happened to him. But as they get deeper into the mountains in Wyoming, something or someone is trying to keep them from finding Timothy... and they need to figure what is happening before anyone else disappears.

I'm not someone who enjoys hikes or the woods in general, so my preconceptions about the dangers found in the mountains kept me alert as this story developed. It was a very engaging story, and I found the characters very likable even though some of them had clear issues that became clear as they spent more time together. I must say, I was confused about Frankie's role in the story but it becomes clear that, as the outsider, she was the device used to learn the backstories behind Timothy relationships with his friends and family. It is through Frankie that key information about Timothy is revealed, and she is also the person asking relevant information about his life before his disappearance. She also brings the outsider perspective that helps to unifies the group.

Overall, this was a fast read, and a good plot with great characters.

Another fast paced engaging thriller from this author, a well written plot that draws you in from the start until the last page

Took me this long to write this review ‘cos I wasn’t aware this was part of Frankie Elkin series! But after reading the first book -Before she disappeared- i picked One step too far immediately and enjoyed every minute. Cold cases solved by a recovering alcoholic all while tackling her own life, there is no reason to not feel sympathetic towards the MC. The story is fast paced and there is no way one cannot find this book less thrilling. Suspenseful and exciting.

Thank you Dutton via Netgalley for the arc.

What a tense and engaging read! The plot line in itself was absolute perfection. Tension remained high throughout the entire book and the high action scenes had my flipping through the pages to see what would happen next. The story was a great read with an eerie vibe. I never saw the ending coming which made me love it even more. Definitely worth a read!

Thank you to Dutton Books for my physical copy and NetGalley for my e-copy!

Frankie Elkin finds herself on a wilderness expedition for a man who has been missing for five years after a backpacking bachelor party that turned into a nightmare. Now, the young man's father, his friends (and groomsmen), and a small search party return to the national park year after year in search for the missing man. A sleuth and finder of missing person's Frankies goes out on a limb for this case en route to another. She finds herself completely unprepared and - as always - unwelcome as she begins to question folks in her camping group.
I thoroughly enjoy Frankie's gumption and fearlessness as she enters new environments. I enjoyed the mystery and tension throughout the novel, which is why the end fell a bit flat and rushed. Lisa Gardner does an excellent job of creating the setting of the novel (a totally fictional national park) and creating complex yet empathetic characters. Ultimately, though a story about a missing person in the woods, the book made me want to go camping...but maybe not in a remote forest alone.

I have now read a handful of Lisa Gardner books, and have loved them all. This book was no exception. After loving the first book in the Frankie Elkin series, I feel extremely lucky to have been given the chance to read the second! This book was fast paced and I sped through it. I love the settings. I love the characters. This book was another home run in my opinion!

Missing-person finder Frankie Elkin returns, roving into the treacherous Wyoming wilderness in search of a man who vanished without a trace.

We first met Frankie Elkin in BEFORE SHE DISAPPEARED—a woman who’s made it her mission to find those the world has forgotten. In this latest from Lisa Gardner, Frankie takes on the case of a man who disappeared just before his wedding and during a raucous night in the woods with his best friends.

“Five guys went into the woods. One has never been seen again. And the other four… they are not who they used to be either.”

Despite multiple search parties over the years, no one has found traces of expert hiker Timothy O’Day. In a last-ditch effort by his father and friends, they gather a search party to comb a dangerous canyon. Frankie manages to join the team and quickly senses many of them are lying about why they’re there, about what really happened that night.

Worse yet, someone is sabotaging their efforts.

Tension ratchets as their situation worsens, seeding doubt and dissent among the group. Frankie has the sinking feeling not all eight of them will return—if any.

In the spirit of AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, Gardner immerses us in a story that is utterly chilling, a visceral descent into the unforgiving darkness of nature and people. The pace is propulsive—an unrelenting edge-of-your-seat thriller I couldn’t devour fast enough. Gardner masterfully plots, unraveling secrets and scenes sure to make you gasp, accelerating to a surprising and terrifying culmination.

A brilliant one-sitting, nail-biting binge you don’t want to miss.

initial thoughts: loved this second book in the Frankie Elkin series!

the setting, the characters, Frankie doing what she does best - it was all so good!

One Step Too Far is the second installment in Lisa Gardner’s Frankie Elkin series. Frankie is a woman who finds her life duty is to find missing people. And even though she’s not a trained P.I., she’s damn good at it. In One Step Too Far, she goes on a trek through the forests of Wyoming with a group of people trying to find a man named Tim who went missing five years ago. Tim’s father, Martin, has led this expedition to find his son every year since he went missing. But what Frankie and the group discover is that something or someone is out there and they’re not playing nice.

One Step Too Far is fast-paced and exciting. The reader will find themselves immersed in the forests of Wyoming among creatures and the unknown. Frankie is one tough cookie. Her stubborn and persistent nature ends up saving lives. Gardner is the master of suspense and mystery and the twists and turns in this book prove it. I recommend this book to fans of Chevy Stevens and Lisa Unger.

Thank you to Lisa Gardner and Netgalley for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.