Long Gone

I received a digital advance copy of Long Gone by Joanna Schaffhausen via NetGalley. Long Gone is scheduled for release on August 9, 2022.

Long Gone is the second book in a series following Detective Annalisa Vega. Annalisa previously (I assume in book 1, which I have not read) turned in her father and brother for their roles in a murder many years ago. Annalisa finds herself untrusted by both her family and other officers. When a detective in another precinct turns up dead in a bizarre murder, Annalisa finds herself investigating secrets hiding in the lives of officers and their families. Her number one suspect is a man accused of murder in the past, so Annalisa finds herself investigating both a present-day murder and a cold case.

While I have not read the first book in the series, I had no difficulty getting into this story and following the plot line. Schaffhausen gives the reader enough information about past events to ground you in the story even if you missed the first episode. She also builds on the past in a way that moves Annalisa’s personal life story forward at the same time she is investigating the murders. Having Annalisa dealing with both a current and a past murder at the same time did create some challenges for me as a reader. With two murders in two times, the cast of characters was fairly large, which made it difficult to keep track of who did what. Particularly in the last quarter of the novel, I found that I became unclear on who did what, as events in two timelines resolved.

Annalisa is a fully developed character who is dealing with issues in her romantic, family, and professional lives all at once. Seeing her in all of these roles makes her feel real, as real people don’t get the benefit of dealing with one aspect of their lives at a time. Characters around her were not always as fully developed, as we just didn’t see as much of their lives, but none of them felt flat or as if they were there solely for the sake of the plot.

Overall, Long Gone is well written mystery/suspense novel that features law enforcement characters who are presented in shades of gray, rather than suggesting they are either good or evil.