Lilling might seem like an idyllic English village, but it’s home to a dark history. In 1976, a teenage girl named Annalise Wood disappeared, and though her body was later discovered, the culprit was never found. Decades later, Annalise maintains a perverse kind of celebrity, and is still the focus of grief, speculation, and for one young woman, a disturbing, escalating jealousy.
When DNA linked to the Annalise murder unexpectedly surfaces, cold case detective Morris Keene and his former partner, Chloe Frohmann, hope to finally bring closure to this traumatized community. But the new evidence instead undoes the case’s only certainty: the buried body that had long ago been confidently identified as Annalise may be someone else entirely, and instead of answers, the investigators face only new puzzles.
Whose body was unearthed all those years ago, and what happened to the real Annalise? Is someone interfering with the investigation? And is there a link to a present-day drowning with eerie connections? With piercing insight and shocking twists, Emily Winslow explores the dark side of sensationalized crime in this haunting psychological thriller.
Release Date: Feb 13, 2018
Series: Keene and Frohmann
Book: 4
Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: William Morrow Paperbacks
Price: $10.99
Cold case detective Morris Keene is assigned to the well-publicized case of Annalise Wood, a 16-year-old who went missing in 1976 in Lilling, England. Her body wasn’t found until 1992, which gave people plenty to speculate on what really happened to the young, beautiful Annalise. Morris calls upon his former partner, Chloe Frohmann, to help with this case that has been moved back into the spotlight. Newly analyzed DNA evidence and a new murder that could be related threaten to turn the case upside-down before a solution is found, but Keene and Frohmann are determined to get to the truth of this complicated case.
Look for Her is the fourth in the Keene and Frohmann series, but the first I’ve read. The mystery stands on its own, but there was obviously a long story behind why Keene is getting over an injured hand, is no longer partnered with Frohmann, and has been assigned to work cold cases. The detailed background would have been helpful, but I was able to figure out the basics and easily connect with Keene and Frohmann and engage in the story. Also taking a major role in this book is likable therapist Laurie Ambrose who ends up mixed up in these cases. She’s smart and great at her job and is also a very human, worried mom of two college-aged children. The reader isn’t sure if Laurie will be helping solve the crime or if she’s a potential victim and that question adds to the suspense of the book.
The story of the cold case investigation and the new murder case is told in the first person, but with alternating narrators. The book is in large part a police procedural, which I enjoy, especially British procedurals like this one. For readers who don’t like the pace of a strict procedural, with the addition of Laurie Ambrose’s therapy session notes and insights, Look for Her also has elements of a psychological thriller. The book is well-written with a few different twists and turns that kept me interested and surprised throughout the book. As much as I liked the book being new to the author, I think readers following the series will really enjoy seeing how Keene and Frohmann cooperate with old colleagues to solve the case, as well as Frohmann adjusting to motherhood. I like the book and after completing it, I would be interested in reading other books in the series. I assume Laurie Ambrose isn’t a series regular, but I would love to see her in future books as well.
~ Christine
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I’ve been reading so many psychological thrillers lately. And this one is definitely on my wish list. It sounds really good. I’m an Anglophile and love thrillers written by English authors. English thrillers are my favorite!