Dead and Gone by Joanna Schaffhausen ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

Annalisa Vega and her partner (and ex-husband and current lover) Nick are on a case that has hit a dead end when Vega's boss calls her to a crime season. She wants Vega to personally oversee the death of a former cop, turned PI. 

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

August 2023; Minotaur Books; 978-1250853370
audio, ebook, print (336 pages); police procedural

Dead and Gone is an excellent police procedural novel. I'm super picky about police procedurals and dislike most that I read. But this one has great characters and the twists and turns of plot had me reading it in big chunks. 

I reviewed Gone for Good, which is book 1 in the series. I loved it. Somehow though I missed book 2 Long Gone. I hate that I missed but it didn't have any bearing on this novel. Dead and Gone can be read as a stand-alone novel. I'm pretty sure, though, once you've read it you will want to go back and read the other two.

Most police procedurals have the detectives focused on only one case, which is probably not very realistic. I liked that Annalisa has multiple cases. She starts with Chicken Bandit (a robbery case) and then there is Sam Tran's death (suspected to be a homicide)) and in the process of investigating his death, she finds herself working his open cases. Plus, her niece suspects she has a stalker at her university campus - while not technically her case Annalisa can't help but poke around. 

With the many open cases, there are a ton of twists and turns, and the tension is definitely ramped up. I loved it. I just couldn't put the book down. I don't like reading on my phone but it did make it easier to sneak in a few pages from time to time.

Whether you are still dealing with the heat of summer or the weather is slipping into the cooler temps of fall, this book is perfect for curling up with and losing herself in the story.

Buy Dead and Gone at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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