Title: Missing Pieces

Author: Heather Gudenkauf

Rating: 3 stars

Reviewer: Jennifer

*sigh* Everyone is an amateur detective. It occurred to me several times while reading this book that unprofessionals always seem to be doing the work better left to the professionals. Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked …

Sarah Quinlan’s husband, Jack, lost his mother when he was fifteen. She was murdered … her body found in the cellar of the family farm. The case rocked the small town where Jack was raised, and for years he has avoided returning home. But when his beloved aunt Julia is in an accident, Jack and Sarah head to Iowa to be with the family. I get that his aunt is seriously injured but I have a hard time believing Jack would immediately run home after avoiding the place for YEARS! This didn’t sit well with me.

As facts about Julia’s accident begin to surface, Sarah realizes that nothing about the Quinlans is what it seems. Caught in a flurry of unanswered questions, Sarah dives deep into the puzzling rabbit hole of Jack’s past. Sarah = that amateur detective I was talking about.

Ultimately this story was lacking depth to the characters and suspense. I was a bit surprised by the who done it but didn’t feel as if I was given enough reason to explain the why. The why is pretty important to me as a reader. I didn’t feel the author gave enough background for me to find it believable.

This was my first Gudenkauf book. While I did like it and was interested enough to finish, it hasn’t left me eager to seek out other books by this author.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.