Rick Mofina

Missing Daughter by Rick Mofina is a 2019 MIRA publication.

I’m trying to get back to some of my pre-pandemic reading goals, one of which was to sample work from authors I have never read before. Rick Mofina is a name I’ve seen circulating amongst my Goodreads friends in the mystery/thriller category for a long while. I have a handful of his books on my Kindle, but I never have gotten around to reading any of them.

I was drawn to the title of this one because, although missing person’s show more cases are hardly original, there is something so utterly unsettling about someone simply vanishing into thin air, it sucks me in every time.

This book was no exception. When twelve-year-old Maddie disappears during the night, swift suspicion falls on her family:

Her mother, Karen has a tragic past, and a newly contentious relationship with her daughter. Ryan, her father, who is occasionally hot-headed and is under a lot of strain, and her older brother, Tyler, who claims to have heard voices in her room the night she disappeared.

The investigation, like most missing persons cases, is hot in the beginning, but it eventually goes cold. Years pass. Then a staggering turn of events stuns everyone…

Suddenly, shocking secrets float to the surface. Will these revelations finally lead to the truth about Maddie’s disappearance?

This turned out to be a fantastic novel of suspense, complimented by terrific characterizations, and even, well-timed pacing. It held my attention from start to finish, not only with the guessing game, but with the realistic depictions of police interrogations and the emotional strain of a family stuck in a never- ending nightmare. It’s an emotional and absorbing novel, with some huge surprises I ever could have seen coming.

Overall, I am pleased with my first impression of this author and am glad I finally got around to reading one of his books. It goes without saying, I will be reading more of them in the future.

4 stars show less

If Two Are Dead by Rick Mofina is a very highly recommended suspenseful, twisty thriller.

Luke Conway and his wife Carrie with their one-year-old daughter Emily have moved back to Texas to spend time with her terminally ill father, Vernon Hamilton, during his final days. Luke has already obtained a position as a deputy with the county where his father-in-law was a sheriff. The decision was a difficult one. Carrie left years earlier after she was the sole survivor of an attack that left two show more girls dead in the woods. Carrie was hospitalized with brain injuries at the time and still has no memory of what happened. Luke was involved with a shooting as an LAPD officer and is ready to make a new start.

In the opening of the novel, just as Carrie and Emily are ready to move to Texas, Luke is driving home in a storm and hits something or someone. He gets out of his car and looks for what he hit but finds nothing so he decides to not call it in after his experience in LA. He ends up investigating on his own. This decision torments and distracts him. At the same time, after Carrie arrives some fleeting memories begin to return to her. She is still receiving support from her therapist, Dr. Bernay. Adding to the stress is the fact that residents of small towns never forget and take vehement sides on all manner of events.

The uneasiness, secrets, and stress remain high throughout this well-written, fast-paced, un-put-downable thriller. Honestly, much of the tension is due to the fact that you don't know if any of the characters are trustworthy. At one time or another it seems any or all of them have done some nefarious deed in their past. Both Luke, Carrie, and Vern are searching for answers, from the present and the past. You don't know if you should be sympathetic for their positions or hope they are caught.

The secrets, twists, and information just keeps coming strong right to the surprising, shocking, and unpredictable ending. Honestly, Mofina plotted and paced this novel like the skillful writer he is, which kept me glued to the pages waiting for the next revelation or crumb of information. The ending, though, was masterfully played and is what made the rating so high.

Thanks to MIRA Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
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Everything She Feared by Rick Mofina is a highly recommended suspenseful mystery.

Anna Shaw, seventeen, is the babysitter of Katie Harmon, nine. When the two are with a group on a field trip to a Washington State park, Anna falls off the edge of a cliff while taking a selfie. Holding onto a tree, she begs Katie to run to the group they are with and get help. By the time helps arrives, Anna has already fallen to her death. Investigators gather on the scene to gather evidence. While it seems show more obvious, Detective Kim Pierce is less sure and senses that something else happened here. Pierce is considering that Katie may have pushed Anna. Katie's mother, Sara, also privately fears that something else may have happened but she will never share their connection to her troubling family secret.

This is an extremely well-written mystery. The plot is compelling and full of tension but it is also a slow burn. This slower pace does allow the tension to build, doubts to evolve, and questions to multiply while the investigation unfolds. Adding to the suspense is a journalist, Ryan, who has spent several years searching for a killer who was released from prison.

Sara is a well-developed, fully realized character, as are, really, all the other characters. They all feel like real people with their own concerns and problems. Sara's very real struggle, wondering if evil is inherited or made, nature versus nurture, is an age old question that has been explored many times so her struggle is understandable.

The great fact about a Rick Mofina novel is that in the progress of the narrative his characters are going to examine and experience every aspect of the story while he adds some twists and new revelations all while keeping total control of the plot. Even, as in this case, if the pacing seems slower, you will be entrenched in the novel until all the plot threads are explored, the last final twists shocks you, and then everything is pulled together in a satisfying ending.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of MIRA Books via NetGalley.
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Angenehm furztrocken daherkommender Thriller über die Jagd nach einem Kindermörder und -entführer, in dem endlich, ENDLICH einmal keine einzige Zeile an irgendwelche nervigen und ausgelutschten Techtelmechtel zwischen Ermittler/in und Journalist/in (und welche Konstellationen es da noch gibt) verschwendet wird! Hallelujah! Stattdessen wird recherchiert und ermittelt, während den Protagonisten ihr Leben unter dem Hintern wegbricht und die Stimmung zunehmend gereizter wird. Zum Finale hin show more bin ich förmlich auf der Sofakante sitzend durch die Story gehechelt, da war nix mehr mit weglegen und abends weiterlesen. Selbst die relativ häufig zu findenden Tippfehler konnten da nix mehr ausbremsen. Klare Empfehlung für kleines Geld, die 89 Cent waren gut angelegt! show less