Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Lost Hours by Paige Shelton Series: Alaska Wild Mysteries #5
Published by St. Martin's Press on December 5, 2023
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 288
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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A year after arriving in Benedict, Beth Rivers is feeling very at home in Alaska, even as outsiders are starting to return to enjoy the brief summer perfection. Beth feels like she’s finally let go of most of her demons. She’s even found her father, Eddy Rivers—or, rather, he found her—and she's trying to find the middle ground between anger and forgiveness.
One sunny July day, Beth boards a tourist ship to see the glaciers, the main reason visitors venture to the area, and something Beth hasn’t attempted until now. But when the captain has to navigate to an island, a bloodied woman is found standing on the shore, waving for help. When she’s brought aboard, she claims she was kidnapped from her home in Juneau three days earlier, and that a bear on the island killed her captor. She, however, is unharmed.
The woman, Sadie, finds a sympathetic ear in Beth. She tells her that she’s been in Juneau under witness protection, and that the Juneau police don’t like her. When another kidnapping occurs, Beth and police chief Gril can’t help but think the two cases are interwoven, though the clues to solving them will be harder to unravel.
I am well into the Alaska Wild Mysteries. I would read the series in order as both the mystery plot arc and the personal relationships grow throughout the series. Beth came to Alaska to hide from a stalker. She doesn’t remember everything about her abduction. She initially didn’t tell people and didn’t know who to trust. Now that her stalker has been caught she is feeling a bit better. She has also gotten to know and become friends with more people in this small town.
Lost Hours has plenty of mystery: a dead body, an abducted woman, and a missing teenage girl. Beth throws herself into investigating and danger. She has good reasoning and strategy to solve things but no defensive skills against criminals and continues to stupidly endanger herself. It’s unrealistic how law enforcement lets her do it.
We see more of Beth’s relationship with Tex, and her uncertainty if she will stay here or go back to Missouri. A new resident is her long lost father, Eddy. Beth doesn’t trust him but she can’t help but want to know him better.
Of course, Beth figures things out, working well with law enforcement. Her mother is MIA. The end has a bit of a cliffhanger which gives us an idea of the theme of the next book.
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:
- 23-COYER
Oh yeah I can see why this hits the mark for you Anne, Thanks for sharing
It’s not quite as cozy as some. It IS quirky but there are lots of strong mystery aspects.
I like the sound of this one, although I am not keen on the heroine placing herself in situations without the necessary defensive skills.
Me either. She used to be more cautious in the early books because she was hiding out from a stalker but I feel like she has gotten lax. She should be more careful.
Oooo! The more I hear the more I am intrigued by this series.
It’s just a different sort of series and probably why I like it.
I love the font on the cover. It’s got to be hard to trust after being abducted!
yes I would find it hard to be trusting. She has her regular friends now where she is hiding out. But she involves herself in every dodgy situation which worries me.
This is such a fun series! I really like Beth…and that Alaskan setting. 😀
yes I also really enjoy the Alaska setting and Beth. But I think Beth has gotten too confident and should be more cautious
The uncertainty with the romance and rushing into situations when she has no defensive skills would annoy me, but other than that it sounds like a fun series. Maybe she’ll get a clue in the next book?
I hope so. She was much more cautious in earlier books in the series.
Good to know about reading in order. I love the cover and setting.
yes I would read in order because of all the relationship and various mysteries have developments.
This sounds good except for the part about the heroine putting herself into dangerous situations without the proper defensive skills. That’s the kind of thing that would have me screaming at the book, haha!
yes and in earlier books she was more cautious so I was not happy. She is smart and worked for her grandfather who was sheriff so she’s good with deductions and strategy but she really jumped into the dangerous fray here and I didn’t like it.
I’ve really enjoyed the previous books in the series. I’m looking forward to reading this one but good to know there are some issues. I do wonder about some of the things that law enforcement lets Beth get away with. I get that it’s a small town but still!
yes exactly! I understand it’s a small town but they let her do too much. Also she put herself in danger too much this time without involving them or having backup in some cases.