Missing in the Glades by Lena Diaz – a Review

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Description:
He was looking for a missing person. What he found was a beautiful stranger.

Looking for a fresh start, detective Jake Young headed south on a case that could help launch his PI business. He knew no amount of work would make him forget his tortured past, but maybe Faye Star could help. Caught up in Jake’s missing persons case, the distracting Faye was hiding a secret he was begging to find out. Expertly guiding him through the swamps, Jake’s job grew more complicated when someone started taking shots at the free-spirited beauty. As much as she protested she could take care of herself, Jake stepped in, refusing to admit how desperately he needed someone to save. Especially since he’d never be able to save himself…

Review:

I saw an episode of Burn Notice once where someone was lost in the Everglades and they were worried about panthers mauling the person. Panthers, as in, that’s not outside the norm of animals found in that area. Wowzers. Lena Diaz allots a huge amount of respect to this “unpredictable, dangerous, land-that-time-forgot section” of Florida. That’s almost incomprehensible to this city girl, but it lends itself perfectly to a missing persons case and a unique love story befitting the town of Mystic Glades. Please welcome back the wonderful Lena Diaz and her first book in the Marshland Justice series, Missing in the Glades.

Jake Young is trying his hand at PI work. Police work wasn’t boring per se, but he partnered up with his friend to expand his horizons. What a first case! Just when Jake catches a break and finds the abandoned vehicle of the victim, a shot rings out too close for comfort. Gorgeous or not, Jake’s going after the gypsy-looking woman with the amazing aim!

Faye Star is a free spirit with a degree in biology and killer survival skills to rival any local’s. When she sees Jake lurking through the ‘Glades, we quickly deduce that she’s worried about being associated with the case.

All she knew for sure was that a private investigator was trying to find Calvin. But he hadn’t mentioned anything about finding her. If someone from Tuscaloosa had hired him, they’d have wanted both her and Calvin, wouldn’t they? But Jake hadn’t tried to grab her…or kill her. Which meant he didn’t know about her connection with Calvin…”

Not only is Jake not trying to kill Faye, he’s killing himself trying to keep his hands, especially his heart, away from her! The attraction is a distraction, of the best kind. Faye may say she’s willing to collaborate on the investigation, but it’s, HE’s, too tempting to ignore. Jake can lose himself in Faye if he’d let his heart dictate, but his gut is telling him not to indulge…and his reasons aren’t entirely noble, either.

He looked down at her fingers working his belt loose, and that brief moment of lost contact between them was just enough for the haze of lust to allow his brain to switch back on. What was he doing? This was crazy, wrong on so many levels. She trusted him, and he was betraying her with every breath he took. He couldn’t cross this one last line. Once she found out the truth about him, she’d hate him forever.

Can withholding information, delivering bold-faced lies, and general deceit (with a healthy helping of subterfuge) be forgiven…all in the name of love? Neither Faye nor Jake can point fingers here. The plot deepens as thick as the marshland when new characters are introduced and seem beyond eager to find (silence?) Calvin. Is Calvin “an idiot tourist with no common sense and a lousy sense of direction” or is he a man with valuable information? Any just why does Faye care so much about what happens to him?!

Oh, this was good! Lena Diaz deftly threads a needle of intrigue throughout the story and subplots. We gain necessary insight, but delight in the unexpected outcomes! Jake and Faye surprised themselves by how quickly they clicked; their chemistry both compatible and steamy. Separating romantic emotions from duty was challenging Jake and Faye gravitated so naturally towards each other, but Ms. Diaz writes it with a fine tension; just with that bit of edge to keep you engaged.

In less than 250 pages, Missing in the Glades is fast-paced and meant to be concise. Do not confuse those features as a sign of mediocrity. I read a complete, fleshed out story unearthing secrets amidst an exotic backdrop. The wow factor is all Lena Diaz.

Reviewed by Carmen

Copy provided by Author