As always with anything written by fantastic author A. W. Hartoin, I can’t help writing a nearly book-length review of everything I love about the story and why I think you should read it. Stellar writing, solid plot, satisfaction on every page.

Although we’ve spent a lot of time with Mercy and think we know her well, in So Long Gone we learn a lot about her past we didn’t know before. Like that her boyfriend David and her friends Shawn and Sarah died in an accident 10 years ago, a night out when Mercy was sixteen and should have been with them but was a last-minute no-show. How their bodies have just now been found and how that opens up several cans of worms and doesn’t provide the explanations and closures you would have expected. Against her wishes, better judgment and heart’s desire, Mercy is pulled into what turns out to be a complex, complicated and of course dangerous investigation, with many surprises and twists and dangling threads to try and sort out and make sense of. And here she was thinking that life might be a little calm, maybe even boring for a while. She’s back to nursing, engaged to Chuck, moving into a deluxe apartment with him, but “normal life” and “Mercy” don’t seem to mix.

Everyone and everything you love (or want to run from) is back: The Girls, Aunt Miriam, Uncle Morty, Big Steve, the Fibonaccis, Fats waiting for that baby to be born and the baby shower Mercy is supposed to be planning, Grandad Ace acting crazier than usual because he has no clue how to convince Grandma J to come home from Europe, nasty cousin Brooks and even a little mention of ex-boyfriend Pete and Wallace the Evil Pug. There is more Aaron, with his hot dog scent and mouth-watering recipes, and less smokin’ hot sweet sexy fiancé Chuck this time around, but as a stand-in a guy shows up who claims to be Chuck’s father Charles - and who just happens to look exactly like Chuck. What to do with that?

Once the story takes off it never slows down. References, cross-references, side-references, the Bled connection, dead ends, false clues and the witty, droll, funny, crazy scenes and dialogue mixed in with the serious history and sentiment that makes all Hartoin’s books so special. I always forget Mercy is a dead ringer for Marilyn Monroe. I love the little red lips that are chapter separators. I love it when she says, “I might’ve peed a little.” Actually, I love everything.

I always have so many delightful Aha! moments when I recognize people, places or events from author A. W. Hartoin’s three series (Mercy Watts, Stella Bled, Jess and Libby) who have jumped the boundaries and showed up in each other’s series. The interconnections between the three series are supremely entertaining and will keep you thinking; I always want to go back to the beginning and see what I’ve missed – or just enjoy what I discovered. But make no mistake, all books are distinct and unique even with the overlap of people, events, places. They are like stories from different branches of one large family, and Hartoin juggles them all perfectly. NOTE TO AUTHOR: How about taking a short break from the series and putting together a handbook for us devoted readers? Or at least a picture of your wall of sticky notes or whatever it is you uses to keep track of the spiderweb of connections between all the characters across them? A little cheat sheet sure would be helpful.

A lot of loose ends are tied up by the end of So Long Gone, but not quite everything. Something to look forward to as you eagerly await whatever comes next. Thanks to the author for providing an advance copy of So Long Gone. I voluntarily leave this review and all opinions are my own. I recommend this book, this series and the Stella Bled and the Jess and Libby Paranormal Cozy Mystery series without hesitation. Many, many hours of delightful, satisfying reading await you. ( )