Don’t Let Her Go by Willow Rose
Detective Billie Ann Wilde #1

This is not an easy review to write. The premise for the book, inspired by real life, had great promise. It felt fragmented and was difficult to sink my teeth into. There were many characters that popped up in scenes that felt out of the blue and though eventually tied to the main case Billie was following, didn’t necessarily have a purpose to further the story.

As for Billie, the main character, she wasn’t easy to warm up to. Her past definitely impacts her but a lot of it was revealed but not necessarily dealt with in this book. And what a mixed bag the issues they are: medical, personal, gender, religious, health, social, professional, family, marital…and the list goes on. How she handles some of the issues will no doubt be looked at and dealt with in future books of the series. Perhaps she will grow as the series continues – I hope so – and that she will figure out how to move forward successfully while navigating all those issues

As for the crime(s) in this book – there is a serial killer that is killing to cover up another heinous crime that is ongoing and harmful to more than one person. I guessed who the killer was early in the story so skimmed to get fill in the details. The bad guy is caught, his friend is in the wind, at least one of those harmed is better off, and hopefully in the future stories more information will be given about Kitty and her children.

Did I like this book? It was okay
Would I read more in the series? Maybe

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3 Stars based on averaging the 2 for my overall feelings + 4 for the NetGalley ask if it is publish-worthy ( )

I do not like to write negative reviews, but overall-- this is one of the worst books I've had the misfortune to read. I can only say that I barely held myself back from it being a DNF but only because I had to see just how much worse it could get.

To sum it up, a preposterous kidnapping and serial killer crime thriller. The characters are beyond unbelievable and completely unlikeable. The narrative flips between characters in a before and after format and is a constant stream of melodramatic exhortations and angst with repetitive phrases and responses to every situation. Could someone please count how many times "tears streamed down" and "smirked" and "piercing blue eyes" appear in this book? The plot just got more ridiculous as it went on and just when you think it can't possibly get more unrealistic, it surely does. It is a constant tell rather than show and so drawn out making the simple situation overly long. Lots of cliches. Totally predictable.

This is supposed to be the first in a new series featuring the character of Cocoa Beach homicide cop Billie Ann Wilde and from how she acted there is no way she could be a police detective. So unprofessional and her life is a train wreck. It's not that she's just decided to come out as a lesbian, it's her overly emotional carrying on over every single thing. In any event, I won't be reading any further installments or any other books by this author as this was the second I have tried.

This was an audio version of the book and I can't say that the narration was well done. The accents and voices sometimes didn't change when they should have and the voice of Kitty was particularly off. And the male voices, oh my.

I was shocked to see other reviews and decided it must just be me. Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read this author's work. I'm not recommending. ( )