In Find Her (The Lacey James Series Book 1), by Chris Patchell, Lacey James is a hardworking local cop in the quiet town of Sweet Home. When the story opens, she’s worried about her kids and her cancelled anniversary plans with her husband, but she’s about to be pulled into a dramatic criminal investigation.

The beginning of Find Her is extremely slow, with lots of small-town characters living small-town lives. It sets up the shock of the thriller story. It’s a while before we get any action, because Sweet Home is a sleepy town where a shoplifter in the local hardware store is a big crime. But this minor theft becomes a massive problem when Lacey and her partner spot some disturbing other “supplies” in the suspect’s car…

After the sleepy start, Lacey’s life changes dramatically with an investigation into a murder, a suicide, and a kidnapped woman. The story takes surprising twists as we see the kidnapper’s mind and the police investigation chasing the criminal. It’s an engaging mystery. At times, Lacey seems like the only one concerned about the kidnapping victim.   When others are sure that the young woman’s been killed, or that the story will blow over when another shocking crime breaks, or possibly both, Lacey keeps searching. Her dedication powers the story.

A bit of a spoiler, but if you — like me — always need to know how gross a thriller will be, Find Her has blood, fear, and a high body count, but isn’t overly gory. When there is a death, the shock is more that there’s been a murder (an increased shock after the sleepy town intro and mall gossip chapters) than anything gratuitous.

This is an engaging small-town mystery, with a dark criminal and a dedicated detective at the heart. Find Her introduces the The Lacey James Series, by Chris Patchell. The series includes four novels about Detective Lacey James solving crimes in Sweet Home.

I received a copy of this book to review, opinions and reactions on my book blog are my own, as always.