Karen Ellis (2)Rezensionen

Valedictorian of his high school class, Titus "Crisp" Crespo has a bright future. He's heading to Princeton in the fall and looks forward to college life. A series of bad decisions on one fateful day lead Crisp down a path he never expected to follow, where he will face a father he's never known and decisions he wanted to avoid ever facing. When Crisp's mother reports him missing, Detective Lex Cole has to unravel the events of Crisp's day to locate the youth, and his companion, Glynnie, after their disappearance.

This is a story that hits many of the big social concerns: racism. inequality, targeting of minorities by police, injustice, addiction, abuse, murder, etc. One bad decision leads into more like the domino effect for Crisp. One bad day might completely derail his life.

Last Night is the second book in The Searchers series. In the first book, Detective Lex Cole was mostly in a support position for FBI Agent Elsa Myers. This time, Lex is in the forefront with his partner, Saki Finley. Lex has a lot going on in his personal life, as he worries over his boyfriend possibly seeing someone else. He pushes those feelings to the side and hits this case hard, searching for two teenagers who are making some very poor, and possibly life-threatening, decisions. Elsa shows up a couple times in passing during the story, but she really doesn't figure into the plot in this second book. In fact, this second book really could be read as a standalone story. It isn't necessary to have read A Map of the Dark first to enjoy this story. While I was happy to see Lex become a more developed character and to see what a great detective he is, this story didn't grab my attention quite as quickly as the first book in the series. This story develops a little more slowly, and focuses more on social justice than detective work. It caught me a bit by surprise. I was expecting more of the same vibe from the first book. The difference in pace and style surprised me a bit....but once I got into the plot and realized this was going to be totally different than A Map of the Dark, I got sucked into the story.

I'm very interested to see where this series goes from here. I will definitely read more! Very curious to see who the main character will be in the next book. Will the series jump around, switching up each time? Or will it settle into focusing on Lex....Elsa....someone else? Each story so far has been well-written with complex and flawed characters. It makes for an interesting read....a different experience than other crime novels with more formula main characters.

Karen Ellis is a pen name for Author Katia Lief. The Searchers is my first experience with her writing. I've added her Karin Schaffer series to my TBR list.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Mulholland Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

FBI Special Agent Elsa Myers is very good at her job, but she doesn't know how to deal with her father slowly dying from cancer and demons from her past. She could take time off from work to spend more time with her dad at the hospital, but she knows working is the only way she can cope. It keeps her from dwelling on her memories. She is called to assist on a case. A teenage girl is missing. Elsa pushes her personal life to the side, intent on finding the missing girl before it's too late.

At first, I had a hard time identifying with, or liking, Elsa Myers. Elsa is an excellent investigator and she's driven to solve cases, especially those involving children. But she has some deep emotional scars and is pretty much emotionally unavailable. The story flips from the current investigation to flashbacks about Elsa's childhood frequently. At first, I found the flashbacks a bit annoying. But by the end of the book, those flashes of insight into her past helped me understand the character better. By the end of the book, I liked Elsa as a main character. The development of her character over the course of the story is quite complex. I liked how little bits and pieces about Elsa were revealed as she discovered and followed up on clues in the missing person investigation.

A Map of the Dark is the first book in The Searchers series. Book 2, Last Night, turns its focus to Lex Cole, Elsa's temporary partner in A Map of the Dark.

Karen Ellis is a pseudonym for crime thriller author Katia Lief. A Map of the Dark is the first book by this author that I've read. I'm definitely going to read more! I liked the character development and slow-build pacing. I saw one aspect of the ending coming...but wasn't quite sure how it would work in with the story. All in all, a very enjoyable crime thriller. It kept my attention from start to finish. I binge read this entire book in one afternoon. I couldn't stop reading!

I am looking forward to book 2. Lex Cole was a bit of a background character in book 1 because it focused mainly on Elsa and her past. I'm so curious about how his story will develop in the second book!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Mulholland Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

4.5 stars.

The first installment in The Searchers series, A Map of the Dark by Karen Ellis is a spellbinding mystery about an abducted teen.

FBI Agent Elsa Myers is in the midst of a heartrending family situation when her boss calls her in to aid Queens Detective Alexei "Lex" Cole with an urgent case with a missing teenager . Seventeen year old Ruby Haverstack disappeared one night after work and has not been seen since. She is not a troubled teen nor is it likely she ran away which makes her disappearance all the more suspicious. Elsa quickly discovers the case has not been handled quite as carefully as it should have been and valuable time has been lost in those crucial first hours of the investigation. Elsa is well aware she has a tendency to be a little too controlling but she finds it difficult to trust that Lex can handle the investigation since this is his first major case since transferring from Vice.  Despite her doubts, she and Lex work well together but will they find Ruby before it is too late?

Elsa is a veteran agent with several investigations under her belt but with everything going in her personal life, she is having a very hard time maintaining her objectivity and focus. She is a complex character who has not quite come to terms with her dysfunctional childhood which is front and center in her thoughts as works on Ruby's case. Elsa is her own worst critic as she castigates herself for missing clues that no one, not even she, could have recognized without the information that is uncovered later in the investigation.

Once Elsa and Lex know the kidnapper's identity, their investigation really gains traction. Although they quickly uncover other possible victims, they are at a loss as to  a motive for the crimes.  When an unexpected discovery provides a viable place to look for the Ruby, the case takes a shockingly personal turn for Elsa. With even more urgency to locate the victims, she, Lex and the other members of the investigative team feverishly search for the kidnapper's lair.

With the chapters weaving back and forth in time between events from Elsa's past and the hunt for Ruby, A Map of the Dark is a compelling police procedural.  Elsa is a deeply flawed but incredibly sympathetic lead protagonist who, when partnered with Lex,  finds someone who rather unnervingly slips past her formidable defenses. This first installment in Karen Ellis's The Searchers series is a multi-layered crime drama that I highly recommend to fans of the genre.

4.5 stars.

Last Night by Karen Ellis is a fast-paced and engrossing mystery. Although this newest addition is the second installment in The Searchers series, it can be read as a standalone.

Titus "Crisp" Crespo is the valedictorian of his graduating class and he has been accepted into Princeton. However, his bright future is suddenly in jeopardy after a racist cop targets the mixed race young man. After a night in jail, Crisp makes an ill-advised decision to go with casual acquaintance Glynnie Dryfus to buy some more pot from her dealer, JJ. Glynnie then drags both Crisp and JJ along with her on an ill-fated mission in Red Hook. Glynnie's parents and Crisp's mom report their children as missing and Detective Lex Cole and Detective Saki Finley work together to locate the errant teens.

Lex is fighting his demons following a horrible fight with his boyfriend, Adam. Despite these distractions, he works diligently to find Crisp. Utilizing all of the technological resources available to them, they manage to retrace many of the Glynnie's, JJ's and Crisp's stops from the night before. Unfortunately, they are a few steps behind Crisp and Lex and Saki are also stymied as they try to find out more details about JJ.

Crisp is highly intelligent but when it appears his plans for the future are ruined, he acts without thinking about the consequences of his choices. He does have a few qualms about joining Glynnie, but he ignores his doubts. The situation goes horribly awry very quickly but Crisp manages to keep his wits about him as he tries to figure out how to escape from his increasingly dire situation.

Last Night is an riveting mystery that features a topical storyline that is quite insightful. The characters are well-rounded with realistic strengths and shortcomings. Lex's situation with Adam revives painful memories and fears and he is tempted to return to unhealthy methods to help him cope. Crisp and Glynnie make some very poor choices that force them to grow up and accept responsibility for their actions. JJ's story arc is utterly heartbreaking and highlights how easy it is for at risk youths to fall through the cracks. Karen Ellis brings this suspenseful and thought-provoking novel to an uplifting conclusion. I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend The Searchers series to fans of the genre.

Holy cow this book made me so frustrated. Princeton bound Titus Crespo “Crisp” as he is nicknamed, is smart, a good boy and responsible. One cop changes Crisp’s whole life. The situations he gets into in Last Night seems so far fetched. It goes to show that smarts doesn’t always give you the ability to know when to speak up and get the crap out of somewhere you don’t feel comfortable.

Glynnie Dryfus, 18 years old is portrayed as a stereotypical rich girl who thinks she rules the world and her brain doesn’t think through any situation she gets herself in. She drags Crisp into a dangerous situation all because “she wants a gun” and has the ability to get on no matter where she has to go to get it. It’s that simple- she wants something she’s going to get it no matter the outcome. Sadly, Crisp is the one that pays for it.
The one line in the book that sums this whole story up is from Detective Lex, when Detective Elsa tells him to think like a teenager, “Don’t think at all. Act and react. Think later.” This is that story.
Even with that said the characters are not as shallowly written as they are in person. Author Karen Ellis rolls out a good story that is filled with danger, examples of police profiling and teen angst.
I give this book 3 stars not because of the writing but because of the stereotyping and dimwit moves of a very spoiled girl.

FBI Agent Elsa Myers and partner Lex Cole are called into a case of a missing girl. Elsa has other issues to deal with too with one being her past.

This is the first book for me by this author and I an impressed. Thrillers are always hard to review without giving anything away and I try not to read the blurb at the back of the book.

This story didn't bring anything new, missing girls held captive has been done to death. This book however was a very easy read with the right balance between cop life and personal life. I did remind me of the early Alex Kava books featuring Maggie O"Dell which I used to enjoy a lot.

The story itself was a solid read with a predictable twist. There was enough in this story to keep my interest until the end. I would read the next book in the series and see how it goes from there.

OH NO! The beginning has me super angry. This is the type of book I have been avoiding. Smacks too much of realism and I don’t need anymore than I happen to catch flipping channels on the TV or clicking on the internet.

Ugly business and I see it ruining Crisp’s life. Will it make him become a monster? We’ll see.

A portrait of a white privileged teen girl, a promising, intelligent mixed race boy and a black homeless boy and what results from their coming together.

Kind of a coming of age story …I thought it would be about race when I first began, but it turned into teens…learning about life.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Last Night by Karen Ellis.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com

Loved it!

Flawed characters, teenagers, kidnapping, murder, serial killer, life and death, cancer.

I loved the characters, searching for answers, struggling with life.

Glad Dark is in the title, because it’s not only the villain that hides in the dark.

I am so happy this is a series because I want a whole lot more of it.

Elsa, her new partner and friend, Lex…and his brother, David. she doesn’t have much of a personal life, doesn’t strive to have one, discourages those who try to get close, until Lex who manages to earn her trust.

Deep, dark secrets.

So glad I have the next story ready and waiting…and I will begin NOW.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of A Map of the Dark by Karen Ellis.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com

Last Night by Karen Ellis is a tale of two teens who get more than they bargain for when they wander off for the night in search of some weed. Titus Crispo and Glynnie cannot be more opposite if they tried. Titus is half black/ half white and a stellar student. He is on the verge of graduating high school as Valedictorian and has a free ride to Princeton. Glynnie is a quintessential rebellious teen who doesn’t care about school or anything else really. Glynnie is white and comes from a well off family. These two unlikely friends bond one afternoon over Titus’s recent brush with the cops. Glynnie decides they need to blow off some steam, and she hauls Titus along to find her dealer, and so begins the longest night of their young lives.

Alarms are quickly sounded late into the night by both families when neither child returns home all night. The missing persons cases fall into two different precincts. The lead investigators soon connect the two missing kids to each other. Matters only become more complicated when a rattled Glynnie returns home, spouting a tale of a run in with a shady street weapons dealer and the kidnapping of Titus Crespo. Last Night is both a mystery and a redemption story as each of the characters is seeking something that is currently missing in their lives, and their difficult journey through one terrible night paved the way for each of them to grow and learn something new about themselves. This is a short read, but it didn’t feel incomplete or lacking, and everyone has a resolution. A worthwhile read. This is the second novel I have read of Karen Ellis and she has proven to be a strong force in mystery writing. Novel supplied by Netgalley.

Mysteries are my favorite reading, but this writer's style of writing lost my interest. She doesn't seem to understand punctuation and her sentences were all run on and on and on.

FBI agent Elsa Myers specializes in missing children. When a seventeen year old goes missing, she, despite her father critically ill in a hospital awaiting hospice care, teams up with an NYPD detective, Lex Cole, to find the girl.

Like so many protagonists, Elsa is a damaged individual and the narrative behind it as well as its longterm effects tends to eclipse the missing child plot. As is a popular format today, the story is told from multiple viewpoints and shifts between past and present.

A bit cliched and perhaps a little bit too good to believe, I still found it an engrossing read. I look forward to the next in the series where I hope some of the childhood trauma will be less prominent and Elsa will still be working with Lex.

This was not the book for me. It was so frustrating that I just didn’t get into it. I know scenarios like this occur but I didn’t really want to read about it. This reminds me a lot of Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing. It is a lesson for all but not what I want to read.

I liked it but it was less of a crime story and more of a psychiatric journey for the main character whose dad is dying of cancer.. The. crime story seemed secondary to the revealations of child abuse of the agent. It was an OK story but not really a thriller as advertised. Instead of a procedural crime story it was a story of child abuse and the damage it caused the main character who cuts herself. Overall, I didn’t really enjoy the story. It was not compelling. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

A Map of the Dark is the first novel in this series. It is a fast paced novel that follows Elsa, a special agent for the FBI who works in the in an elite unit that is tasked with tracking missing children. Elsa is at a delicate tipping point on her life. Her father, Roy, is in the hospital with terminal lung cancer and he has only been given a few months to live. She gets a call for a missing teenage girl named Ruby. A seventeen year old who disappeared unexpectedly after leaving her shift at a local coffee shop. Unclear if this is a runaway or a kidnapping, Elsa is called in to assist Lex Cole from the NYPD.

Early on very few clues arise to point to what happened to Ruby, but it soon becomes clear that Ruby did not just walk away from her life, someone clearly meant her harm. The deeper Elsa and Lex dig, the more they realize that this is no simple kidnapping, Ruby is part of a much larger, darker story, and the race is on the stop a ruthless serial predator.

The author weaves this tale in imaginative, vivid prose. The characters are vulnerable and damaged in their own ways. The story is an exciting page turner with twists and turns. A worthwhile thriller.

A new series, the introduction of a new character, Elsa, an FBI agent who had a very difficult and abusive past, and is dealing with an impending sorrow in the present. Young women are going missing, and it is up to Elsa, and the young policemen who asked for her assistance, to find them.

So far, so good, Elsa is an interesting character, Lex her police counterpoint on this, grows on one and cements the deal by books end. For me though, the back story of Elsa quite overtook the case of the missing. It was an intriguing back story but nonetheless definitely overshadowed everything else going on, very lopsided. The case itself had a plot point that was so predictable one could see it coming from s mile away, cliche I know. What happens next in the case I just couldn't quite swallow as believable. There is also one coincidence of a personal nature that felt to me, contrived. So a mixed read, but an intriguing enough of a character that it may call me back to read book two, which I am suspecting will have less of the past and more of a case.

ARC from Netgalley.

When teen-ager Ruby Haverstock goes missing, FBI agent Elsa Myers, sitting beside her dying father’s bed, finds herself unwillingly drawn into the case. Join by New York detective Lex Cole and a task force of investigators, they uncover evidence that the abductor may have been killing young girls for years and, as their hunt intensifies, Elsa finds her own secrets and her own self-destructiveness threatening to surface as she desperately tries to keep her family legacy hidden.

Circumstances shift and Elsa’s search for the missing teen becomes personal. Will Elsa lose her private battle or will she sacrifice everything for Ruby?

Told from several viewpoints and alternating between the past and the present, Elsa’s gritty backstory may be a bit overwhelming for some readers. Although astute readers may sense the unexpected reveal late in the narrative, the family dynamic in this intriguing tale gives Elsa’s character surprising depth. The strong characterizations, coupled with a twisty plot, and a strong sense of place, create an atmospheric, creepy tale that keeps the pages turning.

Highly recommended.

A Map of the Dark is the first novel in a new series (The Searchers) from Karen Ellis. (A nom de plume of Katia Lief)

FBI Agent Elsa Myers specializes in missing children. She's good at her job. But when she's asked to take on the case of a young woman most likely taken by a serial killer, she hesitates. Her father is dying and this is bringing the past she has tried to bury back to the surface. She does take the case, thinking she can handle both, but her carefully constructed defenses begin to crumble. Ellis's prologue opens the book with the crime.

Ellis has created a flawed lead character in Elsa. I liked her right away, but was caught off guard by her dark personal secrets. Ellis reveals Elsa's backstory through past and present chapters. (I did have some questions as to how such a wounded psych could end up in such a job). The victim of the crime is also given a voice - and the hope that she might still be found. Elsa is paired up with a new partner named Lex that only adds to her stress. Although he says and does all the right things, I just wasn't sold on him.

Ellis seems to be setting the stage for this new series in A Map of the Dark. Establishing Elsa as a character and setting the background seemed to (for me) take more precedence than the crime. The crime itself is somewhat familiar in tone. There are some convenient plot devices that made if perhaps a little too easy for law enforcement. There is a twist at the end, but astute readers will most likely suss it out before the reveal.

A Map of the Dark is a solid read and will appeal to those who enjoy characterizations more than the mystery. Me? I like the mystery and the solving of the crimes.½