Yeah…Just no.

It’s been a long time since I read a novel so blatantly bad. Just…bad. It really puts the low-budget criminal investigation shows in perspective.

I usually don’t like to give out about books. I always have a little bit of respect for an author. They take the time to write and navigate all the hassles to get their stuff out there, and that’s more than I can say about me. But honestly, this one just misses the mark for me.

Without further ado, let’s dive into the 1st book in a Fiona Red FBI suspense thriller series, titled ‘Let Her Go’, and written by Blake Pierce.

When the second body of a woman dressed in a white dress is found in a forest park in Portland, Oregon, the FBI gets involved. Agent Jake Tucker and Lauren Price take on the case and, in their pursuit of the killer, enlist the help of Fiona Red, a forensic examiner and entomologist. With her extensive knowledge of bugs and the like, they’re hoping she can discern something they would have missed otherwise.

Despite the fact that Fiona is part of the FBI, much, if not all, of her work revolves around examining the body either in the lab or at a crime scene, and carrying out related paperwork. She’s used to staying behind the scenes, but when she discovers evidence of importance, Fiona’s personal obsession with catching the bad guys might just put her right out there in the field, and perhaps even in the crosshairs of the killer themselves.

My first and immediate issue with this book was the choice of the narrator for its audio version. I found their voice unsuitable for this type of project, especially with an unnecessarily thick British accent for a novel taking place in Oregon. Why was this the pairing they decided to go with, I’ll never know.

All three main characters, despite the fact that they’re meant to be in their late twenties/early thirties, acted far more childishly than most teenagers I know. Gushing over their failed workplace romance, Jake and Lauren were a bad duo, with Fiona in the mix, repeating how handsome Jake is. None of them actually have the adult conversations they should be having with each other.

Just focus on your goddamn work! This isn’t an episode of a TV show. You have a serial killer to catch!

There is quite a lot of repetition in the novel as well. Despite the fact that it is already quite short (and thank goodness for that), it felt as if the majority of it was filler to try to prolong the poorly laid-out story.

It is just an incredibly badly written book, showcasing inadequate research for the topics it covers, and some of the more direct examples that stuck out like a sore thumb for me were:

1. Due to the decomposition of the body caused by bug activity, one of the bodies was said to be ‘barely recognisable’. They then proceed to ID her without any actual forensic evidence, based on recognising her face from the missing persons database. Make it make sense. Following this unrealistic scenario, they then proceed to ask her father to come in to identify her. Again, not with a DNA test or any sort of foundationally sound scientific method, but by physically looking at the ‘barely recognisable’ body.

2. Fiona goes out of her lab and into the FBI offices in her lab coat. How bad an entomologist is she?! This one bugged (you get it? :D) the hell out of me. As a professional scientist myself, actively working in a laboratory, you learn on your very first day that a lab coat is your last defence measure. It is a physical barrier that protects you, your skin, and your clothing from being spoiled by hazardous materials, especially if you’re working with dead bodies. Using common sense, that means that all those hazards physically stop on your lab coat, so you cannot just walk around in it back into ‘clean’ areas and spread it around to the general public! There’s a good reason why we have safety protocols in place, but clearly, the author did not do their homework on that.

3. Quite early on, with no leads to follow, but knowing that the bodies were stored in freezers before their disposal in the park, Jake and Lauren decide to investigate large electricity usage in the area. That idea is not bad in itself; however, after it leads them to a hunter out in the woods, who shows them his freezers filled with game, they leave saying, ‘not enough to convict him’. Convict him of what? You have nothing tying this guy to any of the victims. You went on a random lead hunt and investigated thoroughly a random fella in the woods based solely on his electricity usage. How bad of FBI agents are Jake and Lauren to be jumping to conclusions after a nothing burger?

Whatever way you slice it, numerous things simply don’t make sense in this novel. It seems poorly researched and haphazardly put together just for the sake of it. I wouldn’t recommend it in the slightest, but at the very least, if you find yourself stuck in this already, it is quite short, so your suffering will be over soon!