I feel like this series is trying to be a repeat of the Eva Rae Thomas series. It was a good plot but I wasn’t a fan of the characters. Didn’t like Billie Ann and Joe. Thought the story about her personal life and how she was a lesbian was a bit weird and random. Felt like another version of Eva Rae Thomas especially because it’ takes place in the same exact town which is a bit weird. The plot was good but weird. I didn’t hate this book but probably wouldn’t continue with the series like I did with the Eva Rae Thomas series.

This looks to be the start to a new series centered around Detective Billie Anne Wilde. I had a little trouble connecting with Billie at the start, but not long into the book, I respected her passion for her job and justice. She reminded me of the hard job the police do when investigating missing children, but she handles it with right amount of fervor and respect for all those involved.

The plot is complicated and sets up the twist well. There are multiple timelines with multiple narrators spinning a tale of mystery and deceit. Billie is a strong and tenacious character that never gives up.

The cliffhangers at the end of each chapter kept me reading long after I planned to stop which helped me fly through this one.

Lisa Rost Welling did a good job at capturing the intensity of the plot. Between her narration and the way the story is setup, I never had any trouble with which of the multiple characters were the focus of the chapter.

This is a new series by Willow Rose and it promises to be a winner. When Marissa Clemens reports her 4-year-old daughter Emma missing, Billie Ann Wilde is called in to find her. A body of a young girl is found drown in a fountain near where Emma went missing. Is this related to Emma’s disappearance? Marissa is begging for the police to help find Emma but then suddenly stops. Why? If you love Willow’s books, you will love this new series. If you haven’t read anything by her yet, this is a good one to start with.

This is a new series and I must confess it is everything we we hoping for. It’s hard to out do yourself but Willow Ray hay done it. All of her past series have stood on their on and made their on impact. The only thing you could compare it too would be be the Eva Rae Series. This one stands on its on has its on personality cool characters and unique ways about solving crime. I was captured from page one knowing this was a trip I wanted to go on. And so glad I did. I can’t wait till the next book in the series comes out. A NetGalley Reviewer.

Detective Billie Ann Wilde seems to be fighting the world on all sides. First cancer, which is in remission now, but she realized she has been lying to herself all these years and that isn't living. She tells her husband how she feels and now is causing tension in the family. There is a young girl missing, but no one can find a record of her or her mother. Something isn't right. Can Billie find the answers? I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.

I loved the Eva Rae series - she is a caring mother and a great detective. I expected the same from Billie Jean but found her cold as a mother. She keeps on about her kids being important but never shows it either by actions or words. So easy to say I love you but unless it is backed up by something more than that, it doesnt wash.

The woman is trying to be a great police detective, a mother and a cancer survivor and thats a lot for anyone. I wanted to see her as a great character you would be rooting for but she fell flat for me.

The descriptions of Florida etc were incredible and made me feel like I was there even when I didnt want to be - swamps, alligators and all.

The mystery and the serial killer stuff - horrifying to read but kept me glued to see when they would finally pick up on the suspect. Not my favourite book from Willow Rose but will read the next one.

<strong>Great new series!</strong>

What a great introduction to this new series. Billie is our FMC, and *my* does she have her hands *full* with complex family dynamics. This book is filled with suspense, intrigue, mystery and family issues along the way. The characters are layered, complex and really interesting. I for one am really looking forward to future books in this series to see where this character goes.

This is the first book in the new series, Detective Billie Wilde and it’s a thrilling beginning. This series is going to be superb. When five year old Emily goes missing, Billie comes to find out this is the work of a serial killer. The plot was entertaining and the suspense was heart stopping! I really enjoyed the plot, which was very well executed. Great series starter.

Willow Rose introduces her killer new series, Detective Billie Ann Wilde, with a bang in the dazzling first installment, DON'T LET HER GO —A riveting multi-layered crime thriller based on a true story—the past and present collide in this gripping psychological page-turner starring a whip-smart detective.

Frighteningly real! Dark, twisty, compelling—both chilling and emotional. You will be flipping through the pages until the wee hours of the morning.

Set in Cocoa Beach, Florida, near the marshlands and swamps, Detective Billie Wilde receives a desperate call from a mother, Marissa. Her five-year-old daughter Emma is missing. She was in the backyard while the mother was cooking dinner. Five minutes after she went to the garage to do laundry, Emma went missing.

When Wilde arrives at the home, there appears to be no sign of a little girl living there —no toys, photos, or clothes. Wilde is intuitive and suspects Marissa is hiding something. She needs to be more forthcoming with answers. Is she afraid of someone? But then later, her pink shoes are found, and Wilde takes it seriously, even though her boss does not.

In the meantime, a runner, Oliver, has found a dead body in the pond out on her morning jog. It turns out it was a teen girl (babysitter) on the same day the little girl goes missing. Are the two connected?

Then Marissa disappears. Billie then realizes who Marissa is. She is SHOCKED to the core.

Billie has to confront her haunting past and her demons. There was a ten-year-old girl Billie failed to find fourteen years ago with her first case. Billie is sharp and starts putting the puzzle together, but now she is in danger, too. From dirty cops, cover-ups, corruption, kidnapping, and assault to murder —she has no clue whom to trust.

Billie Ann Wilde is a cancer survivor, gay, and recently has come out to her husband (Joe), golden retriever, Zelda, and children (William, 14), Charlene (16), and Zack (9). They are not happy.

She is tired of living a lie since she has been gay most of her life, but she was in the closet due to her religious parents, and it was simply not an option. She grew up believing you had to marry a man and have children. She is flawed and highly relatable. She did so, but now she realizes she is unhappy and something is missing. She feels like time is running out, and she wants everyone to know she is a lesbian.

Her therapist knows about her haunted past, as does her husband.

Told from alternating POVs, Billie and Marissa (then and now). Billie grew up in Central Florida and knows about swamps, gators, and guns. She is tough.

From the past, we slowly learn about Billie's tragic past and the case that went cold. She has never forgotten, and it has haunted her since. She is even more determined to help Marissa and find Emma before it is too late.

The author takes us back to THEN - the little girl Kitty and how a monster kidnapped her. But the monster wore a badge, hiding in plain sight. The little girl was abused and raped and became a mother. His wife knew. However, did she finally escape? What happened to Kitty? She trusted a family friend.

We also learn about Billie's sexual assault from her ex-cop partner, who wound up in a wheelchair after an accident. Billie was a whistleblower. How are all these cases connected from past to present?

I LOVED this book!!! My first book by Willow Rose, and I cannot wait to read the next in the series—Then She's Gone: An unputdownable, gripping, and twisty crime thriller packed with suspense (coming March 18, 2024)!

Multi-layered and complex, action-packed, high adrenaline —a smartly written cop procedural and crime thriller with a flawed detective you will root for. I loved Billie!

How far will the killers go to keep their secrets? Everyone who gets too close winds up dead. Secrets, obsession, and vengeance converge in this riveting, unputdownable suspense thriller. The author takes you deep into the minds of psychopaths in this dangerous web of secrets and lies.

I appreciated the author's note about her personal story as it relates to Billie Ann's story.

INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY:
The novel is inspired by a true story— the kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard, who was taken by her kidnappers while walking to the school bus one morning. She was not found until eighteen years later, after having two children with her kidnapper and living in a shed in their backyard. The kidnapper's wife also played a big role in the abduction and was found guilty along with him. (You will want to read about this). It is an ugly, scary, yet fascinating story. You can read more about it HERE. After reading the true story and the fictional version—both will give you goosebumps.

DON'T LET HER GO is for fans of Robin Mahle, Lisa Gardner, Karin Slaughter, Lisa Unger, and Clémence Michallon's dazzling debut (speaking of sheds and kidnapping) —THE QUIET TENANT (my top thriller of 2023)!

A must-read for thriller fans! I read the e-book and listened to the audiobook by Lisa Rost-Welling, narrator— for an outstanding performance and fantastic listening experience.

Highly recommend!

Thanks to Bookouture, Hachette UK, and NetGalley for introducing this mega-talented author and intriguing new series with a gift of ARC and ALC for an honest opinion.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Feb 2, 2024
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On a personal note:
Being a Floridan for over 24 years, I have lived and worked north of Cocoa Beach in Ponte Vedra Beach, then Ormond Beach, and south Florida in West Palm Beach, The Florida Keys, the Gulf Coast, and now in Wellington. I enjoy books set in Florida and Floridian authors. Plus, my relatives worked for the space center and lived on Merritt Island before retiring to Amelia Island, so I have often visited the Cocoa Beach area.

Don't Let Her Go (Detective Billie Ann Wilde Book 1)
by Willow Rose
Pub Date: 02 Feb 2024

"Don't Let Her Go" is a suspense filled story about Detective Billie Ann Wilde who has to find a 5 yr. old little girl named Emma who's gone missing.

During the investigation Detective Wilde finds out there's a link between her past and this case. She's dealing with a serial murderer!

Don't Let Her Go is a very exciting, suspenseful thriller. I look forward to book 2 in the series!

Thank you to #DontLerHerGo #NetGalley and #WillowRose for providing me with an E-ARC of this 5 star thriller.

Wow, what a start to a new series! Gritty, complex, full of twists and turns. I really enjoyed it.
Billie Ann Wilde is a great character. Somebody with a difficult past but not letting herself being stopped to move forward by what happened to her. I loved her resiliance.
The thing that stopped me from scoring it higher was that the writing felt a bit clunky at times. Hopefully, the next book in the series will be edited more.

Oh I do love me some Willow Rose and couldn't wait to sink myself into another one of her mystery series'. Don't Let Her Go in the first book in the Detective Billie Ann Wilde series. Having thoroughly enjoyed the Eva Rae Thomas books, I couldn't wait to try this one out.

This was a good mystery which is what I'd expect from Willow (Author) with some predictable plot lines, but also a few I didn't see coming (I'm sorry but I often work things out). I did find the amount of characters a little confusing (I blame my frazzled menopausal brain!) but was able to navigate the book still and enjoy this. I think with many detective books, it just takes a couple of books to really get the gist of the characters. I found Billie fairly ok even with her troubled past, I didn't love her but she wasn't someone I loathed to read about either. I enjoyed the story settings and the pace and style were both good. If you've enjoyed other Willow series' then I would definitely say check this one out.

A solid 3.5 star mystery, I look forward to seeing where the next book takes us! This is a kindle unlimited read, so free to those who subscribe to the service!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Don’t Let Her Go is my first Willow Rose book. I started to feel like I was reading an AI written book based on a specific formula and some key words. The sentences were simplistic and added very little to the depth of the characters. The main character Billie Ann was unlikable and self-contradictory through out. She was so much more interested in her career and her newfound openness that she wasn’t connected to any of the people in her life. There was really only one of her children that got any page time at all. I am all for stories with people making and acting on self discoveries, but Billie Ann was not it. The author made her a trope instead of a character.

Thanks to NetGalley and t the publisher for my copy of this book.

Hard of homicide detective Billie Ann Wilde has a lot going on in her personal life. When a teenager is found murdered and a little girl missing, all of it has to be put aside as the case takes priority. When more murder victims turn up the heat is on for Billie to solve the case.

This book had flash backs to a young girl who disappeared 14 years prior to the story. One of Biklie’s first cases. Her story is hinted at but is slowly revealed. I loved the air of mystery even though I was able to figure it out fairly quickly. I will say I had no idea who the mysterious officer Damien was until the big reveal!

The character of Billie is flawed but trying her best in all aspects of life. I’d like to see what happens next with her husband and kids and also to see the relationships she has at work being explored further.

This was a great introductory book to what I hope will be a long series.

Rounded up from 3.5

I've wanted to read Willow Rose for a while now. I own several of her other books but haven't gotten around to reading them yet, so I thought what better place to start than with a brand new book in a brand new series?

Before I go any further, there are several references to child abuse and abuse in various forms in the story, so just a little heads up if you are sensitive or have been affected by those things.

Billie Ann is assigned to the case of a missing four-year-old girl, Emma. The worrying thing is that there seems to be no sign the girl ever existed and her mother Marissa is hiding something. A body turns up near to Marissa's house, which could be linked to her missing daughter. It's up to Billie to find out what's really going on but her messy family situation complicates things.

Phew, there is a lot packed into this fast-paced book! Child kidnapping, murder and a good dose of domestic drama, too.

I felt for Billie. After a cancer battle, she's finally facing up to the truth of who she is, but her family is struggling with it, making concentrating on her case even harder. I do like as the story went on; she became more confident and refused to back down in the face of so much opposition.

I would say at times it got a little repetitive with the drama concerning her family, who all seemed absolutely awful to me, but of course, that's just my opinion.

A dramatic start to the series and I'm intrigued to see how Billie Ann develops in further books.

This story is absolutely riveting, and I didn't even want to put it down to sleep. Detective Billie Ann Wilde prides herself on being very good at her job. Even with the upheavals occurring in her personal life she is determined to find a missing 5-year-old girl.
Detective Billie Ann Wilde is a fascinating character who loves her family dearly, but she also recently admitted some truths to herself and wants nothing more than to live HER truth even knowing how difficult it will be. All of the characters in this book are well written and engaging, but I will admit that Billie Ann is my personal favorite. The twists in the plot might make you dizzy, and the conclusion of this story just might shock you. I loved this book and highly recommend it other readers of mystery and suspense thrillers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

This is my first book by this author and she has gained a fan for sure. The Detective Billie Ann Wilde series was definitely a good one to start with as it’s exactly my kind of listen. It’s a fast paced listen that I binged in a day. There is so much going on within the storyline from switching between past and present timelines to individual characters back stories and it just works. I was so invested throughout. The narrator did a fantastic job along with the snappy chapters. The author really knows how to weave a story and write well developed characters from the lovable to the detestable. As the story unfolded my mind went into overdrive and I started to come up with my own ideas and that’s not always a good thing but it makes a pretty good read 😜. I love it when a book has you looking at everyone. For me this one had it all and I’ll look forward to the next instalment. Put this on your TBR list…

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen and review #DontLetHerGo

Don't Let Her Go (Detective Billie Ann Wilde #1) by Willow Rose
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Mystery & Thrillers
Expected Publication Date: February 2, 2024

Don't Let Her Go is the first book in the new Detective Billie Ann Wilde series by Willow Rose. This is the first book I’ve read by the author and I’m confident it will not be the last! I can’t wait to dive into the next book in the series, as well as the author’s other series!

I absolutely loved this book! I thought the story was fascinating and I loved the characters! This was so fast paced and had me on the edge of my seat. I loved that it was set in Cocoa Beach, it was almost like going home!

I’m looking forward to the next book in the series! I can’t wait for it to come out. I think I’ll have to check out one of the author’s other series to get me through the wait!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the first book in a new series and a really good one at that!
Willow Rose is a New to me Author and I will be looking at her other books having enjoyed this one.
I have to admit this book was a little slow to start and I struggled with the pace alittle. But the storyline picked up and keep me interested. from around half way.

I do not like to write negative reviews, but overall-- this is one of the worst books I've had the misfortune to read. I can only say that I barely held myself back from it being a DNF but only because I had to see just how much worse it could get.

To sum it up, a preposterous kidnapping and serial killer crime thriller. The characters are beyond unbelievable and completely unlikeable. The narrative flips between characters in a before and after format and is a constant stream of melodramatic exhortations and angst with repetitive phrases and responses to every situation. Could someone please count how many times "tears streamed down" and "smirked" and "piercing blue eyes" appear in this book? The plot just got more ridiculous as it went on and just when you think it can't possibly get more unrealistic, it surely does. It is a constant tell rather than show and so drawn out making the simple situation overly long. Lots of cliches. Totally predictable.

This is supposed to be the first in a new series featuring the character of Cocoa Beach homicide cop Billie Ann Wilde and from how she acted there is no way she could be a police detective. So unprofessional and her life is a train wreck. It's not that she's just decided to come out as a lesbian, it's her overly emotional carrying on over every single thing. In any event, I won't be reading any further installments or any other books by this author as this was the second I have tried.

This was an audio version of the book and I can't say that the narration was well done. The accents and voices sometimes didn't change when they should have and the voice of Kitty was particularly off. And the male voices, oh my.

I was shocked to see other reviews and decided it must just be me. Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read this author's work. I'm not recommending.