Book list
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In deceptively quaint Ebbing, detective Elise King (introduced in Local Gone Missing, 2022) is tested by simmering local secrets and a pack of sexual predators hiding in plain sight. When singles group organizer Karen Simmons’ body is found in Knapton Wood, Ebbing is reminded of the unsettlingly similar murder of little Archie Harris 14 years earlier. Instincts lead both Elise and local reporter Kiki Nunn to reexamine the Harris case while chasing down Karen’s local and social media connections. For Elise, that means digging into the suspicious statements of the couple who found Karen’s body and the oddball bird rescuer who hovered around both scenes. Disregarding the dangers, Kiki joins the same dating apps as Karen, hoping to draw in the same pool of men. And resolved to finally deal with her son’s murder, Annie Harris grapples with new questions and old doubts. Barton weaves the women’s investigative narratives together, playing increasingly malignant themes of alienation and entitlement against each other. Pair this thoughtful, well-crafted series with Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie mysteries.

Library Journal
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Karen Simmons was looking for love on all the dating apps when she turned up dead after a Valentine's Day meet-up. She ran a popular hair salon, and her murder is a shock to her small town of Epping in Essex, England. Journalist Kiki Nunn pounces on the case, hoping that this story will be the scoop she needs to rev up her flagging career. Her aggressive newsgathering style antagonizes Elise King, the detective on the case, and Kiki soon feels stonewalled. She decides to do her own investigating and dives headlong into the online dating scene in hopes of finding Karen's killer and her big story. She's being pursued by more men than she can handle and is suspicious of several who seem to be stalking her. She doesn't realize that small towns harbor deep secrets, and nosy journalists are not always welcome. With the cops less than eager to help, Kiki is in over her head with nowhere to turn. VERDICT This latest from best-selling Barton (Local Gone Missing) is a twisty and highly satisfying nail-biter that will have her fans and new readers burning the midnight oil.—Susan Clifford Braun

Publishers Weekly
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In Barton’s artful sequel to Local Gone Missing, Det. Insp. Elise King competes with journalist Kiki Nunn to solve the murder of a Sussex hairdresser. King has just returned to duty after breast cancer treatment when she’s called to Knapton Wood, where Karen Simmons’s strangled corpse has been discovered. Before her death, Simmons ran a singles group called the Free Spirits, and King immediately sets her sights on the men Simmons was dating. Meanwhile, newspaper reporter Nunn catches wind of the murder, and her interest is piqued—she’d interviewed Simmons for an article about the Free Spirits the week before. Sensing the story might earn her a promotion, Nunn doggedly chases down leads, stepping on King’s toes in the process. Also in the mix is Annie Curtis, one of Simmons’s clients, whose eight-year-old son was killed years ago in the same place as Simmons, prompting Annie to wonder if the murders might be connected. Barton effortlessly toggles between each woman’s viewpoint, maintaining suspense as she builds to the plot’s devastating resolution. Fans of Mark Billingham’s Tom Thorne novels will devour this. Agent: Madeleine Milburn, Madeleine Milburn Agency. (Aug.)