All the Missing Pieces by Catherine Cowles

This was a really enjoyable read!

As a true crime podcast listener and massive romance fan this book felt like it was targeted to me specifically! 😀

I’ve read and enjoyed a few Catherine Cowles, I kept meaning to pick up more but I was too busy rereading books to pick up new ones. Well I’m trying to start the new year reading new books and when this one popped up and fit my #Romanceopoly prompt perfectly I had to give it a go and I’m so glad I did. She has also hurtled her way up my tbr!

The problem I sometimes have with romantic suspense and thrillers is that the thriller part of the story often takes a back seat to the romance brewing between the MC’s and therefore the ‘case’ feels silly, unrealistic or less fleshed out but I personally felt like All the Missing Pieces was the perfect blend. The love story may have been a little rushed but not at the expense of the overall story and mystery. I was so invested in Ridley and Colt and even more invested in catching the bad guy! A great combination!

Starting with Ridley’s reason for her mission was clever and made me pick her side every time she was being a little unreasonable. It was a heartbreaking beginning and her taking that pain to find a way to help other victims of what her family went through made her very likable. I also loved how she approached True Crime and as the years have gone by, I myself have chosen to source podcasts that focus on the victims and their families over sensationalising the monsters who commit these kind of crimes. I liked knowing that it’s highly likely I’d listen to ‘Sounds Like Serial’.

Colt was a total grumpyhole, sometimes to the point where I myself wouldn’t forgive him but this is grumpy/sunshine and Ridley is a more understanding person than I would ever be. I mean, I get why he was being an asshole, he has massive guilt around what happened to his sister BUT Ridley holds that very same guilt and you don’t see her going around being a dick to everyone around her. I do hate that men often get a pass for not being emotionally intelligent because they are men but that’s a societal issue that won’t be solved today! 😀

Some things I adored:

• Bessie – I can safely say that I will never, ever become a van life girlie but I am fascinated by them and will always look at van conversion reels.
• Princess Tater and her love bites.
• Bowser and his love of everyone but his instant love of Ridley most of all.
• Bear, Cheddar and Saber – Emerson’s dogs, I hated that she was so traumatised that she was unable to venture out into the world but I loved that she at least had Trey, Colt and her puppies!
• Trey and Emerson – I really want them to get their own book and I think that could be done easily in the guise of a copycat or something.
• The fact that the twist legit shocked the shit out of me. I usually guess these things from very early on and this one totally got me. Worth reading just for that!

A great way to spend a weekend, I’m so glad I picked it up. The dedication to this book is also very beautiful and worth quoting.

“For all those who have lost someone

they loved beyond measure.

Don’t let the pain harden you.

Let it become your reminder

that you experienced

the most beautiful thing this

world has to offer.

And for my dad.

Who would’ve gotten such a thrill out

of seeing my words in bookstores.

You taught me all the best lessons.

I carry them, and you, with me always.

Synopsis:

Sometimes the last thing you expect is exactly what you need, the final missing piece. And sometimes it comes in the form of a towering, broody sheriff, determined to get in your way at every step.  

Ridley Sawyer knows what it’s like to miss someone, to feel like a piece of her vanished—because it happened to her the night her twin sister disappeared.  

Now, Ridley channels that loss into hope, traveling the country covering cold cases for her true crime podcast. She might not have found justice for her sister but that doesn’t stop her from finding it for others.  

Until Sheriff Colter Brooks gets in her way.  

Colt knows what it’s like to have reporters descend on his town in the wake of a tragedy, and he’s not about to let a fiery podcaster stir up trouble. It doesn’t matter that her haunting blue eyes tell him there’s more to Ridley’s story or that he can’t stop imagining what it would be like to touch her.  

But when Ridley’s cold case turns hot and she’s thrust into the crosshairs, Colt has no choice but to step in. Suddenly, Ridley’s living at his house, drinking his whiskey, and stealing his dog’s affections. But she’s also proving that she’s so much more than his first impression.

And as they get closer to the truth, the game they’ve been playing might just turn deadly…