Next Girl Missing (A Sally Fairburn Crime Thriller Book 1)
by L.A. Larkin
Pub Date: 16 Jun 2023

OMG....I am at a loss for describing how utterly fantastic author, L.A. Larkin is! If you're looking for a great crime/thriller read I highly recommend this book. It's the first book I've read of hers and I assure you I plan on reading many more.

It was intense, thrilling, creepy and even scary. I can't speak highly enough about Next Girl Missing. It kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page until the final page! I highly recommend this 5 star book!

Short Synopsis:
Four years ago, six young girls were snatched from the streets of quiet, suburban Pioneer Heights—chilling, fake “missing” posters of each victim hung around town just before they were taken. Ex-police officer Sally Fairburn has always been haunted by the case and their inability to bring the girls home. Having lost her own daughter, she knows only too well the pain it brings…

Four years on, the wide brown eyes and neat braids of twelve-year-old Anna Moorhouse—the last girl to disappear—still plague Sally’s dreams. She has never stopped fighting to bring the devastated families back together, but all leads have gone cold. Until Sally receives a chilling call out of the blue: their former main suspect, in prison for another crime, wants to talk to her… alone.

Desperate for answers, Sally races to interview him. But a horrifying discovery stops her in her tracks: a missing poster—on her daily running route, in the same style used four years ago—with Sally’s own face on it…

Not only is Sally in grave danger, but the more threats she receives, the more convinced she becomes that the killer is a lot closer to home than she ever could have imagined…

Thank you to #Netgalley and #Bookouture for the ARC of #NextGirlMissing.

4.5 stars for a fab crime thriller! I loved it and I am so keen to read book 2 in the Sally Fairburn series.

This was so intense, and the thriller bits were thrilling - spooky, creepy and a little scary even.

A perfect unique mix of ex-police officer FMC and police procedural in my opinion. This is about Sally, who's going through her own personal nightmares, trying to solve a cold serial killer case, just as the serial killer seems to be starting to strike again.

I'd absolutely recommend this to all crime thriller and police procedural lovers.

I have one major gripe with this, which resulted in a reduced rating (but I'm still hoping it's corrected before publication). If you follow me on bookstagram, you may have seen my post about authors, or people generally, saying someone "committed suicide". It features a bit in this book. It is wrong and disrespectful to use 'committed'. The reason people tend to use the word 'committed' before suicide is because suicide used to be a crime - before people knew or understood mental health. Suicide is no longer a crime and saying someone committed suicide is wrong. They suicided or died by suicide. It frustrates me that it is taking years for this to become widely known. If you didn't know about it, I'd love for you to take this on board and share the word that suicide is not a crime anymore and it is therefore not appropriate to refer to someone as having 'committed suicide'. 🤞 this ARC gets edited.

Anticipated publication date: 16 June 2023.

⚠️ Check TWs online ⚠️

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and Bookouture for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to bookouture and netgalley for this arc. A new series and a new author for me, it didnt dissapoint, and i will definately be reading their other books
DOES INVOLVE DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE
When Sally's daughter zelda commits suicide, she is heart broken she couldnt save her. Scott Sally's husband leaves her, telling their friends, she isnt well mentally and making her out to be cruel. Also paul her son blames sally for zelda. Sally is troubled, she has always like to help people, but when things start to surface about her husband, she starts to look into them. Things aren't adding up, surely scott wouldnt have anything to do with the missing and killing of the 6 girls.????
Sensitive subject matter which i think the author has portrayed very well.
If you cant trust a policeman who can you trust?????
Highley recommend great read
Onto book 2 cant wait

A new author for me and such a treat to get into the start of new series too.
Sally Fairburn an ex cop, is putting the pieces of her life together after the effects of her abusive coercive marriage. Living with her son Paul and still grieving the loss of her daughter, she’s dragged back into the world of the ‘Poster Killer’.
A great read with lots of twists and turns and villains I never saw coming. While at the end the case may be resolved there are new unasked questions about her abusive ex and Sally intends to pursue them. I’m look forward to the next instalment in what looks like becoming a must read series.

Next Girl Missing was a suspenseful crime novel. We are introduced to Sally Fairburn, an ex-police officer. There are a few interconnecting parts as we have a 4 year old case when 6 young girls were kidnapped but the kidnapper (nicknamed the 'Poster Killer') was never confirmed, new posters of missing people emerging, along with trying to get to the bottom of who really was Sally's ex Scott, and what really happened to Sally's daughter 5 years ago.
I found the story engaging and it was a case of who really could Sally, and her son Paul, trust. The story has snippets into the past when Sally first met her now ex-husband Scott, also a police officer, and the way he treated her. This was interesting as it outlined how she got to be how she was and also made me question Scott's character. Some surprising twists along the way. Whilst the story doesn't end on a cliff hanger, it does have some snippets of what may be investigated in book 2. Great read.

Next Girl Missing is book one in A Sally Fairburn Crime Thriller by L.A. Larkin.
Woah! Larkin has created such a chilling crime thriller.
The characters were so, so real and their interactions played out in front of me as if I was watching a technicolour film- so real and believable.
Fast paced, dark and intense, the storyline is taut and perfectly plotted.
It’s eerie and wonderfully written- believe me when I say this is a story you. DO. NOT want to miss!!!
This was a tense read with a good sense of atmosphere and a constant feeling of threat, which caused me some anxiety as I read it!
I’m thrilled to start book two.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Bookouture for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

While this book took a while for me to get into, I did enjoy reading it. There is a lot of well written characters that feel believable and the story is gripping

The next girl missing is a great suspense novel! I was hooked from page 1! I can’t wait until the next one comes out!!

This is an interesting, thrilling read. A story of 6 missing young girls and an ex police officer that stills wants to find answers. Sally Fairburn has moved on with her life and career but the past and the 6 missing girls still haunts her. But this is a story about more than the missing girls as it is also about Sally and her life.

I really enjoyed this book as it was well paced and never let up so I never became bored or disinterested in it. The characters are well written and worked well within the story. Well written as it had me from page one and kept me wanting to find out more. It is a book that is hard to put down as it is exciting, thriller, mysterious and gripping.

I highly recommend it and can't wait to start reading book two now.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Ex-police woman Sally Fairburn is now a victim’s advocate. Divorced from her controlling bully of a husband, a police detective, she is a single mother to Paul, after losing her 13 year old daughter Zelda to suicide. She has never forgotten an unsolved case, where six young girls disappeared one after the other four years ago, when she was still a police officer. Nicknamed the Poster Killer, the abductor hung ‘missing’ posters on nearby bus stops just before they disappeared. Only one body was ever found and Sally still keeps in touch with the parents of the other missing girls who just want to find out what happened to their daughters. Now she’s been contacted by a man in prison who says he has information about the killer he’s willing to exchange for some favours and she soon finds herself dragged back into the investigation of the missing girls.

First in a new series, this is a thrilling read with short, sharp chapters. Well plotted, fast paced and full of suspense, it’s a gripping read with some shocking surprises and a killer who was hard to pick.

Next Missing Girl was a roller coaster ride that I didn’t want to end! Wow can I just say how brilliantly this was written and such a fast paced read I read it in a few hours.

Sally’s life is turned upside down when her daughter Zelda ends up killing herself. Why’d she do it? Was it because of the bullies? Was it because the girls going missing? You must read on to find out!!! I cannot wait to read more from this author and I hope I get approved for the second in the series because I am now really invested!!!

Thank you NetGalley, L. A. Larkin, and Bookouture for allowing me to read this Arc due to be published June 16, 2023. Definitely five stars from me !

Thanks to Louisa and NetGalley for allowing me to read Next Girl Missing before the publication date.
This is the first of Louisa’s books which I have read and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

The story takes place over more than 25 years. Sally Fairburn is the central character.
A quiet girl, she grew up being diminished by her father. In 1990, she joins Franklin PD where Scott Fairburn is assigned as her mentor. A personal relationship starts and the couple are married.
Sally moves to the role of victim support officer at the District Attorney’s office.

Moving to the present day. The pressure of supporting the families of the missing girls has taken it’s toll and Sally has retired from the job which she loved after 25 years.
She has recently managed to divorce Scott who is politely described as a passive aggressive narcissist. (I am sure that the readers will find some more words to describe him). Unfortunately, her 14 year old son, Paul, has inherited some of his father’s characteristics.
When the phone call draws Sally back into the Poster Killer investigation, she has to question who she can trust within Franklin PD.
This is a fast paced psychological thriller with plenty of red herrings.

📚: Next Girl Missing
✍️: L.A. Larkin

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Four years ago, in Pioneer Heights, six girls went missing. Also, missing posters of the girls were put up, prior to the girls going missing! Only one body has been found. Where are the other five girls?!

Sally and Scott lose their daughter Zelda around the same time, to suicide. So much heartache and mystery in this small town. Sally will not give up her search for the missing girls. She advocates for their families, all while mourning her own loss.

This story is a page turner! I love the short chapters! It makes the “one more chapter” game easy. I very much look forward to reading the second book of this series. Another great ARC!

#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookbabesara

This book was great from start to finish. It had me hooked from the jump and I didn’t feel like there were any slow spots. I was in it and wanting to know what was going to happen throughout the entire book. It brought out feelings and anger and everything and if a book can get you worked up for the characters you know it’s a good one! I was unsure who the killer was up until the end. I gave this book 5 stars and that very rarely happens. I was invested and needed to know just as much as the characters in the book. Great job LA Larkin!

Book 1 in the Sally Fairburn crime thriller series is off to a good start. Not just a serial killer, crime thriller/police procedural, the book delves into marriage and domestic violence issues within. The characters are believable and Sally is a very determined character who won't suffer fools gladly. A good fast paced ending will leave readers wanting more. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC..

Thank you Netgally and publishers for giving me early access to Next Girl Missing. In my opinion it was a slow start, however, it got very interesting very quickly. I enjoyed how the chapters went back in forth between the past and current day. I felt like it made the story line deeper. Around the 50% mark the book had my interest in deep and I could not put the book down. I read for 3 hours straight; I had to know how the book ended. The end of the book had me very intrigued for the NEXT book. Can’t wait to read that one as well!! ◡̈

I didn't know exactly what to expect, starting a new series off by an author I hadn't read from before. However I saw on Goodreads that she is a prolific crime fiction author with very good reviews left for her, so that pulled me in. And getting in at the beginning of a series is always fun.

Before I go further, TWs to consider: [serial killer, crimes against children, a suicide, and an abusive, gaslighting husband/ex-husband (who is a police officer) (hide spoiler)].

Sally used to be a police officer but now advocates for victims. She becomes emotionally wrapped up in the Missing Poster Killer case and gets actively involved. The killer puts up Missing Child posters before they are taken and there was one with Sally's face also.She is now worried about her own safety as well as the last girl taken, who might still be alive.

Without giving too much away, the plot is suspenseful and kept me reading to get answers. I will definitely be on the lookout for more LA Larkin stories, as crime fiction remains my favorite genre and this story put a new twist on kidnapping/murder plots. I read so many that it is refreshing to read one that puts a different spin on the situation.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read a digital copy of this for an honest opinion. Reviewed on NetGalley, my personal blog, and Goodreads. Recommended!

I LOVED this book – it was additive and had me well and truly hooked!

The story was well written and I loved the author’s writing style and the pace of the story – it was one that had me turning the pages in to the early hours and I had to find out how it would all end.

I loved the mix of characters and their different personalities. Sally was a really well developed character, I really felt for her at times, she did frustrate me too and I also wanted to give her a hug so that in itself is testament to the author’s abilities, I went through quite a lot of different emotions reading the book

This is the first book in the series and after finishing this one I started to read the second book straight away!

It is 5 stars from me for this one – very highly recommended!

3.5/5 ⭐
the first in a new mystery/thriller series follows Sally Fairburn, a former victim's advocate. It's been years since the Poster Killer has struck. One day, Sally gets a call from a notorious criminal in jail who says he has information about who the killer is. As Sally rushes to see him, she sees herself on one of the Wanted Posters that the Poster Killer became infamous for. Once at the jail, more revelations indicate that there might be a duo working together.

Overall, I enjoyed this first in the series. I think that overall mystery, clues, intrigue, etc. was good. I was suspecting truly everyone after the duo revelation! Plus I didn't see the whodunit coming. However, I didn't enjoy the flashbacks to Sally's previous life as much. I understand we need to establish a basis for her as a character, but I'm hoping there is less of that in future books. It didn't add much for me and took away from the intrigue. I'm excited to see where this series goes next and if Sally gets back out there professionally.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is book 1 in the Sally Fairburn series. It was a really good read with an unexpected end. I highly recommend it👏🏻.

Sally Fairburn was a police officer turned victim advocate. She ended her career after the death of her teenage daughter and divorce from her controlling husband. Now, Sally and her son, Paul, are moving on.

When a case from her past comes back to haunt her, Sally is terrified. Six teenage girls were taken and never found but the perpetrator left missing person posters before taking the girls. Now Sally appears to be a target.

Sally was an advocate for the families and is personally invested in the case. Since she lost her daughter, Zelda, Sally understands the heartache they are going through. She decides to investigate and solve this case once and for all. Will she find the girls and get closure for the parents?

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.