Title: Double Take by Elizabeth Breck
Madison Kelly Mystery Series Book Two
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery
Length: 328 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
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.
Review:
The second installment in the Madison Kelly Mystery series, Double Take by Elizabeth Breck is a suspenseful mystery.
Madison Kelly is a highly sought-after private investigator who specializes in missing persons cases. Her current client Travis Moore is anxious to find his missing girlfriend, young journalist Barrett Brown. She inexplicably vanished five days earlier without a trace and Madison is eager to find her. Retracing Barrett’s steps, Madison’s discoveries are vaguely ominous and her anxiety over finding the young woman kicks up a few notches. She soon uncovers the most likely motive for Barrett’s disappearance but will she find her before it is too late?
Madison has just returned home from an out of state case and she is exhausted. But her concern for the missing journalist is more important than rest so she agrees to take Travis’ case. Although determined to find Barrett, Madison is distracted by personal issues throughout her investigation. Equally curious and mostly annoying is her realization that she is being followed. But Madison is more concerned about finding Barrett than figuring out who is following her and why.
Madison knows where Barrett mostly likely was before she disappeared but the trail quickly goes cold. Her interview with Barrett’s boss Cornell Jones provides one of her most tangible and ultimately productive threads to follow. Madison continues follow each piece of evidence she unearths and the scope of her discovery is absolutely explosive. Unfortunately, her preoccupation over her relationship with her maybe boyfriend surfer Dave Rich and possible health issues leads to careless mistakes that could prove to be deadly.
Double Take is an engrossing mystery with a flawed but appealing protagonist. The storyline is well-developed and moves at a brisk pace. The La Jolla and San Diego settings are brilliant detailed and spring vividly to life. Madison’s quest for answers about Barrett’s disappearance takes a shocking turn and Elizabeth Breck brings this tension-filled mystery to a pulse-pounding conclusion. Although this latest release is the second installment in the Madison Kelly Mystery series, it can easily be read as a standalone.
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