Alex Gates Detective London Mckenna 01 Girls in White Dresses
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London is first on scene of an apparent murder-suicide. The homicide cops are sure that is exactly what it is ... Lon
London Serenity McKenna is a Missing Persons Detective, most often charged with missing children. She is uniquely qualified for this position as she was kidnapped when she was a teenager. Held for 3 weeks in a basement with a madman who had cannibalistic tendencies, she eventually escaped. No one had found her and she is determined that she will find every missing child possible.London is first on scene of an apparent murder-suicide. The homicide cops are sure that is exactly what it is ... London has other thoughts. Seems like an open and shut case until she discovers that the deceased couple had a child, an infant, who is now missing.
Determination to find this baby leads London to a thin thread connecting this case with an abduction 15 years prior. And someone does not want that case re-opened.
She accidentally stumbles upon the truth .. runaway girls are being kidnapped and trafficked as child brides.
Religious cults, dominating men, girls being 'disciplined' until they become the perfect child bride, and then procreating to build a larger cult is what faces London as she tries to save the children.
This is a well-written crime thriller with lots of twists and turns and surprises. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen next, the author sent me veering off in a totally different direction.
I really like London. She's determined, she's fierce in her protection of children, and she works so hard not to let her memories of her own captivity define her as a victim. Her boyfriend, James, plays a secondary part of the story but he is London's mainstay. Being a psychologist himself who also works in law enforcement gives him a unique perspective of London.
I'm happy to see that London McKenna makes another appearance in HUSH LITTLE BABY. She certainly deserves to have a series.
Many thanks to the author for the digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
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London survived some sort of kidnapping ordeal 15 years prior when she was a teenager, and is now dating the FBI profiler who was as
I almost stopped reading this in the first chapter when the "detective" stomps her boots into a puddle of blood. Isn't that crime scene 101, don't contaminate the scene. Then she kept making all kinds of weird wisecracks that made me cringe. I stuck with it because I wanted to know what happened to the girls, but the main character, London, was an unbelievable mess.London survived some sort of kidnapping ordeal 15 years prior when she was a teenager, and is now dating the FBI profiler who was assigned to her case? That's a red flag if I ever saw one. And James would have been in his mid-20's at the time and assigned a huge case like that? Sure.
I don't understand how none of the law enforcement officers (other than London) were concerned that there were multiple pregnant teenagers living on some farm in the middle of nowhere. How were CPS not involved at the very least?
How did London continue to have a job (or manage to stay alive), considering her constant stupidity? Constantly putting herself in danger, NEVER waiting for backup, even a casual Law & Order fan would make a better detective.
And this, one of my biggest pet peeves: "That poor girl lived in a heroine den for two weeks before she could escape." What's a heroine den? A place where cool women like Wonder Woman and Ruth Bader Ginsburg live?
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London McKenna is a Detective with a history. Years earlier she was kidnapped and held in captivity for three weeks before escaping by a cannibal who ate portions of her body in front of her. Is she traumatized? Of course, but she, as a Missing Persons Detective, works hard for the victims. In this tale, she begins the search for a missing girl who had been gone for years, was returned home and left again. She finds the girl, another woman and a man all dead in what appears
Psychological ThrillerLondon McKenna is a Detective with a history. Years earlier she was kidnapped and held in captivity for three weeks before escaping by a cannibal who ate portions of her body in front of her. Is she traumatized? Of course, but she, as a Missing Persons Detective, works hard for the victims. In this tale, she begins the search for a missing girl who had been gone for years, was returned home and left again. She finds the girl, another woman and a man all dead in what appears to be two murders and a suicide. The search leads her to a farm where a cult is kidnapping young (preteen) girls, torturing them to compliance and then wedding them to the men in the cult for breeding purposes. It is a complex plot and surprisingly well developed. Thanks to the author and publisher for an e-Galley for an honest review.
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Author's style is difficult to get used to - short, choppy. First person, which is never my favorite. Plus McKenna says to herself, "I'm going to save those women" about 1 million times in the book. We get it. You don't have to say it every other page!
There were some positives - this author has promise. She had an interesting take on what started out as something rather formulaic (fundamentalist religious cult). While mos
This book needed more serious editing than it got. Probably self-published.Author's style is difficult to get used to - short, choppy. First person, which is never my favorite. Plus McKenna says to herself, "I'm going to save those women" about 1 million times in the book. We get it. You don't have to say it every other page!
There were some positives - this author has promise. She had an interesting take on what started out as something rather formulaic (fundamentalist religious cult). While most of the men were exactly the cardboard cutouts you would expect, there is at least a glimmer of difference in the portrayal of both the male and female leaders of the "family." And she understands that the people in these groups are not necessarily in it simply for money or power (as is often portrayed in books) but are really, truly *believers* in their system, even as incomprehensible as that may be to outsiders. Too many authors reach for the cynical "I don't believe this but it's a way to make myself powerful" trope.
I have the second in this series. I will probably read it. I hope Gates gets better with time - because there really *is* something there.
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The characters all seemed flat and two-dimensional; I think the author fell down in telling, rather than showing. None of the characters around London seemed to have been fleshed out - perhaps that will come in later instalments, but I found that I struggled to relate to them as the tension grew.
I also found
Maybe I have read too much crime fiction, but I was left slightly underwhelmed by this novel. It wasn't overly predictable, which was fabulous, but it seemed to be lacking in a few regards.The characters all seemed flat and two-dimensional; I think the author fell down in telling, rather than showing. None of the characters around London seemed to have been fleshed out - perhaps that will come in later instalments, but I found that I struggled to relate to them as the tension grew.
I also found that the pacing was irregular. The first half of the novel seemed to drag, but then it hit a point where everything seemed to happen at once. I wish I could say that it hit its stride, but certain (and key) plot points ended up feeling rushed.
All in all, it wasn't terrible, but not overly memorable either. 2.5/5.
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I hope this was either free or only 99 cents!
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Cora Abbott (27) & for now her unnamed male lover had been murdered.
Detective Lucas Riley (35) & Detective Joey Falconi (partner), greeted Detective London McKenna when she arrived at the crime scene.
Eddie Mayview (forensic tech) was fast at work.
A bible had been found with a verse marked.
Louisa Prescott came into the station & informed Detective McKenna & Sergeant
Bruce Adamski (57), that her sister Anna Pr
Cora Abbott (27) & for now her unnamed male lover had been murdered.
Detective Lucas Riley (35) & Detective Joey Falconi (partner), greeted Detective London McKenna when she arrived at the crime scene.
Eddie Mayview (forensic tech) was fast at work.
A bible had been found with a verse marked.
Louisa Prescott came into the station & informed Detective McKenna & Sergeant
Bruce Adamski (57), that her sister Anna Prescott (30) had been kidnapped.
It wasn't funny, but it happened 15 yrs., ago.
Alan Henry (25) was the other murdered victim.
Detective McKenna job is to find any relation/next-of-kin so they can be notified.
Frank Delain (landlord) unlocked the door for Detective McKenna.
Nina Martin (14, runaway), or aka Rachel Goodman (runaway) had a bullet hole in her back.
She had been in her house dead for quite a few days.
What did she find in the nursery?
Tionesta, PA. Detective McKenna (vegetarian) stopped by the bakery to get some cupcakes.
What did Debbie Riker, & Doris, tell her?
Detective McKenna made several interesting visits to the Harvest Dominion Farm (Alleghenies mountains).
Will Detective McKenna solve this case & bring someone to justice?
Warning: This book is for adults only & contains violent or graphic adult content or profanity &/or sexually explicit scenarios. It may be offensive to some readers.
I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.
A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. Wow, a very well written Detective crime thriller book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a large set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great Detective crime thriller movie, or better yet a mini TV series. A very easy rating of 5 stars.
Thank you for the free author; Booksends; Amazon Digital Services LLC.; book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
I am a mystery/police procedural aficionado who enjoys reading about strong, female police protagonists. Unfortunately, author Alex Gates has burdened her protagonist with cliched traits—probably in an attempt to add angst-filled melodrama.
Protagonist London McKenna: 1) has a horribly traumatic past involving torture and cannibalism, 2) works with misogynistic fellow cops who ignore her input; 3) disobeys orders and goes rogue, 4) contaminates crime scene
I am a mystery/police procedural aficionado who enjoys reading about strong, female police protagonists. Unfortunately, author Alex Gates has burdened her protagonist with cliched traits—probably in an attempt to add angst-filled melodrama.
Protagonist London McKenna: 1) has a horribly traumatic past involving torture and cannibalism, 2) works with misogynistic fellow cops who ignore her input; 3) disobeys orders and goes rogue, 4) contaminates crime scenes like a rookie, 5) has too many TSTL moments, and 6) survives every TSTL incident.
I can't believe that such a dysfunctional person—female or male—would be allowed to be a detective, let alone a cop.
Alex Gates needs an editor! Believe the earlier reviewers who've cited the amateurish writing.
However, I know a few book clubbers who aren't bothered by abysmal grammar—including spelling, semantics, syntax, punctuation, incorrect homophones, etc. You may like this book, especially if you don't mind the writing and grammar problems.
I am so glad that I have Kindle Unlimited.
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Detective London McKenna debu Based a bit on the strange Mormoneque cults that marry off their young girls to their prophet. Girls disappear, cowed women, someone claims a missing person is on the ranch, lots of violence and murder, a private safe farm world that offers shelter to girls in need, cops who are themselves prior victims and have to prove they aren't everyday, exploding bunkers, brainwashing, etc. Is there a crime there? Who is the liar? Who is telling the truth? Who is the criminal?
Detective London McKenna debuts in this novel of young girls gone missing. She uncovers multiple murders in her search for the missing and undertakes to rescue girls she believes are prisoner on a Mormoneque ranch in Pennsylvania, but no one wants to believe it. No evidence of wrong doing by or at the reclusive compound. A constant twisting and turning plot with plenty of red herrings and surprises. McKenna is also an interesting victim turned cop character, but kind of odd to have read this just after a similar character in THIS ENDS WITH HER. Wasn't planned. But there are more books and I may one day read them. ...more
All of the characters were interesting and fit together nicely. My main reason for not giving this 4 stars because I thought the characters could have been developed more thoroughly. Most of the insight into the character's history and personality was through the main character This was an enjoyable read. I could not imagine how this would end. At one point I thought both sisters died together which was not true. I do not know that was the author's fault or mine for reading past being too sleepy.
All of the characters were interesting and fit together nicely. My main reason for not giving this 4 stars because I thought the characters could have been developed more thoroughly. Most of the insight into the character's history and personality was through the main character, London. This left the book sequence more of a skeleton than one with full depth.
The handling of the serial killer that held London previously was too brief. The author should have at least explained in good detail what led up to her capture. I was fine with her captor never taking part in this story. ...more
London drove me nuts. She's incompetent as an officer putting herself and her partners in imminent danger multiple times. Her stubbornness costs people their lives.
Huge trigger warning/spoiler: (view spoiler)[there is a significant amount of pedophilia discussed in the story. At one point, London witne
This author's voice is not a good fit for me. I feel like every other sentence was an attempt at a noir detective's line. Was that intentional? Is this supposed to be a noir detective story? Hmm.London drove me nuts. She's incompetent as an officer putting herself and her partners in imminent danger multiple times. Her stubbornness costs people their lives.
Huge trigger warning/spoiler: (view spoiler)[there is a significant amount of pedophilia discussed in the story. At one point, London witnesses one of the men about to rape a ten year old girl, and the author drags it out until the last possible second before London stops it. It's disgusting and almost made me stop reading the book. The level of detail was not necessary to the storyline. (hide spoiler)]
Over all, an ok story but I don't think I'll read more from this author.
...more She has a heart of gold, loves children, has a hot shot FBI profiler for a boyfriend.
She has a little bit of a rough past... You will find out more and more about it as you read on.
This detective has at least four in her series so far.
She has someone who tends to write to her in short. notes. Not quite sure who yet but I
think she will let us on pretty soon. I have read the first two in this series. This review is
for both of them.
I thoroughly enjoyed these books and Detective London McKenna,
She has a heart of gold, loves children, has a hot shot FBI profiler for a boyfriend.
She has a little bit of a rough past... You will find out more and more about it as you read on.
This detective has at least four in her series so far.
She has someone who tends to write to her in short. notes. Not quite sure who yet but I
think she will let us on pretty soon. I have read the first two in this series. This review is
for both of them.
I thoroughly enjoyed these books and getting used to this new author , for me.
I love the way that I feel that these stories are going slow and then in a page or two
I find that I just cannot walk away away from these fabulous stories! She has been added to
my favorite author list as of now. Enjoy! ...more
The premise and plot of this book are very, very good. My feeling is that some parts were hard to believe. The protagonist, London, (I hate these pretentious names) seems to have superhuman strength and resilience for a "skinny" woman. Some of her quick recoveries are hard to believe. One other skepticism is her lengthy soliloquy minutes after being drugged and climbing out of a six-foot-deep grave in a rain/sleet storm while holding a huge man impaled on a pitchfork. Come
Good mystery, but.....The premise and plot of this book are very, very good. My feeling is that some parts were hard to believe. The protagonist, London, (I hate these pretentious names) seems to have superhuman strength and resilience for a "skinny" woman. Some of her quick recoveries are hard to believe. One other skepticism is her lengthy soliloquy minutes after being drugged and climbing out of a six-foot-deep grave in a rain/sleet storm while holding a huge man impaled on a pitchfork. Come on now. It's worth reading, but.....
One other thing from the grammar police: the author uses the term"better than me" and other comparatives about 50 times. It's "better than I," and so on.
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I love strong female leads but this situation does seem a bit stacked. All the men around her (except her romantic partner) are idiots - a little unfair. It was appealing that she is a survivor and that she chose a difficult path to fight against her traumatic oppressor by joining the police force. This storyline was frighteningly reminiscilent of an FLDS autobiography I read. The only kidnappings in that book were of adult female children but still scary and there were actually ma
Exciting read!I love strong female leads but this situation does seem a bit stacked. All the men around her (except her romantic partner) are idiots - a little unfair. It was appealing that she is a survivor and that she chose a difficult path to fight against her traumatic oppressor by joining the police force. This storyline was frighteningly reminiscilent of an FLDS autobiography I read. The only kidnappings in that book were of adult female children but still scary and there were actually many child brides. Leaders were imprisoned.
...more I really enjoyed the book. It was a very suspenseful plot with twists one doesn't see coming. My only real issue is that there is a great deal of improbability to even withstand suspension of disbelief. Also, there are a lot of spelling/grammatical errors.
I guess my bottom line is that it is a really good idea that could have been great if some serious editing had been done. It is, however, definitely worth a read.
Excellent Mystery/ThrillerI really enjoyed the book. It was a very suspenseful plot with twists one doesn't see coming. My only real issue is that there is a great deal of improbability to even withstand suspension of disbelief. Also, there are a lot of spelling/grammatical errors.
I guess my bottom line is that it is a really good idea that could have been great if some serious editing had been done. It is, however, definitely worth a read.
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Did to how it starts but once you get into it . You can not put it down. Many twists and turns. This is about cults and a very good book about it.
It is also about Pittsburgh. I love east of the city. I totally enjoyed all the city references ,the people . She captured life here as it is. I would recommend this book.
While this is a story of horror, it is far from a horrible story. There are so many children ( yes, that includes boys) that are, have been or be out in this position that I here are not enough years to shed for them. Thank you Alex I was happily surprised at your sensitivity to the plate of these girls
Detective London McKenna is good at her job but just a little too flippant for my liking. The plot was captivating and fast paced, and I enjoyed reading it. My only criticism would be that in the author's attempt to make the main character glib and "cool", she failed . Detective McKenna smartass personality was not as appealing as the mystery.
A Flippant FighterDetective London McKenna is good at her job but just a little too flippant for my liking. The plot was captivating and fast paced, and I enjoyed reading it. My only criticism would be that in the author's attempt to make the main character glib and "cool", she failed . Detective McKenna smartass personality was not as appealing as the mystery.
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A bit different than other books I've read. Written in first person. intersting storyline with a twist at the end. Only reason not a 4 star was sentence errors. If there are too many errors, I can't concentrate on the story. There were a few but not enough to cause me to stop reading. I would recommend this book to others.
Kept my interestA bit different than other books I've read. Written in first person. intersting storyline with a twist at the end. Only reason not a 4 star was sentence errors. If there are too many errors, I can't concentrate on the story. There were a few but not enough to cause me to stop reading. I would recommend this book to others.
...more Wow initially began thinking a bit slow however pace of the book picked up and couldn't put it down.
Story was slightly different from this genre and such believable characters along with a story which unfortunately could happen in this supposed civilisation
Ms gates could become one of my fav authors. Away to read book 2
Wow initially began thinking a bit slow however pace of the book picked up and couldn't put it down.
Story was slightly different from this genre and such believable characters along with a story which unfortunately could happen in this supposed civilisation
Ms gates could become one of my fav authors. Away to read book 2
This is the first book in the series.
No graphic sex or violence
Also some personal relationship development. Can't say it was as good as J.Robb, but if you enjoy Eve Dallas books you will like this one. What I didn't like was the typos, which jump out at me; needs better editing. The story was fast paced with continual twists & turns.
Strong female detective investigation with lots of twistsAlso some personal relationship development. Can't say it was as good as J.Robb, but if you enjoy Eve Dallas books you will like this one. What I didn't like was the typos, which jump out at me; needs better editing. The story was fast paced with continual twists & turns.
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