Ten Days Gone

Ten Days Gone by Beverly Long is the first An A.L. McKittridge Novel. Ten Days Gone is a police procedural mystery set in Baywood, Wisconsin. We follow Detective A.L. McKittridge (we do not get to find out what A.L. stands for) and Detective Rena Morgan as they search for a deadly killer. Four women have been murdered in forty days. They were murdered ten days apart with them just discovering the latest victim. Our duo has ten days to find the killer before he strikes again. The killer is smart enough to leave to no forensics. They cannot find a connection between the four women. The detectives work on questioning the latest victims’ husband, co-workers and friends to see if they can find any connection to the other three victims. The point-of-view switches between McKittridge and Morgan. McKittridge is divorced with a sixteen year old daughter who is acting out (dating a man who is over twenty-one) and skipping school to drink alcohol. Rena Morgan is wed, and they have been trying to conceive for years unsuccessfully. It is taking its toll on their marriage. Rena is worried that her husband is cheating on her. The detectives’ personal lives are woven in with the investigation. I thought the detective’s lives are realistic. They work hard which affects their personal lives which are complicated (just like real people). The mystery was representative of a real police case. Television makes police work look exciting, but, in real life, it is tedious. They must ask questions, follow up leads, fill out paperwork and deal with bureaucracy (like a new pompous chief). Identifying the guilty party was effortless. There is suspense and tension especially as they were getting close to their prey. There were some areas of the book that lagged, and I was put off by the amount of foul language (I do not understand why people feel they need to use such offensive words). Ten Days Gone will appeal to readers who enjoy suspenseful police procedural mysteries. Ten Days gone has a mysterious murderer, a conceited chief, disconsolate target, and two determined detectives.

While I have gotten to the point I will take story over romance I still enjoyed this nail biting read. I haven't read this author before so when Netgalley offered I was all in. There's a serial killer on the loose killing every 10 days. So far they haven't had much success in catching a break in the case. We get to know the 2 lead officers and follow them as they go through the grind of catching the killer. It's a slow start with plenty of background on the detectives. This is a plus and minus. A plus because you get to know them in the beginning of the series and probably more as the series progresses which is all good. The minus is sometimes it feels like filler and the romance didn't add to the story. All in all the mystery part of it is done well and holds you in place until the end. I enjoyed this authors style and was thrilled it was well edited. I will definitely be back for more.

A little slow in spots, but the story picked up and finished with a bang. A who-done-it, the story strays into the personal lives of the detectives. All in all, a good story, all though l figured the bad guy out almost from the beginning. Good read.