Book Review | Gone for Good

Grace Harper is a member of an online group of amateur sleuths called the Grave Diggers who investigate cold cases. Her most recent obsession is the Lovelorn Killer—a serial killer who aptly earned his name by writing love letters addressed to his victims and sending them to newspapers … until one day, he inexplicably disappeared. However, when Grace winds up dead in the Lovelorn Killer’s signature style, he appears to have returned.

Detective Annalisa Vega gets assigned to the case and teamed up with her ex-husband. However, for her, this one is personal. The Lovelorn Killer murdered someone close to her when she was seventeen, so she wants to find solace and answers. Now she must try to unravel whatever truth Grace got close to as she confronts her own past.

Gone for Good by Joanna Schaffhausen is a cat and mouse crime procedural filled with twists and turns and a jaw-dropping ending I honestly didn't see coming.

The opening starts with a gripping and gnarly hook. However, I feel like the story’s focus got sidetracked by a lot of romance and family drama. It’s not until around the 70% mark that the story really picks up steam and I finally started feeling the tension and emotional stakes again. From there on out, I was fully invested in the story.

Ultimately, I feel like Gone for Good is more of a crime drama than a crime thriller. It might be a matter of personal preference, but I found Grace’s notes and the killer’s taunting Annalisa to be the most interesting aspects of the book. I wish that had been more of the focus. However, its looks like the crime procedural elements took a backseat so that the author could set up larger overarching relationship arcs since this is the beginning of a series.

Thank you, NetGalley and Minotaur Books, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Details:

Publication Date : August 10, 2021

Publisher : Minotaur Books

ISBN : 125026460X

Pages : 304

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