Missing at Christmas by K.D. Richards

 

Welcome Back, Booklovers! Earlier this year I read Pursuit of the Truth by K. D. Richards and was happy to learn there would be more books this year in the West Investigations series. This series is apart of Harlequin Intrigue. What separates Harlequin Intrigue from Harlequin Suspense is that the stories from Intrigue are high action thrillers with some romance while Suspense are romances with a thriller element but the romance is at the forefront. I give that explanation to set the expectation that this story is more thriller than romance. I received an arc from  K.D. Richards in exchange for an honest review.

Let's start with the cover. It's not a good one. I need Harlequin to get it together and stop recycling the same imagery over and over and over again for their suspense stories. I've seen both these pictures on other books and laid out much better. Plus neither match the description of the characters. Get it together, Harlequin! Let's getting new more appealing covers out there.

This is set during Christmas time but it's okay if you don't like the holidays. There's no holiday celebrations in this story. No mentions of jolly old St. Nick or Christmas caroling. Just some mentions of cold weather and stray tinsel.

Addy Williams is searching for her little sister, Cassie who was interning in a small town during her gap year for a major tech company. As in real life the police don't care about a missing Black woman and try to convince Addy that her sister just ran out. Addy knows her little sister though and knows she wouldn't run off without telling her. So she decides to take matters into her own hands and track her down. While she is walking around town questioning locals she is attacked by a stranger.

Shawn West is a PI in town investigating a major software company for manufacturing counterfeit chips when he witnesses a stranger being attacked. He discovers that stranger is Addy, the woman he had a one night stand with at his brother's wedding several months earlier. While he is quick to offer her help he discovers her missing sister may have a connection to the case he's investigating.

The romance is warm so the sex scene in off page. But Addy and Shawn still have chemistry that's present in their heart to heart moments. They also work well as a team. Addy can hold her own! She's no damsel in need of rescue. She has a gun and knows how to use it. She also saves their asses more than once which Shawn acknowledges. He has genuine admiration for Addy and believes her even though no one else does.

One of the common themes in this story is working through grief as Addy and her sister have experienced loss of several important family members in their lives. After the loss of their dad both are still working through how to move forward. 

Ryan from Pursuit of the Truth does make an appearance in this though his storyline is unconnected so reading that story first or not won't have an effect on your enjoyment of this one. Also he was a little overbearing here with his constant reminds to Shawn about getting distracted.

If you want a fast-paced and easy to read thriller this is a good one to pick up. Both main characters are strong, there's no overly graphic violence, it's under 300 pages, and it's affordable. If you like procedural show it reads like one.