Without A Trace by Carissa Ann Lynch | @carissaannlynch @KillerReads | #blogtour #RandomThingsTours

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Without A Trace by Carissa Ann Lynch. My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the invitation to join and to the publisher for the review copy!

Author : Carissa Ann Lynch
Title : Without A Trace
Pages : 230
Publisher : Killer Reads
Publication date : June 13, 2019

| ABOUT THE BOOK |

A little girl has gone missing.

Lily was last seen being tucked into bed by her adoring mother, Nova. But the next morning, the bed is empty except for a creepy toy rabbit.

Has Nova’s abusive ex stolen his “little bunny” back for good?

At first, Officer Ellie James assumes this is a clear custody battle. Until she discovers that there are no pictures of the girl and her drawers are full of unused toys and brand new clothes that have never been worn…

Is Ellie searching for a missing child who doesn’t actually exist?

| MY THOUGHTS |

Nova Nesbitt and her four year old daughter, Lily, arrive in a small town in the middle of nowhere, desperate to escape Nora’s abusive husband. But when Nora checks on her daughter the next morning, the little girl has gone missing. Convinced her husband has already found her and has taken her daughter, Nora calls the police. Officer Ellie James attends the scene. She assumes this is a clear custody battle but after searching the log cabin and interviewing Nora, Ellie starts to wonder if Lily even exists.

This story is told through three women : Nora, the mother; Ellie, the rookie cop; and Clara, the neighbour and owner of the log cabin. Ellie seems pretty straight-forward, but both Nora and Clara come across as rather unreliable, though both for very different reasons. Clara quite obviously has something to hide, a secret she’s desperate to protect. Nora is a nervous wreck, which is understandable considering her daughter has gone missing. Yet, just like Ellie, I couldn’t help but feel there was something a tad off about her.

This well-paced and quickie read has some surprises in store. If at any point I thought this would turn out into something a bit predictable, I was quickly proven wrong. I couldn’t at all figure out if Lily was real or not. If she was, what had happened to her? If she wasn’t, what on earth was going on?

Apart from maybe one or two characters, the men in this story don’t exactly make a good impression. Ellie faces a daily struggle with her colleagues, especially after an incident involving a senior male officer. But more than that, this story deals with domestic abuse in all its ugly forms and the resilience, strength and determination of the women trying to make a change in their lives.

Without A Trace took me by surprise. It is a tense and gripping story, with quite the chilling undertone to it. It’s a story that will have you rooting for the women, while flipping the pages faster and faster to reach the conclusion. I had no idea where things would end up and the author kept me guessing until the end. Without A Trace is a twisty and suspenseful book that will keep you on your toes.

Without A Trace is available to buy!

Affiliate link : Bookdepository
Other retailers : Amazon US | Amazon UK | Kobo | Waterstones | Wordery

| ABOUT THE AUTHOR |

Carissa Ann Lynch resides in Floyds Knobs, Indiana with her husband, three children, and a massive collection of books. She has a degree in psychology and worked as a counsellor.