Family secrets, drama, suspense, murder,…this was an excellent plot with twists and turns. Well paced.
Many thanks to Level Best Books and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Loaded with family drama, The Last Thing Claire Wanted is a great introduction to the Wine Country Cold Case mysteries. As ex-FBI agent Anne embarks on her new career of estate liquidator, she befriends Claire, the matriarch of a family still dealing with an unsolved murder. Struggling to put her own past mistakes behind her, Anne is asked by Claire to investigate the murder of her 5-year old son, Danny. Teaming up with her retired detective uncle, Jack, and his old friend, Dean, Anne digs into the circumstances surrounding Danny’s death, bringing to light family secrets.

Time is running out for Claire, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and as the title suggests, Claire has one last wish – to find out what happened to her little boy decades earlier. Sandford portrays her characters with empathy and grace, drawing readers into the last days of a dying woman who is desperate for closure. Finely researched in terms of police procedure, Sandford’s debut mystery depicts realistic law enforcement officers with personal issues of their own.

A well-paced mystery, with twists and turns that keep you wondering!

An ex-FBI agent. A dying matriarch. A family secret that keeps killing.

Northern California. Anne McCormack has plenty of her own problems-a vile ex-husband, a rocky exit from the FBI, and a struggling new estate-sales business. But when finding a watch leads her to a prominent Wine Country matriarch, she can't say no to the dying woman's plea to solve her young son's decades-old murder.

Teaming up with her retired-cop uncle, Anne convinces the DA to reopen the cold case and is sworn in as a temp-hire detective. But as she wades through suspects, witnesses, and shocking evidence implicating those closest to the dead child, she fears it's too late for justice.

Can Anne find a killer who's on the loose and out to take down the rest of the family?

I loved this story. My first and definitely not my last book by the author. Will recommend this story to others.

I found this an enjoyable and engrossing book with main characters who are likeable and empathetic. I received this as an advance copy from the author via NetGalley as a review copy and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Well written and well plotted but the plot didn't keep my attention.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Well-paced page turner. I liked the twists in the story. It was a little predictable for me, but that's okay. I like winning some of the time, lol. Great story!

I r really enjoyed this novel. The mystery and engaging characters found me wanting more. Looking forward to her next novel. If your looking for a new author, I suggest picking this one up.

Well, it was a great solid book!

Sanford's narrative is amazing and touchy. The plot and the characters were well written just like the plot twists. Can't wait for the author's others books!

Great book! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, mystery, A great who done it and a few crazy twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I highly recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

I heard about this new book at the Jungle Red Writers blog (responsible for many entries on my TBR list!) and was pleased to see it on NetGalley. Unlike some first books in a new series, this started off at full speed and pulled me into the story immediately (I read it in a weekend!).. Anne McCormack self-destructed after her ex-husband's affair, resigning her FBI post and alienating friends, but she's trying to put her life back together with a new estate-liquidation business. After returning an engraved watch to its owners, she gets pulled into the investigation of a cold case with her retired police detective uncle. This is an interesting take with its focus on cold cases, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the series unfolds.

Thanks to Level Best Books for access to an ARC on NetGalley.