Usually I love this genre: broken detective picking up the pieces and getting the mojo back due to a case. For some reason, this one didn't quite work for me. Maybe it was the flatness of the characters, or the time spent on the backstory/history, or possibly way we were told Jax was involved and yet he appeared pretty distanced until the end. The big twist at the end was... different. Had there been more suggestion to it, it would not have felt like such a lazy way out.

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.

I loved this first book in a new series. I loved Jax and learning about the horrors that he had gone through in his life. I loved the suspense that is in the story. I love that the story kept me reading to find out what happened to the young girl. I received a copy of this book from the publisher for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦!

Another page turner from Mary Keliikoa. A dark, suspenseful, twisty domestic thriller, with flawed and complex characters that will keep you at the edge of your seat. If you like police procedurals you need to read this one.

Thank you Suzy Approved Book Tours for this tour invite.

𝗛𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀 by Mary Keliikoa released November 1, 2022.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

Edge of your seat stuff, brilliant characters and story lucky to read it via netgalley and am definitely looking forward to the next book!

The author really did a fantastic job with the characters here and with the feel of the story. As the hours passed and Allison was not found, the sense of growing panic was palpable. She wove a great tale with many twists and turns and so many connections between the characters. This was really cleverly written and I highly recommend for anyone who loves a good thriller.

Goodreads suggests that this will be a series and I’m here for it! If there are more books about Misty Pines, I will definitely be reading in the future!

The first half of this book was moving along at a decent pace with interesting characters, then too many subplots and coincidental connections between characters bogged down the second half of the book. The big reveal was predictable and book long animosities were quickly forgotten in the end. A quick, easy read for a few hours of distraction.

Thanks to NetGalley and Level Best Books for an advanced reader copy.

Sheriff Jax Turner is a heartbroken man. Having lost his daughter to cancer, and his wife to the inevitable fall-out of consuming grief, he's ready to exit the world.

A radio call about a missing girl Allison forces him back to a reality of nervous energy. It's not a good feeling, he's worn out, anxious and volatile. His co-workers are concerned and the Councilman wants him out of office.

As the case proceeds, Turner is astounded to realize that the missing girl's aunt was abducted and murdered when she herself was young. Is there a connection?

The harder he works the more people hold back information that could make the difference in Allison making it home alive.

I loved this twisty, dark, psychological thriller! A small town sheriff, depressed over the turns his life has taken since his daughter's death, plans to commit suicide. Before he can act, however, dispatch calls, alerting him of a missing teen. And as the sheriff investigates, he discovers many parallels to an old unsolved murder case that has always haunted him. After following many false leads, can he unmask the identity of the killer?

It was fast-paced and action-packed. I was hooked from beginning to end. It had an unexpected conclusion. I really enjoyed this book.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The story opens with the Sheriff of the small town of Misty Pines, Jax Turner, contemplating suicide as he can’t seem to move on after the cancer death of his young daughter five years ago. He has the gun in his mouth when the radio alerts him to a missing teenager. Reluctantly he postpones his death and goes to investigate.

He soon becomes fully invested in the case which turns out out to be an abduction rather than the runaway that everyone initially assumed. It also bears an uncanny resemblance to a case 25 years ago when he was a rookie cop and found a terrified teenager in the woods. She and her sister were abducted together only the sister was not so lucky and was later found dead. The survivor blocked out her memories of the ordeal.

Jax has to rely on three trainee deputies as his right hand man, Deputy (Chapman?) is away on an off-the-grid fishing trip. There are many red herrings as various avenues are explored. Unfortunately not many of these can be immediately discounted so the case gets quite murky quite quickly. Chapman returns unexpectedly early and is happy to jump straight into the investigation. Jax is relieved to have his experienced sidekick back, now they can make some real progress.

But, as usual, things are not as they seem. I guessed some of it quite early but the author did have more twists up her sleeve which made for a very exciting ending. This was quite an immersive read with the brooding atmosphere of the small town which was almost a character in itself. The other characters were very well developed and portrayed - some very likeable, others not so much but they were all quite realistic. I think this could be the start of a very good series and I will be keeping an eye out for more books by this author. Many thanks to Netgalley and Level Best Books for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

Hidden Pieces is the first book in the Hidden Pines series. The first character we meet is Sheriff Jax Turner. He has decided on ending his life and just about to pull the trigger when he gets a radio call that a teenage girl is missing. He tries to get another officer to go so he can finish what he started. When no one else is available he leaves to investigate the missing teen. Initially it appears that this might be an angry girl hiding from her mother, but the case soon reveals that this case is similar to the disappearance of two sisters 25 years ago.

The character's' backstories are very interesting. Jax Turner is still in mourning for his daughter LuLu who died of cancer. Unable to move on from this we understand why he was willing to end his life. I really liked the relationship of the sheriff's department. They were really there for one another. The other characters were not as likeable but appear to be redeemable if they are included in the next book.

I really liked this book. The writing was easy to read and not overly wordy. The plot grabs you from the beginning until the twisted conclusion. I am looking forward to more books in this series.

He has nothing left to lose but this case. Can he rescue a young victim before there’s another death on his conscience?
Sheriff Jax Turner is staring down the barrel of his broken past. On the brink of ending it all, he feels like a failure following his daughter’s tragic passing and his subsequent divorce. But when a schoolgirl vanishes and her backpack is found in a sex offender’s backseat, the weary lawman drags himself into action and vows to nail one last sociopath.
Shocked to discover the missing preteen’s aunt had lost her life in an abduction years prior, the devastating outcome that he’s taken personally, Jax believes the killer has returned with a vengeance. But as the desperate cop frantically hunts down a mysterious relative in search of a suspect, the girl’s time keeps ticking away…
Can the jaded sheriff take down the culprit and bring the poor youngster home alive?

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

This new series set in a small town in the Pacific Northwest with main character Sheriff Jax Turner is one that I could not put down.

The book starts with an intense beginning as Jax is literally about to pull the trigger as his depression from losing his young daughter to cancer has left him at an all time downward spiral.

He gets a call on the radio about a missing 14 year old girl named Allison. Jax feels like no one that he talks to including Allison’s mom and Allison’s boyfriend are telling the entire truth.

Allison goes from being classified as missing due to being a potential runaway to being classified as abducted. Jax also sees signs in this case to a similar unsolved cold case he was involved in where one teen was murdered and her sister got away but with no memory of the event.

Mary does a great job of keeping a perfect pace of the plot. She also really portrays the atmosphere of a small town as well as linking together the characters and the past and present crimes.

My favorite part is that I thought I had figured out who the bad guy was, but there was a twist I never saw coming which really threw me for a loop.

Hidden Pieces
by Mary Keliikoa
2 stars

I really liked Hidden Pieces I was really invested in the first half I loved the characters even though some of them I couldn't keep straight. There were a lot of different ones and some with similar-sounding names. The second half fell flat for me I couldn't get into the story anymore. It felt like it was missing a lot of stuff. Too many holes.
I am going to sit down at a later date and reread this just to see how it goes a second time.
Thank you, Net Galley and Level Best Books for the eARC for an honest review

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Level Best Books for providing me a free copy of this book for this honest review.

Hidden Pieces is the first book in a new series by Mark Keliikoa who has published three prior books in the PI Kelli Pruett Series.

Jax Taylor, the Sherriff of Misty Pines, is not doing well. His marriage ended soon after the tragic death of his daughter. He’s no longer interested in doing his job and is considering ending his life when he is notified about a missing teenager. He quickly becomes engrossed in his efforts to find the missing girl and he works tirelessly to investigate all clues. His efforts take him in several directions, and he takes several unsuccessful paths, some caused by misleading information from the people he interviews or from others that think they will do better at finding the missing girl.

Sherriff Jax Taylor is an interesting and complex character. He’s likeable but flawed and leaps to some incorrect conclusions that you don’t often see in crime fiction where the crime fighter is a genius or seemingly superhuman. Jax becomes a bit fixated on certain conclusions and biases that cloud his judgment, sometimes in an annoying way, but that just shows he’s human or perhaps tired from not taking a break in finding the missing girl.

This is the first book I have read by Mary Keliikoa and first review I’ve written in about a year. I had tired of the pressure of having to read and write a review but when I saw the description for this book, I thought I would really enjoy it. I was right! I’m hoping for more in this series and want to read about Sheriff Jax Turner and the people of Misty Pines.

This was quite the suspenseful page turner. A search for a missing teen that opens up a can of worms all over the rural small town. This abduction is linked to another abduction of two sisters from years prior, and in that case only one survivor.

There is a lot going on in this story because so much is trying to be solved. Then drug trafficking is thrown in, and it's a little much. I was able to figure out a part of the story, but I never guessed who was behind it all. It felt like the guilty party came out of nowhere. Overall this was an enjoyable read, and it made me excited to see that it's the first in a series.

I had a hard time staying focused on this book in the beginning although I don't really know why. There are many characters, some of whose names are so similar that I kept getting confused. For instance the missing girl's mother is named Emily and her step-mother is named Elena, and both are divorced from her father. When I was done reading the book I went back and re-read some of the first few chapters but I still don't know why I had such a problem. I suspect I'm just burned out as far as this trope is concerned.

After about 50% I had settled into the story and had most of the characters straight in my mind so I did enjoy it more. The book was well written and a fairly easy read but I didn't care much for the way it ended. I can't say that I "liked" any of the characters but a few of them had some depth to them and I had my suspicions of who was the guilty party. I would probably read another book in this series.

My thanks to Level Best Books via Netgalley for the opportunity to read a DRC of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Published October 25, 2022.

I read Hidden Pieces about two months ago while I was recovering from Covid. I was excited about the mystery aspect of the story at first, but then things got a little too weird for me. So many characters with things to hide when a young teen is missing. When it comes down to it, there were too many different things happening in this story- a missing teen turned abduction, a secret relationship, suicide, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and mental health issues. It was all a little too much and too unbelievable for me. I think this story could have been better with some editing and with fewer plot points that didn’t mix well. Note to self- maybe this isn’t the genre for me.

This book is out today. Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher Level Best Books for the arc.

When events in the past just won't let you go.
After losing his young daughter to cancer and his wife to divorce, the feelings of failure are too strong for sheriff Jax Turner to continue living. One the brink of ending it all, Jax gets a call on his radio that a fourteen-year-old girl is missing and he's needed right away. Twenty-five years ago two young girls went missing and only one was found alive. With that history, Jax knows he can't let it happen again and is determined to find the girl. When clues arise that seem to tie the old case to the new, the stakes grow considerably larger. What happens next is both compelling and thrilling.

Well, the Misty Pines Mystery series is off to a great start! I always enjoy well drawn, flawed protagonists and Jax fits the bill. The story grows in suspense and intrigue as deadlines approach and the plot thickens. The big twist and reveal in the end caught me by surprise and kinda had me shaking my head in a good way.

If you enjoy getting in on the ground floor of a series, one that kept me entertained from start to finish, I recommend you add this to your TBR list.

An enjoyable enough read which got better as it went along. I had a bit of trouble gettting into the book, which might have been me and the mood I was in, or it could have been that the book was slow to get going and didn't immediately grab my attention. Probably a bit of both.

The main character, Sheriff Jax Turner has his issues and in fact is just about to kill himself when he gets a call about a missing girl. I suppose it made a change from the usual narrative of the hard-drinking, troubled protagonist, but it was still a bit of a cliche. As the book goes along we get his backstory of grief and loss with child bereavement and divorce.

A teenage girl has disappeared on her way to school. The clock is ticking. An urgent investigation kicks off involving family, friends, and community. Everyone seems to have secrets, including the missing girl and everyone including the girl's mother is less than straight with Turner. Information is not readily forthcoming. Turner also has to contend with the small town big man, the guy with money, power and influence who isn't happy with Turner questioning his son, a boy who has a connection to the missing girl. Threats are issued over Turner's badge, all of which is a distraction from the man doing his job.

There's some history involved as well, with a connection to an unsolved murder years ago when Turner was a homicide detective with a different police force. Obviously it's the case that haunts Turner, the one that was never resolved where another girl was failed. Or so he feels. The previous case impacts on the present and Turner believes it's a solve one, solve both situation, only this time the imperative is that the girl is saved.

I liked the book better the more I read. There were several twists and turns to the narrative with different suspects coming to prominence, then fading as the book went on. One of the twists completely blindsided me - hats off to Keliikoa; the other I saw.

The main character grew on me as the book progressed, I sympathised with him a bit more, maybe because his head came out of his ass and he was focussing on other things as opposed to wallowing in self pity. He actually manages to let go of the past a bit.

Overall it was a decent read, one which I enjoyed and came away from thinking... yeah that was a bit different, a bit better than I initially thought.

3.5 stars from 5

Read - October, 2022
Published - 2022
Page count - 300
Source - review copy from Net Galley
Format - Kindle