This was the first book in the Perdition Games series by Canadian author L.E. Fraser. It was the author's debut work, but you would never guess that. She has since published another two books in this series. I have read one after the other since the beginning of this year and have thoroughly enjoyed all three.
This one is about a sixteen-year-old girl who has been missing for two years. Private Investigator, Samantha McNamara, is hired by the family to look into the girl's disappearance. Her investigation leads her to a religious cult in a remote location.
There were a lot of characters and different perspectives in this one. But the author handled this with ease and I never felt confused about the who's who and how they were connected. Samantha, the protagonist, who is the recurring character in the follow-ups, isn't actually introduced until some way into the book. Although I am not particularly fond of cult-themed stories, this was a really suspenseful, engaging story. The greatest strength of this book for me were the characters, though. They all felt incredibly real. Considering the sheer amount of characters, I was really impressed by this. I also enjoyed that the Canadian setting was a bit different. ( )

A cult, a disappearance, and a whole bunch of family secrets make this book a really enjoyable one.

I did really enjoy this book, although I felt that while all the 'important' plot points were resolved that there were a lot of dangling threads and subplots that I'd have liked to have seen explored in more detail. I felt there was a lot of backstory that didn't necessarily get explained, and though it wasn't necessary to the story it would have made for an interesting read.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review ( )

Amanda Reid is missing and now her mother has hired private investigator Sam McNamara to track down the girls whereabouts, but the nasty secrets Sam uncovers may end up causing more problems then they solve.

This chilling tale is really about more than just a missing girl. More about the damage that severe and pervasive psychological trauma can wreck on a young and impressionable mind and some of the repercussions of feeling like you are absolutely alone. Though the story starts with the disappearance of Amanda Reid, the story is more focused on Jasmine Reid and Hope Welsh, each with depleted self-confidence as a result of childhood bullying, either by classmates or parents.

I love this book. It was fascinating from cover to cover. The story tears your heart in so many different directions with each of the characters and the problems they face in daily life. I was a little surprised more didn't happen with Timothy and his apparent schizophrenia/bi-polar disorder. And I would love to know if Same and Reese end up finding Mussani. A definite thumbs up on this one. Awesome job. ( )

Good book involving a dysfunctional family, cult, murder, mystery, and regrets that are realized too late. Some interesting twists along with a bunch of diverse characters. Toronto area is the setting which I enjoyed as I live nearby. Not super suspenseful, but overall a solid story that kept me reading to find out the outcome of the characters lives.

Please note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. ( )

I enjoyed this book. I think this was a very creepy book with dangerous religious cults and things that creep me out a bit. I enjoyed reading what would happen next and I was glad I was save at home in my safe world and not in the world in this very thrilling book. * I received this book from a LibraryThing giveaway in exchange for an honest review* ( )