Her sudden disappearance in the midst of a high-stakes quest to cure cancer between two rival billionaires sets into motion an inexplicable chain of events as the bodies start to pile up.

No one knows why she disappeared. The race to find answers ensnares everyone around her, one of whom is a deeply disturbed psychopath lurking in the shadows.

Is Rebecca still alive? What happened to her? Who did it? And why? Questions about her vex everyone looking for answers. No one can be trusted and no one is above suspicion…

I received a free copy of this book courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review.

As mystery novels go, The Girl at the Bar makes for an interesting read. When down on his luck ex-city trader Ragnar meets a beautiful woman, Rebecca, at a bar he begins to believe his fortunes might be turning around. Things really heat up when the evening returns to his apartment. That is, until the morning comes and Rebecca is gone with not so much as a goodbye.Ragnar is left to wallow in his own self-pity as realisation sets in that it was just a fling, or so he thought. NYPD come knocking on his door in relation to the disappearance of a successful medical researcher that Ragnar appears to be the last person to see. Rebecca is missing. Something sparks within him, and he strives to find her himself.

As the story develops and more horrific crimes occur, suspect becomes detective enlisting help from Rebecca’s colleagues, ex-boyfriend and people from her past in a race against time to save her from becoming the latest in a string of increasingly brutal murders.

The pacing is good, moving between the kidnapper, the police investigation, Ragnar and Rebecca’s colleagues, while still being easy enough to follow. At no point do the different strands confuse each other or inadvertently reveal the identity of the culprit. Motives are well laid out leading to anyone of a number of possible suspects all with potential reasons. The only thing that lets the book down for me is some of the text itself. Sometimes passages repeat an idea or even a phrase is repeated within the same page just reordering the same words. A minor detail that did detract from my enjoyment of the book, but still an overall good read.  

My rating: