When All the Girls Have Gone

November 7, 2016
With this slow-paced book, Krentz (Secret Sisters) launches a romantic suspense series set in Seattle, where Max Cutler, a former profiler turned PI, moved to start his life over after burning out on the job. While investigating the mysterious death of Louise Flint, who belonged to a women’s investment club, he encounters Charlotte Sawyer, whose stepsister, Jocelyn, another investor, also disappeared. Working together, they hope to both find Jocelyn and identify the culprit behind a decade-long rape and killing spree that started with a violent assault on Jocelyn while she was in college. The suspense story suffers from Krentz spending too much text introducing investment-club members in lieu of building ties between Charlotte and Max. It’s also a setup for future books featuring Max’s foster brothers, all of whom have a collective score to settle. Fortunately, the suspense picks up when Max and Charlotte realize they need to trust each other and work in close proximity to bring down the privileged villain.

Narrator Amanda Leigh Cobb chronicles Charlotte Sawyer's glorious escape from her staid comfort zone in Krentz's romantic suspense. Charlotte convinces P.I. Max Cutler to collaborate as she seeks information about her missing sister, Jocelyn's, murky investment club. Soon the dead bodies start piling up in their Seattle-based investigation. Cobb shows Charlotte making important life changes. The audiobook clearly depicts Charlotte's growing resolve to protect Max and Jocelyn. Listeners may wish that Cobb's tentative-sounding delivery of Max's dialogue were not so at odds with his unshakable moral code. He never sounds quite sure of what he's saying, so it's hard to identify with him. Overall, however, Cobb's low-key reading matches Krentz's understated, brisk style. C.A. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine