What a twist of events

I really enjoyed this book, though the first couple chapters were a little boring. I am so glad I decided to keep reading. I'm glad Roy never gave up with his instincts. if he did they may never had found Tracey. I was happy to read that Roy's little girl had also been found safe, sad they don't really have a relationship though. I look forward to reading more books by Ben. ( )

Gone the Next.RoyBallard book 1). Ben Rehder.2012. Roy Ballard is a smart-ass insurance investigator who thinks he sees a young girl who has been kidnapped. When he tells the police they don’t believe him so he investigates himself. Roy reminds me of Spencer in the Robert B. Parker series, but not quite. An interesting and good but not great suspense novel. It was good to read on the treadmill ( )

Fun read! Kept me interested, really enjoyed the humor in it. Lots of snarky dialogue. I got the next one in the series now. ( )

This was a good mystery i.a. because the characters were well written. I usually prefer a mystery I can solve before the end, but with this book I was happy to follow the development of the characters as they solved the mystery. The pace, plot and writing were good, too. ( )

As a Texan, this review may be a little biased considering the book is set in Texas. The story was engaging and I loved the characters. Roy was a great new character and I loved how different his job was compared to other mysteries. I just found his sarcastic smart-ass humor likable. Mia was a great grounding character for Roy and she was a great balance to him. The author developed the chemistry between Roy and Mia with some great banter that seemed natural to each way the character was portrayed.

The mystery definitely grabs you from the beginning and the author builds the suspense for both sides of the story. Roy’s reactions as the mystery deepens seem realistic and not too extreme in any sense. The only issues with the story I think relate to the audiobook version – it was very difficult to keep all the timelines organized and then there was an extended time at the end where the author closing out loose ends that may the story drag a little.

The narrator Johnny Peppers did an excellent job. I can some other reviewers didn’t like the narration but I did. He was telling me a story and I was listening with rapt attention. I didn’t need different characterizations to keep me engaged. ( )