Little Girl Vanished

Denise Grover Swank

Jun 2023 · Harper Adams Mystery Book 1 · DGS

About this eBook

The first book in a new small-town mystery series by New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Denise Grover Swank.  

Disgraced, ex-detective Harper Adams is perfectly content wallowing at rock bottom. She’s lost her job, house, and reputation, and it only gets worse when she’s forced to move back home to Jackson Creek, Arkansas, the one place she swore she’d never return.

But everything changes when she gets chilling news. A childhood friend’s daughter is missing…and it’s eerily reminiscent of Harper’s sister’s kidnapping and murder two decades ago.

Not her business.

Except with the police fumbling the case at every turn, Harper realizes she might be the only one who can save the girl.  

And she might need the help of James Malcolm, a former crime boss, to do it.

Ratings and reviews

I’m always excited to read a new book by Denise Grover Swank and this first book of her new series was more than worth the wait. The story is a fast-paced, intriguing, page turner that kept me reading all day. Denise has a knack for creating such vivid and well-developed book worlds and characters. I instantly felt for Harper. Her life has taken a drastic turn over the past four months and she has literally hit rock bottom, forcing her to move back home into her parents' garage apartment. I love that she is shown as a flawed heroine who is struggling, as anyone would be. When the daughter of a childhood friend goes missing, as an ex-detective, she can’t just sit back when the police department doesn’t seem to be doing things properly. And as the chief fumbled the case when her sister was kidnapped 21 years ago, she doesn’t trust them. I was hooked from the first chapter & hope this series continues for a long time. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes mystery, investigative books!

If you haven't read any of Denise Grover Swank's Rose Gardner series, you don't necessarily have to before you read this series. James "Skeeter" Malcolm is a character in that series and you get to learn a lot about him there. However, he's such a complex, mysterious creature that you wonder if you are really getting to know him or if he's just projecting who he wants you to see. So him being involved in this series is great because it adds extra depth and mystery to the story. It was hard to figure out why he was doing what he was doing. One thing I know for sure is that when he is around, it's always because there's something in it for him. Harper sure gets to know that much about him at least. While she may not know what is in it for him, she figures out that he doesn't do anything unless he gets something from it. The problem is, does she have enough skills and confidence to give life a go being sober and living back in her hometown. I guess only time will tell.

Harper Adams is a jaded ex detective trying to put her life back together after losing her job which she did in memory of her sister. She returns home to her parents who love her but don't want her there anymore than she wants to be. Then mysterious things start to happen that are scarily close to things that happened 21 years ago. This mystery was sooo good, I couldn't put it down. Getting to see James in his new life was pretty amazing too because I have always been Team James. I can't wait for book 2. No matter what Denise writes, I'm never disappointed. Thank you for another amazing book and characters. I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.