Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Toybox by Charly Cox Narrator: Kate Zane
Series: Detective Alyssa Wyatt #2
Published by Tantor Audio on December 22, 2020
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Length: 12 hours, 1 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm
ll around Albuquerque, New Mexico, young women are going missing, seemingly vanished into thin air. With no link between the victims, Detective Alyssa Wyatt is quickly plunged into a horrifying case with no obvious clues.
And when Jersey Andrews, the best friend of Alyssa’s teenage daughter, Holly, joins the list of vanished girls, the case becomes personal.
But this investigation will lead Alyssa and partner Cord into the most sinister depths of humanity; an evil place where life is expendable, and where the depraved can fulfill their darkest desires – if they have the money to pay for it.
As the first bodies appear, abandoned on the streets, Alyssa is forced into a frantic hunt to track down the killers – before more innocent women lose their lives. But when the truth comes out, it seems that the key to solving the case was hiding in the last place anyone expected. . .
The Toybox is the second offering in the Detective Alyssa Wyatt series. Alyssa is a cop who leads her team. She has devoted her life to trying to find the missing and reunite families. I enjoyed the continued development of her family and her team, and seeing their support for each other. They are a bunch of good people who see the absolute worst. When people go missing, especially teen girls, it is rarely good for the missing.
Like the first book, All the Pretty Girls, this is dark and violent. Certainly, one might be triggered by things which happen. I love a police procedural and seeing them track down the missing. It’s a combination of finding witnesses, good research and making smart deductions from odd bits of information about the victims. When there are multiple girls taken and one turns up dead, the stakes only get higher.
There are several personal connections in this story, from one of her daughter, Holly’s, friends joining the missing, and the history of her partner, Cord. The character development gives more realism and depth to the emotional weight of this case. I did guess one of the villains very early which is unusual but not most of the solution.
Missing teen girls really gives the suspenseful feeling of being on a clock. We get scenes of the girls and their horrible plight. I find the solution of the case inspiring and the sense of closure and justice helpful in these crazy times.
Narration:
This narrator was new to me with this series. I’ve gotten comfortable with her voices for the main characters. The voices are distinct but a few of the voices were really strange, particularly Sophie, one of Holly’s friends. The younger voices were higher and lighter whether male or female. It felt appropriate. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Charly Cox
Born in the South, raised in the Midwest, Charly now resides in the Southwest in the Land of Enchantment where she enjoys eating copious amounts of green chile and other spicy foods. When she’s not reading, writing, or plotting sinister evils with her antagonists, she enjoys doing jigsaw and crossword puzzles, hanging out with her husband and her spoiled Siberian Husky, visiting her son in Arizona, and traveling, preferably to places surrounded by sun, sand, and warm uncrowded beaches.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- COYER-20
Excellent review, Anne? I love a good police procedurals, dark or not.
Me too! I really am enjoying this series but so dark.
I love police procedurals too and ill have to consider this series?
I love it but it’s very dark.
It definitely sounds dark but I do like police procedurals. This may be worth checking my library’s ebook collection.
I use my library constantly. In fact both the book and audiobook I’m listening to today are from the library.
Great review Anne, thanks for sharing your thoughts
Thank you! I’m enjoying this series.
This is another series that I am pretty sure that I would enjoy. I do like a dark and violent detective story, what can I say? I haven’t had the chance to listen to this narrator yet.
The narrator was new to me also, but I liked her. I really like this series. Good characters development and interesting case / investigation plots.