I loved this storyline, what looked to be a ‘simple’ missing person case turned out to be a whole lot more!

I liked our main character Ray Flowers, and boy did I feel sorry for him! It seemed that our bad guy Paul Krantz had it in for Ray from the off.

Brilliantly written and had me gripped from the off!

This is book 5 in the series yet I’ve only just discovered Ray Flowers and I feel that I need to go back and read the other 4 as this one was so good! Don’t feel that you need to read the others first though as I found it fab to read as my first one.

I really enjoy Jane Adams’ books. She writes such intriguing mysteries. That said, this is the the 5th book in the Ray Flowers series. It’s definitely readable as a standalone, but the rest of the series is excellent as well. This follows, Ashley Summers, a woman who tragically loses her husband and three years after the loss decides to date again. But the man she’s dating isn’t who he says he is, and before long, Ashley is missing.
Lots of twists and turns in this one. A great read.

I haven't read the rest now the series and reading them may have made this one a bit easier to follow but never mind. It's quite a slow burn but we'll written and multilayered. There are a lot of characters..... like..... a lot! And I'm not sure they're all really necessary in regards tk the main plot but I'm sure the author has their reasons for wanting the book to be so busy. It does make parts a bit unclear and hard to follow, I found myself rereading parts just to make sure I was understanding who was who and what their connection to the plot was. I did enjoy the plot and the twists, even if it wasn't always the most realistic cnad believable. After all its a fiction book so it doesn't have to be real! Overall, it's a decent enough book but Judy be warned you will need to pay a lot of attention to keep track of who's who lol

Three years ago Ashley Summers watched the love of her life drop dead in a supermarket. She has no idea how to ever move on from this but then she meets Tim Bennett, who is kind and caring.

It all appears perfect, until one day Ashley is gone. The family turn to ex-detective Ray Flowers who quickly can confirm that Tim Bennett is not who he says he is – after all Tim Bennett is a good friend of his.

So who is Ashley’s boyfriend?

The Lost Daughter is book five in the Ray Flowers series. I personally have not read the first four, and whilst this didn’t hinder my experience, I think reading the others may have been beneficial in terms of understanding some of the characters a bit more.

The premise of the book starts with a missing woman but quickly develops to so much more than that! I thoroughly enjoyed the fast-paced nature of the book, there is a lot of action and many characters which meant the book had many layers too and kept it exciting. The only disappointing bit was the end felt a bit of anti-climax -having had so much action I expected something slightly more jaw-dropping.

I appreciate this is an unedited version but there were times in the book when it wasn’t clear who was speaking/things felt a little disjointed. I assume this will be edited and will make more sense on publication. I still enjoyed the book but found myself needing to go back and re-read bits. As I haven’t read anything by Jane Adams before I can’t comment on whether this is normal for this author.

Overall a fast paced, action thriller, four stars.

To begin with, I did not have to read any of the prior novels in order to understand the basics of this one, although I did find it a little annoying that the main antagonist was purported to be someone from his past come back to haunt him, and Ray's friend Nathan apparently has a somewhat sketchy past, but we aren't really given any more detail other than this.

There were also a lot of secondary characters included in this novel, to the point that it sometimes became confusing as to who was who, and what their connection was to the story (as a matter of fact, one of the deceased people named I couldn't tell you what their original connection to the story was).

I also had to suspend disbelief on more than one occasion. First when Paul was able to obtain a transfer when a psychiatric evaluation advised against it, then when he not only escaped from prison, but was able to make it look like not one, but two, prison officers helped him.

Never mind the way certain scenes played out that ended with his re-capture after everything. You mean to tell me that after all of this. All of the killing and the scheming and using others, and evading police capture for so long he gets taken down like that? I definitely expected more drama, and perhaps a bigger fight when it came down to it so this felt lacking.

At the end of the day I wasn't invested enough (or interested enough) in Ray to go back and read the books I have missed (even though they are available on KU) at this moment.

Will I in the future? Maybe. But I also think this book will appeal to a lot of others and I encourage you if you are a fan of the series, or think this one is to your tastes, read it. Then let me know what you think.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

This book is phenomenal! The mystery of Paul and his "siblings" keeps you wanting to know more. The suspense of who he's going to go after next and who he all has helping him will have you on your toes. As Ray and his colleagues go over evidence and crime scenes you can't help but try to solve it along with them. Adams does such a great job at conveying this story and the writing is perfect! It is set in the UK but with context and the definitions provided it's not hard to follow along and understand what's being talked about. The small POVs of other characters and the journal entries help move the story along and add context to what is going on. I would say my only issue is with the ending. It felt like, to me at least, that there was all this build up to what I thought would be some insane showdown at the end. Alas, it fell flat. I got the feeling that Adams hit a deadline and needed to wrap the story up and decided to put a happy ending bow on it. I was left a bit confused and definitely wanting more! Overall though, I loved it and will be checking out more of Ray Flowers and other series/books Adams has written!

Twenty-eight year old Ashley Summers, widow, has finally moves on and meets Tim Bennett. Then she disappears. Ex-detective Ray Flowers is employed to find her. But nothing is simple, as lives are threatened and lost.
An entertaining and well-written modern mystery thriller with its cast of varied characters. Another good addition to this series.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is Part 5 of a detective series but can be read alone.

The plot had me hooked from the first page and there were many twists and turns along the way. I enjoyed the flashbacks to the characters’ childhoods and thought it very clever how the crimes were layered up and linked.

I found the ending a bit of an anticlimax after such an eventful build up with all the different characters involved. I understand that Nathan’s character was one of complete calm but even so, it felt slightly unrealistic how quickly Paul was dealt with after the previous nature of his crimes.

This was a little slow but a flawlessly executed plot. I think this is a series but I missed nothing not knowing this.

In The Lost Daughter by Jane Adams, the story begins with Ashley Summers haunted by her partner's sudden death and her subsequent encounter with Tim Bennett, an intriguing stranger. As their relationship blossoms, Ashley vanishes before introducing Tim to her family, triggering a search led by ex-detective Ray Flowers. The narrative nicely blends suspense with intricate flashbacks, immersing readers in an emotional rollercoaster. While the book's accessible writing style and engaging premise draw readers in, an abundance of characters and unrealistic plot twists occasionally diminish the tension. Overall, The Lost Daughter is a compelling psychological suspense novel that delves into complex emotions and identity, leaving a lasting impact on fans of the genre.

Can be read as a standalone. Ex police detective, now a Private Investigator, finds the return of an old adversary as chilling as his first interactions. The story dragged a bit to start but then turned into rather a roller coaster of killings with a distinctly abrupt ending. Charismatic murderer, psychotic to say the least, revenge, "groupies" completely taken in by him makes chilling reading, eventually. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

An interesting and enjoyable storyline. Ray Flowers is drawn back into a case he was part of a decade ago. The offender should have been locked up and the key thrown away, but now he’s back and looking for revenge - and Ray is in his sights.

Loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

I was grateful to receive an ARC copy of this book, and although it is the fifth in a series it can be read as a stand-alone.
I felt like the premise of the story was really good, and it drew me to it straightaway. The flashbacks into the past were really interesting and it got me engaged quickly. It also reads really easily, which personally I find really helpful when I want to unwind after a long day at work.
As for the negatives, I feel there were too many characters and that made me feel not as engaged with them and the story (and I really wished I could have seen a little bit more of Ashley and Dan towards the end), so I was not as worried about things going wrong for any of them, the kind of tension that you expect when you are really a thriller because you don't want anything wrong to happen to the characters. Also, towards the end, the story seemed took a few turns that made me think the proceedings of the police were not that realistic and that took me out of the book a bit and made me drop my rating.

Part of a series but okay as a standalone. Part of Days past comes back to haunt him big style. Plenty of twists,a good read.

Was unaware this was part of a series. Not that it bothered me. Kept me interested. Was a good story. With many twists and turns. Looks like I shall be going to look for first 4

An intriguing and absorbing psychological thriller, revolving around an old enemy Kranz, who has absconded from prison and is taunting Ray Flowers. This heavily impacts on Flower's wife and friends and makes for an exciting, suspenseful read.
I particularly liked the italic sections which give valuable insight into the perpetrator's thoughts and feelings.
This is book 5 in the series but can be read as a standalone.

Arc review. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.
This book was ok. It did keep my interest and it wasn’t boring. The book follows an ex officer turned PI that is working on a case with the police to catch a sadistic killer. My issue with it was once the action actually started it was mainly just kill kill kill and then the ending was super abrupt. I feel like the plot was weak and there wasn’t a lot of character development. Overall an ok read

The fifth book to feature Detective Ray Flowers and another cracking read. This book had everything loads of action,intrigue, chilling revenge, really good sadistic murders and a serial killer. I devoured this book in one sitting and o ly came up for breath after I had turned the last page. Another MUST READ from this very talented author. Loved It!!!!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the Arc in return for an honest review

Loved this book. I appreciated knowing it was the fifth in the series but could still read as a standalone. Will be going back and reading others in the series.

Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for the eARC.
Jane Adams is one of my go-to authors and The Lost Daughter is yet another good read.
It features one of the creepiest characters in the mystery genre. He started out as a likeable young boy with his 2 best friends, another boy and his sister. Until something happens and all 3 disappear.
Ex-detective Ray Flowers is tasked with finding a missing young woman and to his horror an old nemesis has reared his ugly head, putting many of his friends and family in dire danger.
Definitely recommended!