I'm not sure what to say about this book that hasn't already been said... The first half was great! Really engaging and kept me interested. The second half on the other hand, completely lost me. Not sure I'll continue the series

Still despondent after losing his young daughter to cancer 5 years ago, Sheriff Jax Turner is ready to check out of the life he feels no longer holds any meaning when a call comes in reporting a missing teen-aged girl. With his trusted deputy on vacation, Jax has no choice but to take on the investigation himself, and it soon reminds him of a case he worked 25 years ago, where two young girls were kidnapped and one of them killed. Becoming more and more convinced that the killer has returned to Misty Pines, Jax knows he needs to be on his game to find the missing girl and finally solve the 25 year old murder. The plot is like a roller coaster ride, as Keliikoa dangles clues and red herrings before the investigators and readers, and the big twist was one I doubt anyone will see coming!

Sheriff Jax Turner is in a bad place and wants to end it all.
His daughter has died and his wife had left him and he feels totally alone.
But when a call comes in about a missing teenager Allison it brings back memories of a twenty five year old cold case.
Jax is determined to bring Allison back home alive.

Unfortunately the file type did not work on my kindle. The publisher was kind enough to offe a physical copy but I haven't received it yet.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC of Hidden Pieces.

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
😮 enjoy unexpected twists
🌲 live in the PNW
👩‍⚕️ are interested in psychology
🏠 love small towns

• 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄

When 14 year old Allison disappears one morning while waiting for the bus, Sheriff Jax Turner will stop at nothing to find her.

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Jax Turner has been out of it for the last 5 years. After he lost his daughter, Lulu, to cancer, he’s basically checked out. But when Allison, a 14 year old girl, goes missing, he decides he’s going to do whatever it takes to bring her home safely. As the days progress, Jax begins to realize that her case feels similar to an unsolved murder he worked while living in Portland. Soon, he begins to suspect he’s chasing the same killer, 25 years later.

Elena lost her sister Madeline to a killer 25 years ago, shortly after losing her parents in a car accident. Her brother, Steven, is all she has left. Now working as a psychologist, she begins to suspect that Steven may have kidnapped her stepdaughter, Allison, but why? She and Jax will have to work together if they want to find Allison before it’s too late.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

This was a fast paced read that felt realistic in terms of characters and their dialogue. I liked that we got both Jax’s and Elena’s POVs at times. The ending twist was totally unexpected for me, but I wasn’t actually surprised by who the killer ended up being. I definitely enjoyed the whole ride with Jax and his hunt for Allison though. I think this would make for a fantastic film. I highly recommend if you enjoy police procedurals and thrillers!

Sheriff Jax has a missing girl in his town. The more he follows the leads the more convoluted the case becomes. Then the case twists again. Could it be possible? Is it tied to one of his very first missing persons’ crimes?

I fell for Jax right away. As a matter of fact, I fell for most of these characters. Some are broken, like Jax. And some are so real, they live in my town…I just know them.

I also enjoyed the hunt in this one! I did figure it out and there are a lot of coincidences which led to me figuring out who did what. But, with the characters and the chase, it is a pretty dang good mystery.

This is the first book in the Misty Pines series. I will definitely be on the look out for the others in this series. There is a backstory which is bound to be revealed and I want to know more!

Need a wonderful mystery with a twist…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

I was taken for a ride, I did not believe the first red herring, but after that, it was a roller coaster! If you like mysteries, who did it, then this is a gem! I felt so much empathy for this beleaguered Sheriff, Jax Turner, when this young teenage girl goes missing, that I couldn't put it down if I had wanted to! I have slugged my way through many books this year, but not this Hidden Gem, this author kept me glued to the book, with bated breath waiting and praying for Allison to be found safe! I am a very critical reviewer, and were there minor flaws in the story? Yes, but the majority of this story are riveting, adding to a mind blowing ending! Buy it, borrow it from your Library, you won't be sorry, I promise you that! This would make a great TV miniseries!
I highly recommend! Thank you #Netgalley #IBMP
carolintallahassee

Mary Keliikoa, the author of “Hidden Pieces,” has written a complex, complicated and intense novel. The genres for this novel are Psychological Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, and Fiction. The author vividly describes her dramatic characters as flawed, broken, and perplexing. Some of the characters could be suspects. There are betrayals, dangers, threats, kidnapping, and murder. This is a novel with twists and turns,

Sheriff Jax Turner is in a very dark place as he contemplates suicide. His young daughter died from cancer. His marriage is ruined, and he is divorced. All he can think of is the failures of his life when a call interrupts his negative thoughts. When he receives news of a 14-year-old girl that goes missing, it reminds him of a case from 25 years earlier. The killer was never identified, and the Sheriff realizes that the young girl is in danger and time is running out.

As the Sheriff deals with many characters, he discovers drugs and an illegal trafficking problem. How will he find the missing girl and get her home? What are the motivations that have the killer return? Another problem is, who is the killer? I highly recommend that you read this novel to find out. Sometimes, you have to be able to put all the pieces together.

Thank you NetGalley and Level Best Books for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The cover and description really had me wanting to request this book right away. Once I started this book yesterday, I couldn’t put it down. I devoured it. The writing and suspense flowed perfectly. I had so many different theories going through my head once I was about 50% in. I really enjoyed Sheriff Jax and Elena’s characters. Elena really made this book intriguing. There were a few twists that surprised me and a few I guessed were coming. I’m adding this book to my favorite series list! Can’t wait for book 2!

This thriller starts with a bang, or almost bang - as the Sheriff of Misty Pines, Jax Turner, is called away from his attempted suicide to solve the kidnapping of a local schoolgirl.

Readers are slowly drawn to an almost unbelievable ending through much back and forth, multiple red herrings, and shocking twists! I enjoyed the background of Sheriff Jax Turner, his internal struggles and progressions, as well as the mystery within. I’ll happily read any future installments in the Misty Pines Mystery series!

I’m grateful to have read an advanced copy of Hidden Pieces. Thank you to the author Mary Keliikoa, and the publishers at Level Best Books and NetGalley for this opportunity.

*This review has been shared with Barnes and Noble and cross-posted to Goodreads.

I found Hidden Pieces to be a complete page turner of a story. It was fast paced and had enough twists and turns to keep me interested and had an ending I did not see coming.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

An interesting book in the first of a mystery series about a missing teen and a community tied together by a similar case 25 years ago. A 14 year old girl, Allison, vanishes after waiting at the bus stop one morning in the small town of Misty Pines. In the cold case, her aunt was a victim after being abducted and the case has haunted Sheriff Jax Turner since.
Jax's daughter lives in agony over his wife leaving him and his 5 year old daughter died of cancer. When he decides to take his own life, he gets a call about a missing teen. He decides to make things right and find the girl before it is too late.
There were a lot of characters leaving me frustrated with mapping out the story. Some characters were sketchy and prime suspects so this kept me involved enough to solve the case and cheer for a resolution for all. I felt sorry for Jax and hoped his guilt over the loss of his family would ease. Most of the time the story stayed on track, and there were times I could see where it was going. A twist shook me out of the lull which bumped it to a 3.5*.
It was a great start for the series and the atmosphere in Oregon drove the story. The note from the author clues you into how the story came to fruition. I'm excited to see what can be stirred up in this little town next.
Thank you NetGalley and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much to Level Best Books and NetGalley for the advance copy of this surprising and coiled mystery. There are so many twists and turns that actually kept me guessing, and I can honestly say I never saw the ending coming! Mary Keliikoa has given us a protagonist that is so relatable and easy to root for-- and when I saw this was the first in a series I was so excited to know his story wasn't ending!

We meet sheriff Jax Turner as he is quite literally staring down the barrel of a gun. He has lost his daughter, is burdened by the mistakes of crimes unresolved, and has a strained relationship with the town he has sworn to serve and protect. Jax is done... until he isn't. He receives a call that a teenager has been abducted and instantly feels the call to right the wrong of another missing (but found dead) teen years ago. The plot thickens as Jax learns of connections between the two cases, and he suddenly finds himself dredging up the past-- including his own personal ties that he thought were severed forever.

Jax encounters many misdeeds throughout Misty Pines in his search for Allison. His leads come up with nothing truly substantial until he is joined by psychiatrist Elena Massey. Her connection to the crisis opens the investigation wider and wider until both of them are swallowed into it. The chase into the dark becomes a race against time as Allison's hours away from home mount. This detective (well, sheriff) story turned psychological thriller is sure to grab your attention and keep you hooked until the case is solved!

Hidden Pieces by Mary Keliikoa is a real page-turner. I found myself rooting for Jax, the sheriff dealing with his own haunted past as he searched for an abducted teen.

This is a hard book to review! The first ~50%: 1.5-2 stars. The next ~40%: 3 stars. The last ~10%: 3.5-4 stars.

The first half was boring, slow and repetitive to me. I didn't need or want to read over and over the detective's thoughts about how he didn't know who was responsible for the crime or what he should do next - that's why I was reading.

The part that I struggled to get through the most was reading pages describing the detective drawing arrows between names on a white board and scribbling on a white board and then being reminded about what's scribbled on the white board.

My last grievance was two characters talking in a different language without explaining what's said or enough context.

It picks up a bit at about 60%, gets interesting and reads better with a moving plot. By the last 10% I was hooked and then came a major twist, which I can't say more about other than I was honestly surprised.

Suspend belief is neccesary.

I wouldn't read the next book in the series if there was one, but this book did redeem itself a bit.

I am a fast paced thriller / crime / police procedural fan, so this book may definitely be for you if you like police procedurals that are not so fast moving (also should not it is confusing with so many characters!).

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I received an ARC through "NetGalley" and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

The story begins with the abduction of a teenage girl. When this happened Jax, the sheriff, had just arrived at the beach when he received a call. Jax had been depressed and life didn't seem to have a meaning for him since his daughter died of cancer 5 years ago. Jax had a burst of energy and headed to the location where the teenager went missing. After initiating a search and without having any success it reminded him of a case that he was involved in earlier where he wasn't able to find a killer who had killed one of the abducted girls. Jax thought that if he was able to solve this one then he would feel better. As it turned out, this case bore a lot of similarities to that one.

Follow the story as Jax pursues the individual and see what events he uncovered in doing so. Learn how a person from his past was able to lead to who he believed was responsible. The conclusion of this story is one you would never have thought of happening

This definitely a book that you must read.

Sub-titled ‘A Misty Pines Mystery’, Mary Keliikoa’s Hidden Pieces (Level Best Books, 25 October 2022) sounds like it is a cosy mystery set in an idyllic location. It is not! Instead Hidden Pieces is a rather dark tale about a missing teenage girl that deals with a series of serious issues, including the effects of trauma, mental illness, childhood cancer and drug use.

The story opens with Sheriff Jax Turner staring down the barrel of his gun. He is determined to end it all due to his despair from the cancer death of his young daughter and the end of his marriage. Then he receives a call that a teenage schoolgirl has disappeared. He puts his gun down and vows to solve this one last case before he carries out his suicide plan.

As Turner tries to find the missing Allison he uncovers links to drug dealing, human trafficking and a murder from years ago. Despite attempted political influence and resistance from the FBI, Turner persists with his search as the clock begins to count down on Allison.

Hidden Pieces is a surprising and very enjoyable crime thriller. The story mainly moves along at a good pace and there are enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. Sheriff Turner is a flawed but sympathetic character and he is supported by an interesting and credible group of supporting characters. It is not an action-packed book, but there is enough tension and suspense to keep you reading well into the night. The setting of a small community in the Pacific Northwest of the United States is also well conveyed and convincingly described.

Mary casts around a lot of red herrings and distractions, but the big final twists are relatively easy to pick. One of them also strains credibility a bit. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this all the way down to the final page.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mary Keliikoa, and Level Best Books for the opportunity to read and review an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book.

Hidden Pieces By Mary Keliikoa (Misty Pines Mystery #1)

Jax Turner is the sheriff of Misty Pines. He has lost his wife, his daughter, and his job could be next. What does he have left to live for? As Jax thinks of ending his life, he gets a call over his radio that a young girl, Allison, has gone missing. As he starts to unravel the clues as to how Allison went missing, he begins to find meaning in his life again.
There are so many twists and turns in the book that I absolutely LOVED.

This book had me hooked from the very start. It has a great pace; some chapters are a little slower and some chapters you can’t help but tear through. I love a mystery that’s tied to cold cases and that keeps you guessing. I am excited for more books in this series and will be picking them up on Pub Day!

This was just “ehhh” for me, unfortunately - a bit too meandering and disjointed. Was good enough though that I *had* to finish, so I’d say 3.5 stars would be a sound review.
Thanks for the ARC opportunity!

This was a great read and very twisty and fast-paced. Set in a small American town it had all the elements I love and as I got towards the end it picked up the pace and I just couldn’t put it down. A new author for me of whom I’ve heard alot about and I intend to read more by her in the future. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.