A stylishly written mystery about a brutal murder in a small town in the Midwest. Gone Before features lovable good guys, several red herrings, a possible romance. A gripping story that has you rooting for the detective, who just might be the killer's next victim.

This is a decent crime suspense story with some nice characters.

Rory Naysmith is the police detective in the small town of Winterset, and has a cat Commander for company. He has had a heart attack and needs to be careful about his health. His partner is young rookie Thacker, who is enthusiastic to make his mark. On what appears to be routine look-in, Rory and Thacker discover a body of a young woman. It is clear there has been foul play, and the way the victim was restrained makes Rory recall an earlier case. The victim of that case over 10 years back was Emily Weir, and Tobias Snearl was found guilty and is serving his sentence. How can the modus operandi be similar then is the first question which torments Rory, or is he reading too much into what could be a coincidence? The situation grows to be tense as Rory is attacked and it appears many close to him or working on the case may be in danger as well – his partner Thacker, girlfriend Esther and the coroner Petey.

The story avoids very gory details and hence will be an easy read for anyone. The narration is honest and there are no contrived plots or twists. I liked all the characters in the story – Rory, Thacker, Esther, Peter and a few others. The plot depth could have been better though.

My rating: 3.75 / 5.

4.5 stars. This book was well-written and I enjoyed the development of the case, though I wasn't as interested in the mystery as I wanted to be. I forgot some of the details of all the characters by the end, so the "WOW" factor of one character's twist was lost on me, but that doesn't change the fact that it was a good read that moved fast and wasn't a snooze-fest. I appreciated it as a detective novel that went into the gritty details of a homicide while also meshing in the boring aspect of paperwork and deskwork that comes with it, especially since I'm writing my own detective novel. It was nice to see the less exhilarating aspects of the job from a reader's perspective, because the best way to make your own writing better is to read others after all.

Detective Rory Naysmith put away a serial killer years ago. But recent murders have the same M.O. and strange things are happening to those closest to him. He is being targeted. He needs to solve this quick. Good story. Great characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review "Gone Before" by Terry Korth Fischer, in return for a fair and honest review.
Honestly, I wanted to love this book; but I just liked it - and that was mainly for the story. I had a hard time with the characters, who really seem not to have any real character at all.
The story is a good one - a body is found buried, the young woman murdered in a similar way to a currently incarcerated serial killer, one who had been brought to justice by our main character, a cop relegated to a small town due to health issues (see previous book in the series, "Gone Astray" featuring Rory Naysmith). Given his previous health issues, he seems to have little regard for his safety, but that's neither here nor there.
There are various sub-plots involved, including a family DNA scheme that seems less than it is, a scheming 'cousin' and seemingly senseless attacks on various characters.
Through dogged police work and the assistance of a younger cop, the murders are unravelled, and we do get to the heart of the matter.

There has been a brutal murder in the small town of Winterset, Nebraska. Middle-aged detective Rory Naysmith stumbles upon a woman buried beneath rock while at a Fourth-of-July celebration. What bothers him is this murder reminds him of one he solved years ago. The murderer now sits in jail, so what can be happening? I loved this story, the characters and setting all the way through. Rory has to overcome an injury in order to investigate, which causes others to come to his rescue setting his apartment up as a workstation. The clues to the mystery are everywhere and Fischer does a beautiful job of keeping the reader fascinated. From Esther Mullins, the unassuming bookkeeper, Thatcher, the rookie cop and Axle the rough-looking loveable man to call on in an emergency, you will love spending time in Winterset with these characters!

I enjoyed this novel! Exactly the genre I tend to gravitate towards. Very well written! The plot kept my attention and I enjoyed the pace.

This was an ok read. I struggled to get into it and found myself losing interest. There was an interesting cast of characters and it was well written.

A murderer who doesn’t leave a clue.
Small-town detective, Rory Naysmith, thought he’d seen it all, but a young woman’s brutal murder is especially hard to stomach. Doubly so, when he recognizes the murder’s MO is identical to that of Tobias Snearl, the killer he put behind bars a decade before.
His frustration grows after a series of senseless accidents plague those dearest to him, and a second woman dies. Searching for answers, Rory races against time, plunging deep into the murder investigations, drawing ever closer to becoming a casualty of the dark, angry deeds himself, until he finds no one is who they pretend to be—and none are beyond evil’s reach.

Our Review: Often irascible but always dry-witted Rory Naysmith is back to please readers of this popular series. On his toes—so to speak—with the latest murder to hit Winterset, Nebraska, Rory battles bureaucracies both inside and out of this small mid-western town and it’s smaller police department. A reluctant transplant from the big city, with murder, this cop is in his element and the reader knows it from page one.
Gone Before is loaded with a cast of diverse, quirky characters along with a budding love interest for the socially challenged Rory—and it’s so much fun to watch.

Based on a scale of 1-5, Gone Before deserves a 7.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

Good book! I definitely enjoyed reading this book! I'm going to go back and read the book before it! You can definitely read this as a standalone but it was that good that I want more! Lol thus book had suspense, intrigue, action,, murder and mystery. And a great who done it! I definitely recommend reading this book and series! Its well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!