A promising start to a brand new police procedural series by my favorite author Mary Keliikoa. I have been following Keliikoa's Kelly Pruett Mystery Series and was excited to hear of her new mystery series. While Kelly Pruett is a PI, Jax Turner is a detective. I found a couple of similarities between the two series: strong and independent women (mostly single mothers juggling between work and family) and, the protagonist has a tragic past.

In this case, we have Elena (Allison's ex stepmother) and Emily - both with tragic pasts, and both trying to cope with their day-to-day lives. Elena and her sister were orphaned at an early age and things were bad at their foster home. Elena's sister was murdered and Elena had barely managed to escape from her killer. Her sister's killer was never caught.

Emily's been raising Allison alone after her husband Danny fell in love with Elena. Allison preferred to live with her dad, making Emily more angry about her cheating ex-husband. The story alternates between Emily and Elena, and Jax looking for Allison before it's too late.

Halfway through the story, Jax learns of Elena's older brother Steven. He was out of picture when the girls moved into foster home so Jax had no idea the girls had an older sibling. Elena has a love-hate relationship with Steven. He sent her a frantic message for help before disappearing... as Elena goes in search of her brother, she makes a shocking discovery.

I loved the plot and alternating PoVs kept me guessing till the end. The shocking twist at the end was unexpected. I didn't see it coming. Though the story was mysterious and suspenseful, I felt something amiss. (I cannot point it out though.) I had a weird feeling about a certain character... what they said and what they did didn't seem to match.

Overall, this was an engrossing read. I kept my expectations high with this book and hopefully, things turn out to be better (or murkier ;) ) in the next installment.

Fantastic book! I finished it in one day. I couldn't put it down because I needed to know what was going to happen next. I can't wait to read more from this author.

This is a new to me author and I have to say I am looking forward to reading more by this author! I loved this book

3.5 ⭐️‘s
3.5⭐️‘s
There were many “pieces” to this story and what started a bit slow picked up steam along the way. Sheriff Jax Turner has lost a lot in his lifetime and is on the verge of losing himself as well when a young girl goes missing. He vows not to lose her as well. With a sketchy neighbor, a mom that seems uninterested, a dad that’s since married and divorced someone else, and a stepmother that has a brother with mental health issues, there’s a whole plethora of suspects, but as the days go by will Allison be found before it’s too late? Thank you to Level Best Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This is the first book I have read by Keliikoa and I really liked most of it. I became engaged right away with the opening scene of Sheriff Jax, despondent enough to contemplate suicide yet forced back into the responsibility of his job by a dispatch from his office. That scene was a great way to hook this reader.

The title of the book is apt given that, as the investigation by Jax continues, facts from the past as well as current relationships are reluctantly revealed. It is like hidden pieces of a puzzle coming together. I liked Jax's commitment to finding the lost girl, even when it meant alienating powerful people or irritating his ex-wife. He was not going to lose this girl, no matter what it took.

There were some good twists at the end. While I appreciated most of them, I did think the final identity of the abductor was stretching my ability to believe a bit. Except for that unreasonable aspect of the final resolution, I thought the novel was well written.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

We open on Sheriff Jax Turner who, after losing his young daughter, followed by his marriage, feels he has nothing left to live for. An incoming call postpones his end as he discovers that a local girl, Allison, has gone missing. As a heartbroken father would, he becomes so emotionally involved in the case, it's as if he could bring his daughter back if he could just find Allison. The case starts to feel very familiar, as Jax reminisces about a cold case from 25 years ago, where two sisters were kidnapped, and only one returned. So many twists and turns, I loved the author's writing style and I never would have expected this ending! I was sucked in from the beginning and truly took my time enjoying this one! Already looking forward to the next book in the Misty Pines series!

A fantabulous psychological thriller! From the start, Mary Keliikoa chisels a story that will take you on a roller coaster ride, a story that is filled with twists, turns, edge of your seat moments and characters that come to life with each page turn.

Following Sheriff Turner as he looked for the pieces to the puzzle, was an intense time! I felt like I was an actual part of the story, feeling his depression, feeling his need to find a missing girl before it’s too late, uncovering more and more in a rush to find the victim…..and the person behind it.

This is definitely a 4★ ride you don’t want to say no to! It will leave your mind in pieces trying to put this puzzle together. By the end, you’ll be ready for another mind blowing, thrilling mystery from this talented author!

* I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Author/Publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*

This was my first from Mary Keliikoa and it won’t be my last! I loved her take on a small town mystery with long buried secrets coming up in the present. I can’t wait for the next in the series!

I love a thriller that keeps me on my toes but easy to follow and Hidden Pieces did just that for me. The characters were written well and I loved the change in POV. I didn’t really like how Jax went about the investigation at first, he seemed quick to judge, but given his past I can understand why. The beginning may be a little bit of a slow burn but it picks up and ends in an adrenaline rush. The ending wasn’t rushed and took me by surprise. I thought I had it figured out and looking back at the story once everything was revealed it all made sense.

Thank you @mary.keliikoa.author @netgalley and @suzyapprovedbooktours for the gifted copy.

Wow! The opening scene of Sheriff Jax Turner contemplating taking his own life put me on edge, and Mary Keliikoa let me teeter there the whole book.

A call comes in to Jax that Allison, a teen girl, is missing, and he isn’t about to let this one slip past him; he has lost too much in life.

When Allison’s backpack is found in the car of a sex offender, but no trace of the girl, Jax is afraid time may be running out. The case is even more complicated as Allison’s ex-stepmother, Elana had been abducted as a child with her sister. Elana made it out alive her sister did not, and the killer was never found.

Although the pace is not hurried, the tension continues to rise. This deals with past traumas, grief as well as mental illness. I’ll be very interested to see where this series goes.

Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours and @mary.keliikoa.author for a spot on tour and a gifted ebook.

Wow! I stayed up way too late to finish this book because I simply could not go to sleep without finding out how it ended. Sheriff Jax Turner was an incredible character - - such a good guy who was broken for many reasons at the beginning. A compelling case in their small community was exactly what he needed. What a case it was! I don’t want to share any spoilers but if you enjoy a good psychological thriller you will NOT want to miss this one. It gave me Silent Patient vibes which was an all time favorite for me.

I don't know, I liked it but I didn't. It was interesting, I liked the plot, it just seemed ongoing at times, the procedural part was also interesting. The ending was expected but still good.

Though I had high hopes for this book, it didn't quite stick the landing. Perhaps because its the first in the series, so I'll give it some grace. Jax is a likable character with a hard and devastating past, searching for meaning and redemption. I was drawn in and enjoying the book until worked out the twist/reveal mid way through.

Still...thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Misty Pines was the perfect setting for this story to take place in with its gloomy and murky, small town energy. The majority of the story is told through Sheriff Jax Turner’s POV, which allows us a really deep look into his thoughts and emotions while he’s attempting to solve the town’s most recent missing child case.

I loved trying to solve this mystery along with Jax and Elena while I was reading, and seeing which of my theories were correct or totally off base! In a small town where everybody knows everybody, it can be surprisingly difficult to track down a potential serial killer/ kidnapper.

I’m definitely looking forward to reading additional books in the Misty Pines series!

Wow...what a read! On the brink of suicide with the gun literally in his mouth, Jax gets a call over the radio about a missing girl. There was alot of emotion in this story. He had lost his daughter to cancer...lost his marriage. Now he needed to find this girl, and there is so much to unpack. Mary Keliikoa has written a very good mystery/thriller here. I love the twists you get sometimes while reading a mystery, and Mary never disappoints. Already looking forward to book 2 for this series.

This is listed as a first book in a new series, so I hope that some of what I found lacking in this book will grow with the series. I like when books change perspectives to show you the story from more than one point of view, but there was something about how it occurred in this book that took away from my overall enjoyment or how believe able I found the story to be. The big surprise twist in the last bit of the book wasn’t very surprising or twisty for me. I thought there were giant red flags hinting that at through the entire story. I did like the sheriff character, I had a lot of empathy for him. He starts his piece of the story so ready to kill himself the gun was in his mouth, but the report of a missing child is enough to get him to take one last call. As we find out he lost his daughter to cancer and his wife to the grief he fleshed out and became a more real (if overly focused and driven) character. I did like how the mystery tied to another mystery in the past and that reveal was a little more interesting to me. Overall it wasn’t a bad book and the setting and some of the background characters had some potential so I do hope there is a book two.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5097470112

Sheriff Jaz Turner has been failing his job since his daughter passed away and his wife left him. An unsolved kidnapping/ murder case from 25 years ago has tormented him.
Now another child has been kidnapped or run away. Jax has to get his wit together to try and figure out what happened this time. Jax also sees that this may be related to the past case, because of many similarities that were never released to the public.
Time is running out! Witnesses are few and many are not telling what they know to help the case. So many people look guilty and yet they also have hidden secrets.. Lots of twists and turns until the climax.

Sherriff Jax Turner is about to end it all. His daughter's death and subsequent divorce have broken him and he can't seem to claw his way back to a reason for living. Right before he can go through with it, he receives a call about a teenager, Allison Kreuger, that had been kidnapped.

Solving the case gives him a purpose and he sets out to find the Allison and bring her home to her family.

He soon finds a the girl has a relative that was killed in a kidnapping years before. A case that the sheriff has ties to. He feels that this may be the same killer. He knows he has to solve this case quickly in order to bring Allison home alive.

Highly recommend this book!

This is Book 1 in a new series by Mary Keliikoa. It has everything you want in a mystery series--characters you feel like you could sit down to coffee with, a setting you feel as though you've visited in person, and a twisty mystery that has you guessing everyone might be the whodunnit. What I love most about Keliikoa's writing is that she knows how to take the reader on an emotional journey. Definitely check out the first book in her new series!

The book was well written and an engaging read that I could not put down until all was said and done. I like the plot, the characters and all the opportunities to keep me in the throes of this book.