This Side of Gone
A Vinnie Taylor Mystery
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
In this gripping debut PI procedural, an ex-cop is dragged back into the policing world that she fled when a teen girl goes missing in her new town.
Please help me. I think he killed Avery.
Vinnie Taylor isn’t a cop anymore. Once a decorated detective, Vinnie left behind a 25-year career in a blaze of scandal—working undercover to bust a sex trafficking ring in her own Homicide Unit. Nearly beaten to death by her former colleagues to prevent her testimony, Vinnie has found peace in the small town of Wills Harbor, Maryland. Or so she thought.
When a local teenager goes missing and nobody in town seems concerned besides the girl's best friend, Vinnie can’t help but take the case, even if it means returning to a world she's gone hundreds of miles to leave behind. She feels a certain kinship with Avery Adair, a whip smart teen who grew up on the wrong side of town, just like Vinnie.
But as she digs deeper, Vinnie uncovers a trail of dangerous online encounters and a double life that Avery kept from even her best friends. The closer Vinnie gets to answers, the more perilous her own circumstances become. Does Vinnie have the courage to face the ghosts of her past and the ugly truths hiding in her new hometown?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
YA author Mitchell (All the Things We Do in the Dark) makes a smooth transition to adult fiction with this pulse-pounding series debut. Vinnie Taylor's career as an Indianapolis homicide detective ended after she helped bust her colleagues for sex trafficking. She hopes that renting a cottage in rural Wills Harbor, Md., will help her make a fresh start, but finds her cop instincts revived when she spots a teenage boy harassing store clerk Hannah Henk. After Vinnie convinces the boy to back off, she completes her purchases and leaves the store, only to find that Hannah has scrawled, "Please help me. I think he killed Avery," on the back of her receipt. The plea, combined with a token retainer fee from Hannah, persuades Vinnie to investigate the disappearance of Avery Adair, whose family is closely involved with the region's organized crime, making local police reluctant to pursue the matter. Soon, Vinnie discovers that Avery might be less innocent than she seems. Despite the familiar setup, Mitchell skirts cliché, sketching three-dimensional characters and bringing the down-on-its-heels town to vivid life. Contemporary noir fans will be eager to hear more from Vinnie soon.
