This was a solid suspense/ thriller book. However, this was not my favorite book by Kara Thomas. Normally, I really enjoy this author's books, as they suck me in and keep me guessing until the very end. Lost to Dune Road had a fair ending, but it wasn't very memorable or exciting.

Great story with many layers slowly revealing the connections. Loved Lee as the lead and all the detecting she was doing. Would read more of this author.

A reporter finds herself drawn back to a case from a few years ago when a young female is attacked. As Lee works to figure out what happened to Amanda, she keeps finding connections to Jenna, a young woman who was murdered years ago.

Overall, I enjoyed this mystery! I think it was a little slow at the beginning but then once it got more into the investigation it really picked up. I was also worried that it was going to lean into the “it was organized crime all along” trope but thankfully it didn’t go that way. I also think Thomas did a good job leading the readers to a person of interest just to turn around and surprise us!

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

I struggled with how to rate this book because it's well-written and a good story, but there were some mistakes in the book that made me wonder if an editor read it. I'm hoping that the mistakes were caught before the book was published in its final form since this is the ARC. I always enjoy stories set in locations I know well, and this story is set in Long Island where I grew up. Lee Ellerin is a disgraced journalist turned private investigator. Her writing career ended when she failed to properly investigate a source about a young woman's murder and her inaccurate reporting was blamed for causing a suspect's death. Now she's being asked by the mother of Amanda - a pregnant young woman in a coma - to figure out who the father of the baby is. Lee doesn't believe the party line from the police that Amanda was trying to commit suicide. Her quest to find out what happened to Amanda sends her down a very dangerous path. Thanks to #netgalley and #thomas&mercer for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for an advanced copy of this book.

When I had the opportunity to get an advanced copy of another Kara Thomas book I jumped at it.

Lee is a disgraced investigative journalist who is now doing private investigation work. She receives a call from a desperate mother whose pregnant daughter is in a coma after an apparent suicide attempt.

This was a real page turner with a side of cheesy romance. The plot was well thought out and woven beautifully with some heavy themes.

I really liked this book! Suspense, intrigue, a compelling story and many plot twists—overall, an excellent thriller!

What seems to be true might not be the safest thing to believe in this twisty tale of murder and danger at every turn.

Lee Ellerin worked as a reporter until she was discredited and has now been working as a private investigator. She uses her reporting skills to help solve cases for a lawyer who has helped her in the past. When the case that cost her career comes back around in connection to a new one, Lee is thrust back to Dune Road where it all began and has to work all the angles in order to try and solve cases old and new before she is stopped.

Lost to Dune Road was a very twisty tale of murder, abuse of power, and danger at every turn. I enjoyed the way Thomas crafted the cases to connect over time and how Lee worked to solve them, not only to prove herself innocent of what lost her the reporting job she loved, but also to help a mother find answers to what happened to her daughter. The relationship forged between Lee and the mother trying to figure out what happened to her daughter. While this wasn’t my favorite book so far this year, I did enjoy the mystery and suspense of it and was eager to see the outcome. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a suspense book with a lot of good twists and turns.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

Lost to Dune Road, a page turning thriller, is a story about Amanda, a pregnant girl, who lies in a coma. There are so many questions about her circumstances and Lee, a private investigator is hired to find answers. Lee is a disgraced, former Vanity Fair reporter and was fired after she was reporting on a case a potential suspect died. As she digs into Amanda's case, she is finding connections between this case and the one she was fired over.

Kara Thomas put out a well written thriller that kept me reading late into the night. A great book to add to a summer reading list!

Second by the author for me and I enjoyed Out of the ashes slightly more but this was an excellent redemptive journalist turned private investigator mystery. Mainly told by Natalee or Lee for short who used to write for Vanity Fair but after getting fired for her last piece centering around a murder at Dune road she now works as a private investigator. She has deep and woven connections with police professionals that help her throughout the book and it was difficult at times to keep the names/roles straight.

The last 20% redeemed the beginning which was kinda draggy at times. But the ending was excellent and I wish the majority of the book kept that pace! But definitely redeemed itself!!

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Mercer for my electronic advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

DAMN! I really liked this one. Darkest Corners will always be my favorite Kara book, but I'm not sure if she will ever top that one. For her second adult book though, I found this more like her usual twisty thrillers and I loved the way everything came together and that there was a twist at the end that I didn't see coming!

This book was so good, well planned out, excellent follow through.
The only reason I rated it as a 4 star, instead of a 5 star, is because I figured out the entire plot before it was revealed. That and the end needed a smidge more explanation, in my opinion.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

Was not my favourite read, but not a bad one by any means. This was a fine, easy page turner but nothing special IMO.

As a big fan of Kara Thomas's YA books, I was really intrigued by this story. I loved that it explored the, at this point, well known corruption in some of the Long Island police departments and wrote a story that feels fresh while also feeling like it could have been ripped from the headlines. Compelling storytelling all around.

This is the first book I have read by Kara Thomas and I can definitely say this won't.be the last. I am just sad that it took me this long to read her work.

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. It definitely kept me intrigued throughout the whole storyline. There wasn't a second that I wasn't intrigued or questioning who could have done what.

This storyline kept me wrapped up in a constant whodunnit cycle. I enjoyed being in Natalee's POV, because she had a unique outsiders view. A view that was needed in order to see what was really happening.

The elite 1% always have a code of what happens in their places never leaves their places. It gets swept under the rug and never spoke about again. Even murder. This is every day life. No big deal to them. Until it is to everyone else.

I loved the deep dive into the world of Amanda's life and where it took her. She came from Tennessee all the way to New York to live her dreams to be a photographer. She wanted to get her degree and live out her dreams and have her work in galleries. She just didn't dream her life would turn out the way it did.

Natalee may have been blackballed after a murder she was investigating years before but that didn't stop her from her investigating what happened to Amanda at Carols request.

I never thought that the journey I went on would ever get to that point that it did, but it definitely kept me guessing. I was confused and guessing at every twist and turn.

If I said I didn't cry at the end I would be a big fat liar liar pants on fire. 👖 🔥 I bawled like a little baby. I couldn't helped but feel for the people involved for all the damage that was done in the end.

I cannot wait to read another by Kara!

I read Out of the Ashes last year by Thomas and was looking forward to this one, but it left something to be desired. The plot was convoluted with many moving parts, a large interconnected cast. The resolution at the end of who was behind the main issues was surprising, but felt so out of left field that it didn't make sense, while so many characters that had been investigated were totally irrelevant. The main character's lack of self awareness and emotional immaturity also was out of place for a private investigator/journalist. I don't necessarily recommend this one, but if you want to read it, go for it.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for the ARC of Lost to Dune Road in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for the advance copy of Lost to Dune Road.

Lee is a reporter who lost all credibility after an unfortunate mistake that resulted in a death. Now, five years later, she makes a living being a private investigator under a nickname so as to not be as easily recognized.

She receives a call from the mother of Amanda Hartley, a pregnant college student who is currently in a coma from a supposed attempted suicide. There are a lot of missing pieces to the puzzle, like who is the father or how is a broke college student living in an apartment in Manhattan? Amanda’s mom found Lee’s name on a paper in Amanda’s stuff, which Lee cannot understand either…until she figures out that Amanda was last seen on Dune Road, the same location as the last case Lee was reporting on was focused on.

Taking on Amanda’s investigation while also revisiting the case that ruined her career, Lee will dive back into the dangerous world of the Hamptons elite bringing secrets to light that powerful people would rather stay buried.

Kara is back with another dark and gritty mystery that will keep readers invested and guessing until the end.

I love a Hamptons setting. I know I’m getting toxic rich people problems whenever I see that’s where we’re headed. The Hamptons also allows for a mingling of the elite and the not-so, which is exactly what we got with this one. Naive girls in need of financial security stumbling into the dark side of a place that is not typically viewed as such.

The plot set up was great. I have seen a couple of these ‘disgraced reporter’ stories lately and I think it’s a cool angle on how to give a character a backstory that immediately causes us to sympathize and root for them, while also lending a reason as to why this person who isn’t in law enforcement is good at investigating.

I wouldn’t call this a political novel, or even really politically-driven, however there are some big current hot button topics addressed that could be considered political like abortion, police corruption, and powerful people and the things they may be able to get away with.

I always look forward to what Kara is going to put out next, I enjoy both her YA an adult novels and I’m here for another installment in either age group.

Occasionally you cross paths with a book that sounds like it would be right up your alley, but sadly you don't connect with it. This was one of those for me. Too many characters, plots moving in different directions, unlikable and unrelatable characters just made it hard to follow and find interest in it. My thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for the eARC.

This one was just so good - in my opinion did everything I needed it to.

I received this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion and review. This story takes you in a journey of a mother’s love for her daughter and her will to know what happened to her daughter. She hires a private investigator, Lee to help. This book takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions, there is so much to learn about what happened to her and there was never a dull moment!

Lost to Dune Road had such a strong premise but fell short in execution. The main POV was difficult to connect with and I much preferred Amanda’s POV. I paired the digital ARC with audio and that was enjoyable.