Double Take (Madison Kelly #2) by Elizabeth Breck

 

Publication: October 12, 2021

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Source: Publisher

 

Synopsis:

 

When a young journalist goes missing in sunny San Diego, P.I. Madison Kelly learns the true price of knowing too much. 

It's a perfect San Diego fall--cool and crisp with bright blue skies. But not everything is right in the sunny idyll dubbed America's Finest City. Young journalist Barrett Brown has been missing for a week, and her boyfriend hires private investigator Madison Kelly to find her. Right away, Barrett reminds Madison of a younger version of herself: smart, ambitious, and a loner.

As she launches her investigation, Madison realizes that Barrett's disappearance is connected to a big story she was chasing--and she sets out to walk in Barrett's footsteps to trace her whereabouts. As the trail grows colder, things begin to heat up between Madison and Barrett's boyfriend. But he doesn't seem to be telling everything he knows, and Madison gets the feeling that her every move is being watched. What dirty secrets lie at the heart of Barrett's big lead?

If Madison can't get to the bottom of the case in time, she could be in line to become the next victim. 

 

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I was excited to jump back into the world of Madison Kelly again with Double Take. It was a very easy story to get into and my interest was piqued from the first chapter. I could tell right away that there was more to the story than meets the eye. This case was not your average missing person’s case. Not only was Madison trying to find a missing Barrett, but she was also investigating what story Barrett was looking into herself.  It was interesting to see how everything was connected and how it would all come together. 

 

This time, Madison seemed to have a slightly bigger network of friends/people she could talk to and who could help her investigate things. Even though Madison likes to do things her own way and usually by herself, it was a nice change to have her not do everything on her own and to rely on others, even if it was just for something small.   

 

There were a few red flags when it came to certain characters or situations that I thought Madison with all her experience should have realized there was something strange going on. Madison should have involved the police a lot sooner than when she did also. That just makes the story even more entertaining though.  All in all, I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to the next mystery that Madison aims to solve.  

 

 

RATING: 3½ OUT OF 5.

 

 

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Anonymous: A Madison Kelly Mystery #1 by Elizabeth Breck

Publication: November 10, 2020

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Source: Publisher/Purchased

 

Synopsis:

 

Madison Kelly, a San Diego private investigator, arrives home to a note stabbed to her front door: "Stop investigating me, or I will hunt you down and kill you." The only problem? Madison hasn't been investigating anyone--she's been taking time off to figure out what to do with her life. But how does she prove a negative? The only way to remove the threat is to do exactly what “Anonymous”, the note writer, is telling her not to do: investigate to see who left it. Could this have something to do with the true crime podcast she’s been tweeting about, and the missing girls?

The girls went missing, two years apart, after a night at the clubs in San Diego's famed Gaslamp Quarter, and Madison had been probing the internet for clues. She discovers that someone has been one step ahead of her, monitoring her tweets to prevent her from getting too close. Soon Madison's investigation brings up more questions than answers: are the disappearances connected? Are the girls dead or did they just walk away from their lives? And who is Anonymous, the person who will stop at nothing to keep Madison from learning the truth?

As she closes in, so does Anonymous. Set against a backdrop of surfer culture and coffee houses of San Diego, Anonymous follows Madison as she confronts the reality of the girls' disappearance in a terrifying climax where the hunter becomes the hunted--and Madison is running for her life.

 

******

 

Anonymous as an easy red and quickly caught my interest from the very first chapter. 

 

I have what could be considered a spoiler alert below. I had an issue with one of the characters in the book and his behavior but that does not affect the mystery portion of the story at all in my opinion. Still I am just putting it out there.

 

 

 

 

***SPOILER ALERT***

 

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I disliked the whole stalker situation. My main issue with it was the guy who was the stalker…he is a police officer and an acquaintance of Madison. If I remember correctly, he would sit outside her home at night and watch her. Supposedly because he was curious/fascinated by her. Madison even attempted to sort of sweep things under the rug and make it seem like it wasn’t that big of a deal. She never even reported him for his behavior. And the guy didn’t even truly apologize until the end. During the middle of the story, he said he was sorry he guessed…it wasn’t a big deal because no one got hurt and she didn’t really get scared…so I guess those are the requirements for a situation to be officially called stalking. Even when he did apologize Madison still tried to make it seem like it wasn’t a problem. I just thought it was pretty strange and I was very annoyed by it. Unless he was on a stakeout and watching her because she was a suspect or for her protection, it is creepy and unprofessional behavior. It doesn’t matter if anyone got hurt or not. 

So that was my biggest problem with the book. Luckily, he didn’t have a huge presence in the story, and I could ignore him and that situation…for the most part. 

 

Having said all of that, I did enjoy the story. It was well written and there was never really a dull moment. The mystery was appealing and kept my attention. It was easy to get caught up in the story and question what exactly was going on and who could be behind it all. I like a good PI story especially if the PI is a woman. Madison is an interesting character. She is smart, quick thinking, and determined to discover the truth no matter the risk. She did make some weird choices in the story though, that had me questioning her thought process. But that added to the drama. I am curious to see what other cases Madison gets involved in, in the future. 

 

 

 

 

RATING: 3½-4 OUT OF 5.

 

 

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