A really strange small town American murder mystery. The main character is Laura a reporter working on a local story about the Shotgun Slayer who is about to be executed.,

The trouble is the book takes ages to get going and when it did I had list interest. The actual writing is excellent with vivid descriptions of the small town.

Thanks to Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books fro the chance to read and review.

easy to follow, but I was wishing there was something more to this story! I was waiting for something to happen more and almost DNFed it at one point...

I must confess that I haven't read the first book in this series and I do think you should before reading this, as there were definite gaps in my knowledge that became more apparent as the story unfolded.
Having said that, I really enjoyed this thriller about a journalist who discovers that a recently killed woman was calling her moments before death. This begins as a simple murder / whodunnit, but, becomes slowly more complex and twisted as the lead character of Laura discovers more and more secrets.

I found it confusing at times, but, am uncertain if much of that was due to my not having read the first book. There's also a frustrating cliffhanger at the end. However, all in all, a gripping read that definitely held my attention throughout.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview.

A solid story. The writing was great, easy to follow. My first by this author and the first in what is apparently a series. The main character is a spicy reporter with a complicated past which makes for a fun read in a well plotted mystery. Recommend

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

A story of family secrets, fathers and daughters and old crimes. I hadn't read the first book in this series and it wasn't necessary to do so. Would recommend for crime buffs!!

Laura doesn't know who the dead woman is or why she called Laura but the Sheriff thinks she does and once she thinks about, so does Laura. A journalist, she's moved back to Hillsborough from Boston. It's been tough- the town has a lot of secrets as does her family. She's working on a story about the Shotgun Slayer, who was convicted of killing the Merrits, whose land abutted her family's. Emily Merrit, Laura's best friend, moved away from town. Is she the dead woman? Who is the little girl in a photo Laura finds? This is one that's hard to review without spoilers. There are family secrets and lies and a corrupt undercurrent in the town that threatens Laura. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It would help, I think to have read the first book to appreciate Laura and her relationships with local law enforcement, among other things although it will work fine as a standalone. The end of this is a bit over the top but it's still a good read.

A digital ARC of this book was provided to me by NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books. The opinions are my own and freely given.

This is the 2nd book in the Laura Chambers series. Although I did not read the first book, I wasn't lost trying to pick up the characters. Laura is called by the police to the scene of a traffic accident in which a pedestrian has been hit by a truck and killed. The police thinks that she knows the victim because her number was the last number called on the victim's phone, and they need her help to identify the woman. Laura then goes to meet with the autopsy tech and discovers the woman was shot prior to being struck by the truck. This opens up the investigation. Laura is a journalist for the local paper, not in law enforcement. She may go about things a little differently, but she comes to the same conclusion in the end. The investigation leads to a murder 23-years ago of the parents of her best friend. At times, the story was heart-pounding. The very beginning of the book I was book, but that was maybe the first 2 chapters, after that I didn't want to stop reading. Thank you NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and JG Hetherton. I will definitely read more in this series.

This is book number 2 in the series and I felt that this couldnt be read as a standalone. It was fast paced. The author has a certain way of writing that makes you fall in love with his words. I loved the flashbacks to prior times . The ending was what made the book for me.

Reporter Laura Chambers finds herself in her newest case when a woman is struck by a car and killed. It seems that the last person she tried to phone was Laura. Her police nemesis Lietenant Whitley is certain that Laura must know the woman. However, Laura doesn't recognize her.

As Laura investigates, she begins to learn that the woman's death may uncover some clues to the mysteries of Laura's childhood. She fears that the woman is her childhood best friend Emily Merritt, but she doesn't know why Emily would be trying to contact her after so many years.

From a man on death row to human trafficking to police corruption, this story builds a lot of suspense. Laura finds herself in great danger as she tries to unravel the mystery.

Laura is an intriguing character who had a very difficult childhood. Her father was her hero and teacher, but he died of brain cancer when she was nine, leaving Laura with a mother who disliked her and who was extremely self-centered. Laura doesn't seem to form connections with other people beyond finding out what they can do for her and using them.

The mystery was intriguing and learning more about Laura's past was interesting. While this episode was largely resolved, a mysterious letter from her father provides a sort of cliffhanger ending.

Great mystery, it had me guessing right till the end!! Would have liked to see Laura and Timinski link up romanticly....they obviously had something going on..... very well written, would definitely recommend this book.

I LOOOOOOVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEE this series! I stumbled upon the first on Audible and immediately looked for the second. (Which, wasn’t there.)

But wow. I love Laura. She’s flawed, imperfect. Real.

The entire story is good, but that last 10% or so…noooooo! But it’s also good, because there will be more? Fingers crossed.

The writing is spectacular. I look forward to whatever is next.

I was so confused reading this book that I gave up about halfway through. I am very sorry and I hate when that happens. It seemed like it was going to be so good. It takes a lot for a book to confuse me but this one did. I'm thinking maybe if I had read the first one in the series it would maybe have helped.

I appreciate the publisher and NetGalley giving me this arc and I hate that it fell short for me.

Thank you #NetGalley, #JGHetherton, and #CrookedLaneBooks for this arc.

Why was a dead woman calling? Great hook - followed by a rollercoaster of a book!

Being the second in the series - I was worried that I wouldn't be able to figure out the characters. The story stood on it's own however and I'm not sure I still have Laura figured out - maybe in the next book!!

Great plot. NEVER saw that ending coming - no wonder I could relate to Laura!

I definitely have to go find the first one!

My thanks to Crooked Lane books, J.G. Hetherton and Netgalley.
I'll be honest and tell y'all that during the first half of this book I was confused. I just could not keep everything that was going on straight!
My noggin was lost and 😕 confused. But the second half of this story finally got it's behind in gear!
I didn't much like Laura. I also didn't much like anyone else either. One exception, and he died!
For me, the last half of this book was what saved it. I thought it was a fairly funked up conclusion.
3 1/2 stars. Rounded down.

I love books that make me think. And use my imagination. However, I was so caught up in the story I needed to turn on every light in the house. Other than a need for deep editing, this book was well written with great descriptions of the area and characters with secrets and desires.
Thank you NetGalley for providing this copy. The opinion in this review is solely my own.

This was an interesting read. This is the second in a series, a Laura Chambers Mystery. When I requested the book, I did not realize that it was the second in a series, and then when it was accepted for me to read, I figured, well, hopefully it can stand alone.

A book set in North Carolina, Laura Chambers is a journalist and a woman is found dead on the highway. She believes it is a childhood friend whose parents were murdered when the girls were 8 years old. Laura goes through many trials and tribulations to figure out what happened to Emily Merritt. She discovers that her family and the Merritts were closer than she remembered, especially since her father told her to forget about them after they died. Laura receives a lot of backlash from law enforcement and has several near death experiences only to find the real killer and a human sex trafficking ring occurring right under her family's nose. The book didn't get really captivating until more than halfway through and then it was hard to put down. I felt like I was missing a part of the story, which some of the loose ends were answered by the end of the novel. I would give this one a four star rating only because the last quarter to half really saved the book, but my advice for the author is to allow the book to have more stand-alone feel than it does now.

This one is being published on July 12th, 2022, and the first book in the series is "Last Girl Gone," so you have time to read that one before this one releases. Make sure you check them out, because I think Hetherton definitely has some potential. It was also cool if you're from North Carolina to read about your own backyard!

Overall I enjoyed this book. Pros and cons as follows:

Cons: 1) definitely needs another pass at editing. Basic grammar mistakes and spelling throughout the text make it mildly distracting. 2) similes are abundant. I don’t mind them as a general rule, but the word “like” is overused. 3) I struggled to relate to Laura. We can understand she has been through a lot throughout her lifetime, but there’s an emotional disconnect between her past and present that’s missing.

Pros: the overall arch of the story ropes you in from the start. The characters are complicated and they all have secrets, which you only understand fully at the very end of the book as the puzzle pieces all come together. I pride myself in figuring out “whodunnit” with most books and I didn’t see this one coming! I really enjoyed the book overall, and his writing style makes it a hard to put down kind of read.

Laura Chambers is a journalist, she wrote an article about the impending execution of a man who was convicted of murdering the parents of her best friend when she was eight. Shortly after a woman is hit by a truck and the unfriendly police bring Laura in and question her as to the identity of the woman. Laura has no idea but the police think she does because on the phone of the unrecognizable dead woman the last call was to Laura. But Laura knows nothing and the call went unanswered and had no message. Who is this woman and why call Laura. The body is too damaged to be identified so Laura sets out to find answers. Those answers could be very dangerous to her and those who help her.
Interesting story and there is a lot of action to keep you reading. I personally don’t care for so much descriptiveness but the author J. G, Hetherton does so eloquently. I do recommend this book. The last few pages will confirm your guesses as to who did what and leaves a thread toward another book about Laura the journalist I think. Thank you NetGalley, Publishers Crooked Lane Books for this eARC this is my honest opinion.

I hadn't read the previous Laura Chambers book, Last Girl Gone. But once I finished this I went out and bought it immediately. I love a good twisty mystery and this novel is certainly that. There are layers to the story and as each layer was peeled back, I thought I had solved it. But I hadn't! It'll keep you on your toes and I, for one, can't wait for the next Laura Chambers mystery.

This was a good storyline with a lot of good elements of suspense, but also a lot of unnecessary holes in the plot and definitely lacking in character development. While it kept me turning pages, it also gave me many “huh?” moments – things that just didn’t make sense. Among those were an instance where the father (on death row) was confessing. He told how his daughter was severely deaf but on the next page told that when the daughter was lost in the woods (in the dark), he was calling for her.

The main character vacillated between being totally obnoxious and being mostly sympathetic. I really did not like the way others, especially law enforcement-types bowed to her demands of skirting the law. I never like seeing law enforcement portrayed as keystone kops or bumbling idiots or simply rude.

I wish the author well and hope that she’ll find a good proofreader and a good editor to straighten out the bumps in the story.

I appreciate this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.