Review: Look for Her by Emily Winslow

Title: Look for Her by Emily Winslow
Keene and Frohmann Series Book Four
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 304 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss

Summary:

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.

Review:

Look for Her by Emily Winslow is a baffling mystery about a decades old murder that has yet to be solved. Although this newest release is the  fourth installment in the Keene and Frohmann series, it can be read as a standalone.

Morris Keene is now a civilian working in the cold case squad and his current case involves a recent DNA match in the long unsolved murder of teenager Annalise Wood. In 1986, Annalise disappeared on her way home from school but her skeletonzied remains were not discovered until 1992.  Advances in DNA testing reveal a match for a stain found on her skirt and Morris asks his former partner, DI Chloe Frohmann, who is currently on maternity leave, to accompany him as he interviews the suspect.  Although their relationship has been a little strained due to a previous case, the two still work well together.

At the same time as the Annalise investigation is finding new life, therapist Dr. Laurie Ambrose encounters two patients who have mentioned the missing young woman. One client’s obsession is due to the fact her mother knew Annalise when they were kids. Her other client has recently learned about a possible connection to Annalise. Laurie is stunned to learn that one of these two women has recently died and her death might be the result of foul play.

The two story arcs unexpectedly converge following the death of Laurie’s patient. Morris is still trying to figure out the implications of the information revealed during his meeting with the new suspect in Annalise’s murder. His investigation leads to a very unexpected conclusion which coincides with the suspicious death of Laurie’s patient.  At this point, Morris ends up working with a Detective Sergeant with whom he shares a tangled history but he puts aside his animosity long enough for them to make significant progress on the recent death. Morris then turns his attention back to Annalise’s case where he makes an absolutely astonishing discovery.

Look for Her is a twist-filled police procedural that is intricately-plotted and well executed.  Morris and Chloe are fantastic protagonists whose history is complex and quite interesting. The two story arcs intertwine in a unexpected, but completely believable manner.  Although the pacing is a little slow initially, it eventually hits its stride once the connection between Laurie’s patients and Morris and Chloe’s cold case investigation is revealed. Emily Winslow brings the novel to a stunning, but completely satisfying, conclusion. This newest addition to the Keene and Frohmann series is a clever mystery that fans of the genre are sure to enjoy.