This one was brilliant and I read it in a day. I was totally involved with the situation and the helplessness of the people who were trapped. Brought it all to life. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This one was so good . I didn’t know this was a series but it was good as a stand alone . I’m now going back to read them all . I think it ranks up there with Paul Dorion and C j box . It is just a well written and plotted mystery.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

Thank you NetGalley and Level Best Books, for the copy of Helpless by Annette Dashofy.
When I first started this book I couldn't get into it so I stopped. When I picked it up again I had no problem jumping back in and it really gripped me. Maybe if I had known it was book 12 in a series I would have never put it down in the first place.
Pete and Zoe are great characters and I liked that Pete was a Police Chief and Zoe was the Coroner and I am anxious to read the previous books to understand more about their backstories. While this book was fine as a standalone I am curious about some of the other characters also. The story was closer to a ‘cozy’ mystery than the usual thrillers I read but there was plenty of action! If you’re looking for a good series, try this one.

Helpless
A Zoe Chambers Mystery
Annette Dashofy
5+ Stars

Synopsis:

As a massive weather system barrels toward them, Vance Township Police Chief Pete Adams and his wife, County Coroner Zoe Chambers-Adams, soon learn how unprepared they really are. A 911 call reports a dead young mother, her critically injured husband, and their missing seven-year-old daughter. Pete and Zoe realize that as the storm moved north from Louisiana, a mysterious killer came with it.

The wounded and trapped father is Zoe’s friend and blacksmith, and he asks her to stay with him during the rescue efforts. Pete encourages her to oblige, hoping she can uncover clues that might help the investigation. But as attempts to free the victim fail and his condition worsens, Zoe’s questions reveal he doesn’t know why his family was targeted and child kidnapped. Yet he stays alive, hoping for one last glimpse of his little girl.

Pursuing the murderer and the kidnapped child, Pete and his officers battle downed trees, massive flooding, and a widespread loss of communications. They’re isolated with no backup, while facing rising water and impassable roads. The killer faces the same problems, yet somehow stays one step ahead of law enforcement. But he is becoming desperate, and more people are dying because of it.

As two lives hang in the balance, can Pete win the race against time and weather to stop a savage and cunning predator? And will he and Zoe be able to reunite a family before it’s too late? (Amazon)

Review:

After receiving a 911 call, Zoe and Pete go to the farm where the emergency happened. When they get there, they k=find a young mom dead, her husband clinging to life and their daughter missing. Zoe has to help the father and Pete will have to begin searching for the little girl. And with a massive weather coming their way, time is of the essence.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is a quick easy read. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and these descriptions pulled me into the story and did not let me go. The way the author described the weather conditions, the downed trees and the road conditions, I felt like I was right there with them, fighting the elements and racing against the clock. The suspense was palpable. I wanted to keep reading but I was afraid to at times.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well plotted mystery. This was one of the best books that I have read in a while. Do not miss this book.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Level Best Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

Setting the Scene: As Hurricane Iona powers a massive weather front their way, the Vance Township is shaken when a 911 call reports the murder of a young mother, the father clinging to life, and the kidnapping of their 7 year old daughter. As the weather front moves in bringing record breaking flooding, torrential rains, and downed trees, resulting in unpassable roads and shelter-in-place orders, Zoe and others struggle to keep the father alive, while Pete and his force scramble to find the kidnapped little girl and her captor who is leaving a swathe of murders in his wake. So many questions. Who? Why? Where is he now, and where is he heading? How is he staying one step ahead of them?

What I Thought: This was a well crafted story that kept me on the edge of my seat. The detail portrayed in this book ran the risk of tedium, but the skill of Annette Dashofy to craft a story that was simultaneously suspenseful and personal prevailed. I never realized a hurricane that comes ashore in Louisiana could wreak such havoc as far north as Pennsylvania, but beyond the murders and police hunt, this book also conveys the cost to people and property when such events occur. I highly recommend this book, and my appetite is whetted for the next in the series.

This one was a heartbreaker. Set over the course of a day in extreme weather conditions Zoe and Pete find their friend mortally wounded, his wife dead and their daughter missing. Who took Peyton and why is what they need to discover. The tension was non-stop and kept me on the edge of my seat but witnessing Zoe grapple with watching her friend try and hang on until his daughter is found really hurt my heart. While this book can be read as a standalone it would be much better when read as part of the series. I highly recommend this book series to fans of Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot. Ms Dashofy has a very engaging writing style and this book is a stand out of the series. Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. 5 stars, but have tissues handy

The whole story in this book takes place over a 24 hour period and I have to say that I am not sure I took a whole breath all the way through, so gripped was I, by the plot.

There is BIG trouble happening on Pete's patch. The murder of a young woman, along with the kidnapping of a young child on top of localised flooding would be enough to challenge anyone but the shocks just keep on coming.....

Beautifully written, great main characters and secondary characters as well. The pace is great, and the suspense just never lets up.

Loved this book (although not for the squeamish).

5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Level Best Books.

Helpless, the newest Zoe Chambers Mystery by Annette Dashofy is compelling, amazing, heartbreaking, exhilarating, exhausting, and so much more. This intense mystery splits between personal tragedies as Pete searches for a missing and endangered child of a murdered woman while Zoe comforts the severely injured father. Both face the dangers not only of a wily murderer but the challenges of extreme flooding interfering with both jobs.
My thanks to NetGalley, Level Best Books, and Annette Dashofy for making it possible for me to read an ARC of this incredible tale! I reread Helpless as soon as my copy landed on my ereader. When people say they can't put a book down, this is the book they are talking about.

#NetGalley #LevelBestBooks #AnnetteDashofy #AZoeChambersMystery

The latest Zoe Chambers mystery focuses on a tense, gut-wrenching 24 hours as the remnants of Tropical Storm Iona barrels towards rural Pennsylvania. Vance County Police Chief Pete Adams & County Coroner Zoe Chambers-Adams respond to a 911 call. They find Zoe’s friend and blacksmith Danny seriously injured & pinned under an immobilized tractor. His wife Michelle has been shot dead & their 7-year old daughter Peyton has been abducted by their attacker.

Zoe stays with Danny as the rescue attempts continue, hoping she can uncover clues that might help the investigation. Meanwhile, Pete & his officers battle rising floodwaters, blocked roads & loss of communication as they frantically search for Peyton & her abductor. But the desperate man is doing whatever he can to escape & several more victims die as the day progresses.

WOW! This was an enthralling read and one of the best books in the long-running Zoe Chambers mystery series. Highly recommended.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Level Best Books. All opinions are my own.

This book is incredible. Full of emotions, drama and adventure. It is impossible to put the book down. The book is well written and engaging. I love this book and can't wait for more. Highly recommend!

I have to admit that I've only read the first 4 installments in the long-running Zoe Chambers "cozy-ish" series. I gravitate toward grittier and darker mysteries than most cozy mysteries can provide but I'm fond of stories that can straddle the line between cozy and suspense mysteries. Anyway, I don't pay as much attention to series that I consider too mild/humorous/slow-moving but when I saw Helpless by Annette Dashofy offered by the publisher, I remembered why I started the series in the first place!

Helpless works well because it keeps the suspense ratcheted and the atmosphere intense. Zoe, by the way, is a paramedic & county coroner married to the PA small town's police chief. I don't think I've ever read a series featuring an EMT or paramedic first responder, and that is what pulled me in a few years ago. Somehow I lost track of this series but I'm excited to go back and read more of the books and see what I missed.

Helpless features a massive storm system barreling up the coast and hitting rural PA at the same time that Zoe and Pete are trying to solve the mystery of who killed their friend's wife and kidnapped their little daughter. They are tasked with doing this while the area floods out roadways, knocks down trees and power lines, and cuts phone service. This book is a bit different than those in the beginning of the series, at least in my opinion, by taking the suspense level up a few notches. I look forward to more of this series! Recommended!

After a long series of 4 star books with a few 3 star ones mixed in, I have anxiously anticipating reading a book that would keep me captivated from page one. HELPLESS is that book. The Zoe Chambers series of a small town Western Pennsylvania paramedic turned coroner has always been excellent, and one of my favorites. In this latest installment, the author has made a slight tonal shift becoming a little more gritty, less cozy procedural to procedural thriller. And it worked. The whole story takes place in one day with a murder and kidnapping happening as remnants of a hurricane flood the area. As always, the characters and their relationships ground and illuminate the action. Once I started reading, I read until I finished the book. Highly recommended!

As a flood threatens the citizens and town, the day will be one that County Coroner Zoe Chambers-Adams and her husband, Vance Township Police Chief Pete Adams, will never forget. A woman has been murdered, her husband precariously hanging on to life and their seven-year-old daughter kidnapped. Follow along, hour by hour, as the search continues for the young girl. Pete and his team battle the rain, flooding, downed trees and a killer who is leaving devastation in his wake. Zoe is consoling the young father, her friend, as they await word of his daughter and his imminent death. She is also dealing with an assistant who uses her concern for the dying father along with the search for his daughter to claim that she is unfit for her job. As the body count rises, along with the flooding, will they find the little girl in time for her father to know that she is safe and to say goodbye? A rush from beginning to end! I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

A brilliant, gripping read. It’s part of a series, however I haven’t read any of the others and so this works well as a standalone.

The chief of police, Pete, and wife Zoe, who is the County Coroner, are called out early in the morning to a local farm, where there is one person dead, one seriously injured and a missing child. They are in a race against time to find the child, particularly as there is a major tropical storm coming in.

This book had plenty of drama, but it wasn’t over dramatic and almost hysterical like some books in this genre that I have read. The balance was spot on with a good pace. Excellent character development - I particularly liked Pete and his respect and rapport with his Police colleagues.

With all that said, this is so much more than a cop thriller. The author cleverly weaves gut-wrenching emotion, bravery, fear and determination into the story with very well written descriptions, so it really does draw you in to the setting.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

The title of the book is most fitting, as Zoe Chambers and Pete Adams find themselves battling time and the weather to find a murderer and a missing child. Keep some tissues handy, because this is probably the darkest (and saddest) book yet in this series. Devoured this in a weekend as I couldn't put down!

Thanks to Level Best Books for access to a digital ARC on NetGalley.

I’ve never read book like this before and loved it so much. The author has a way to suck you into the story and make you want to never put the book down.

I’ve enjoyed all of the Zoe Chambers books but this is the best one yet. The story is tense, the action never lets up, and it just sucked me in. I didn’t want to put the book down, and the story brought tears to my eyes which is something that very few books can do.

An exhausting roller coaster ride of action and tension from page one! Zoe and Pete have to deal with a traumatic and frightening event in the middle of a tropical storm which has blown in from being a hurricane. The turbulence is not just the weather as it transpires that a killer, kidnapper is on the loose and Zoe and Adam's own friends are in danger. Danger everywhere and flooding, chaos and bodies ensue as Adam races to try and restore some sanity, rescue the girl and him and Zoe save the day. It seems that the odds, the weather and even the fates are against them in this well written, plotted and fast paced action thriller. Larger than life characters and story combine to engage and thrill in this compelling and excitingly tense tale.

Wow! I am exhausted on behalf of all the characters involved in this action-packed day. Murder, kidnapping, carjacking, flooding, and so much more. An exciting page turner. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

288 pages

5 stars

Ms. Dashofy is a stellar author! This book is 288 pages of non-stop tension and action.

Hurricane Iona has been downgraded to a tropical storm by the tine it leaves Louissana northward. But for the citizens of Vance Township, it becomes a nightmare.

In the pouring rain, the Vance Township call center receives a 9-1-1-call about a shooting. Police Chief Pete Adams and his wife coroner Zoe Chambers-Adams respond to the shooting. The location is their good friends and neighbors’ farm.

The young wife has been shot dead after putting up a valiant fight for her life. The father is trapped in the barn with a gunshot. He is alive, but the sick person who shot him has driven his tractor on top of him. Their young daughter has been kidnapped.

The story that follows describes a carefully orchestrated police procedural. Pete and his deputies follow the kidnapper from clue to clue, all in the midst of torrential rain and flooding streets. Along the way, they are beset by other cases: emergencies, trapped civilians and more dead bodies.

Meanwhile Zoe is at the farm. The trapped and badly injured farmer does not want Zoe to leave him. Zoe desires nothing more than to hear that her husband Pete has found the injured man’s daughter.

Ms. Dashofy has created unforgettable characters. Even the kidnapper imprints on the reader’s mind in such a way so as not to be forgotten. Pete has a great team who care greatly about their duties and one another. Zoe has a seemingly unsolvable problem with her deputy coroner.

This is a remarkable novel, I must recommend it to anyone who likes police procedurals or high tension novels.

I want to thank NetGalley and Level Best Books/IBPA Members’ Titles for forwarding to me a copy of this great book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.