Already Gone (A Laura Frost FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 1)

This is the first book that I have read from Blake Pierce - I want to read more in this series to see if his writing style improves!The main character in this book is Laura Frost, FBI Agent, Single Mother, and Recovering Alcoholic.I am going to split this review into pros and cons, because I do believe this is a great story, but I wish I had been able to read an Indepth review before I read this book.PROS:Laura has an established bask story, she has the ability to see visions which is mostly beneficial to her job as an FBI agent. She is divorced from her husband and has lost custody of her daughter due to her alcoholism. Throughout the story you will see references to her 60 day chip, as her ex husband gave her the stipulation that she is not able to talk to or see their daughter until she can bring him a 90 day chip from her AA meetings.I enjoyed the role that her recovery plays in the story - it is brazening for her, which is realistic to so many that have gone through the AA program. Her main motivation is to be able to see her daughter again, and this driving force seems to stress her out more than anything else in my opinion of the story.Her visions are difficult because she has a love/hate relationship with them - half of the time she wants them so she can find out more about the case she is working on, and the other half of the time she stresses about how much she hates them and wishes they would go away. Blake Pierce covers this in his book well as he describes her online searches for people like her, and how she always seems to come up empty after meeting with con artists and mediums that aren't truly having visions as she is.Without giving away too much of the story, Laura is trying to balance her family troubles alongside her commitment to not drink, handling her visions, and being able to focus on her work with her partner Nate. Pierce exhibits the stress that she is under quite well, which adds to the premise of her being an FBI agent in the story.CONS:My biggest complaints about this story, are the repetition and the impracticality regarding her visions and her work as an agent. The two things that I disliked most about this book were how the visions were portrayed, and how she would act upon the visions when it was going to be a fight scene.As far as Lauras visions were concerned, I think that she complains about them enough in the story that it draws attention away from what is happening in the moment. This happens for the reader, so I can imagine that Pierce wrote in this manner to show how annoying it must be for Laura as well. Such a strange, large aspect of her life that she is struggling to figure out how and why it works. But the visions and how she reacts to them take away from the suspense and thrill of solving the murder.When Pierce describes the fighting scenes, it almost feels like there was too much effort put into it than there needed to be. Impossible scenarios that should have left her with more injuries (or any!) than she receives are frequent, and in some scenes, it just comes off a little comical.Overall, this is a very good book that I will recommend anyone to read if they enjoy this genre! My opinions on small aspects aside, the author does a great job with providing mental imagery with practically every scene in this book. I look forward to reading the rest of the series at some point soon!

This was a good book. A few turns and twists. Great hook. Does leave you on a cliffhanger though! Wonder what will happen with Virginiaman

Well, Blake did it again. This series sucked me in from the start and didn't let up until the very last page. I'm exhausted now, because I seriously couldn't put this one down. I'm a huge Blake Pierce fan, for this reason, and the twists and turns to get you to that end, seriously don't let up. I can't recommend this highly enough for anybody who loves a good suspense mystery thriller like this one. I'm left speechless and blown away by yet another excellent read. Laura's struggle with her gift, and the other things going on are so visceral and real, it makes for an awesomely strong character. It's part cop procedural, part thriller and part, well, drama that sucks you in so deep, you're in it, until the last page, waiting to start the next book in series. Thanks Blake for having a talent with the written word to create something so intriguing you just get drawn in from the beginning. Enjoy th:is one, I definitely did. Now, I'm going to bed. It was one of those I couldn't put down until I read the last page. Awesome read. Night yall.

As I’m listening to this book on audible, I appreciate the writers attempts to build suspense in the main characters life (as it involves her struggle with alcoholism to deal with her psychic abilities, while trying to get the six months AA chip that her ex-husband requires of her, before she can see her daughter). The book seems to be avoiding the malapropisms and grammatical mistakes that tend to drive me crazy. However I am struggling with two things so far.1) The main character and most of the other characters who have been voiced so far, are FBI agents or politicians living in the USA. As great as this narrator is at bringing text to life with her voice, her British accent is throwing me for a loop on a regular basis. I’m finding myself constantly stopping to double check that this book really is set in the USA, with FBI (by definition American) agents and politicians who would not have British accents. i’ve become so accustomed to narrators changing their accent skillfully, from middle America, to American south, to British, to French, to Italian, to Russian,… That I don’t understand why this narrator is using a British accent for this book.2) another reviewer made this point: the American court system would not allow her ex-husband to decide what hoops she must jump through before she can see her daughter. And the American court system usually uses supervised visitation by a neutral third-party if they are concerned that the mother might be putting her daughter at risk. The American court system would not support the husband blocking his ex-wife from his social media profile which gives her the ability to stay in touch with her daughters life and achievements. (That is, unless the main character has made it a habit to be offensive or verbally abusive on his social media profile. Nothing of that sort has been hinted at.)

I liked that I was unable to solve this gripping story. I gave 5 stars because it was a thriller from beginning to the end. I am recommending this book to book club members.

The Already Gone is a decent FBI suspense novel, with engaging characters and an intriguing plot. However, the writing style can be a bit choppy at times, and the ending felt rushed. Overall, a worthwhile read for fans of the genre.

I would recommend this read to anyone who appreciates crime dramas. I gave a 5 star rating because that’s the highest praise that I could give. This story had me entranced from page one. I really enjoyed this book. Give the author a gold star and a cookie!

it was a gift

Embora seja fã de Edgard Alan Poe e Agatha Christie, o suspense policial nem estava entre os meus segmentos literários preferidos até começar a ler a saga Dexter depois de assistir as 8 temporadas da série de TV, pelo menos 3 vezes.Comecei recentemente a ler romances de suspense policial e iniciei com a série escrita pelo suposto autor americano Blake Pierce (suposto, porque existe a suspeita de ser um "pool" de autores e não um autor individual). De lá para cá já são vários livros, todos com resenha aqui mesmo na Amazon.É importante esclarecer que devido a reclamações recorrentes sobre as traduções dos livros de Blake Pierce eu decidi lê-los no original em inglês, mas como o público endereçado é o da Amazon.br, não me obriguei a escrever as resenhas em inglês, pois esta mesma resenha seria postada na versão em português, que neste caso parece não ter sido publicada até agora.Este é o 13º livro creditado ao autor Blake Pierce que leio e resenho. Vou procurar não fornecer "spoilers" relatando apenas impressões não cruciais ao mistério em si, apresentadas no desenrolar da trama. Laura Frost é a sexta série de detetives que li do autor Blake Pierce e esta primeira aventura dela me decepcionou. A personagem segue o padrão de mulheres com vida privada devastada no passado, nesse caso uma agente do FBI, alcóolatra em recuperação e por isso afastada da filha de cinco anos.Não que eu duvide da possibilidade de manifestações psíquicas ou visões, mas colocar uma detetive com esse instrumento como ferramenta para desvendar crimes me pareceu demasiado.As primeiras delas que acontecem nos capítulo 1, 2 até 5 eu passei, segui em frente, mas na quarta que ocorre no capítulo 8, com seu parceiro eu decidi que era hora de interromper. Muito psíquico para o meu gosto. Estou atrás de histórias de mistério, resolvidas com habilidades investigativas, não com dons sobrenaturais. Nada contra, por sinal.

Very believable, an unusual edge on crime detection. A complete character with flaws and issues that both help and hinder their abilities.Blake Pierce always delivers.

I love female mystery authors and Blake Pierce has, with her amazing talent, placed herself permanently on my bookshelves, next to Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh and Ruth Rendell. Just keep them coming!

Great story. Loved the storyline. Looking forward to reading more about Laura and her visions. Does she get Amy back?