Once Gone (a Riley Paige Mystery--Book #1)

Margaret Geraty (36, CPA) life had ended way to early. Her body had been dumped on a farm close to Belding. Virginia. Reba was tied tight to a pipe. There was no way was she going to get loose. The floor of the room & walls was cluttered with girl’s doll parts. Somehow someway she managed to get loose. WHACK! Reba did not get very far. FBI Special Agent Bill Jeffreys & FBI Special Agent Spelbren were at the crime scene examining the dead girls naked body (Daggett). FBI Special Agent Sam Flores, & FBI Special Agent in Charge Brent Meredith (team chief) determined the victim’s name is Eileen Rogers. A previous murder victim Reba Frye (daughter, nee Newbrough) had been found at Mosby Park. FBI Special Agent Bill Jeffreys went to see FBI Special Agent Riley Paige about the 2 murders. FBI Special Agent Paige went to visit with Senator Mitch Newbrough (State, father), Annabeth Newbrough (mother), & Robert Newbrough (son) about Reba. The meeting did not go well. Later the name Ross Blackwell came up (former toy store employee, probation; child porn). Ryan, Riley’s ex-husband/father gets their daughter April Paige (14) on occasion. Gabriella (Guatemala, 50+, nanny) takes care of her when she stays there. Bill & Riley payed Ross a visit. Bill & Riley’s next stop on the trail is to see Roy Geraty (widower). Evelyn Geraty is his 2nd. Wife. Cindy MacKinnon (LPN, wife) was opening the free med clinic for the day. FBI Special Agent in Charge Carl Walder informed Bill & Riley FBI Special Agent Craig Huang, & FBI Special Agent Emily Creighton, had been assigned to help out in the murder cases. Bill, Riley & FBI Special Agent Beverly Chaddick (victim specialist), were speaking to Nathaniel MacKinnon (husband 25+), about his missing wife. FBI Special Agent Craig Huang, & FBI Special Agent Emily Creighton, were interrogating Darrell Gumm (30+). Marie Sayles had managed to survive & made a special request to FBI Special Agent Riley Paige (PTSD) find the person that tried to kill her. Tic Toc who will be the next victim? Will the serial killer be caught & brought to justice? Warning: This book is for adults only & contains extreme violent or graphic adult content or profanity &/or sexually explicit scenarios. It may be offensive to some readers. I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one. A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. Wow, a very well written who-dun-it serial killer murder mystery book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great serial killer murder movie, or better yet a mini TV series. A very easy rating of 5 stars. Thank you for the free Amazon Digital Services LLC; book Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

The final line of the Goodreads synopsis states that the reader will be turning the pages "late into the night." That is 100% true, as I can attest. once I picked up this book, I absolutely could not put it down until I got to the last page. It was so compelling, so consuming, I had a need in my bones to know what happened next. The pacing of this story is exquisite. Fast enough that there are no dry portions that are bland to read through, but slow and methodical enough to give the reader ample opportunity to piece together the little foreshadowing tidbits that have been gathered up to any given point. As I read, I was turning the mystery over and over in my mind, looking at the information I had from every angle, trying to figure out how the story would turn out. What I particularly appreciate about Pierce's writing is that the plot is far from mundane or obvious. I never would have imagined what lay behind the gruesome murders of women in this case that pulled Riley Paige back to the FBI. And I tried to guess exactly that! I have always been a fan of such shows as Criminal Minds, and I felt like "Once Gone" read like a particularly detailed and insightful episode of the show. It was fascinating, and a thoroughly heart-pounding read. Riley Paige is what I consider a purely authentic woman. Strong, independent, driven, capable, compassionate in the extreme, but also human, vulnerable, and fallible. She is plagued by self-doubt over her ability to balance being a wife, a mother, and an FBI agent. She is completely relatable, and inspiring. Riley Paige is a woman of inestimable brilliance, and she strikes a chord in the reader as inexplicably being both a bad-ass superhero and an underdog at the same time. The reader knows with absolute certainty that they are rooting for this woman. I know that I, for one, am looking tremendously forward to reading the next installment of Riley Paige's journey.

Enjoyed this book. Kept my attention throughout the book and guessing the killer till the end. Good ending. Ready to read the next book

The story kept my attention and the writing was quite good- very fluid. I would have given a higher rating but I felt Riley’s actions were sometimes too implausible for a seasoned FBI agent- often going it alone- it stretched my credulity. It did keep me in suspense which is what I want reading this genre.

Loved this story! It grabbed me from the first page and carried the thrill through to the end. I have NO idea what some of the negative reviews are about with this book - it was NOT predictable and told a great investigative story about a strong, alpha female FBI agent. I do agree with the other reviews that an FBI agent would have called for backup on ALL of the instances where Reilly went venturing off on her own...especially after being a captive herself. The book tells a good, scary story of something that is believable. The characters in the story are believable, even down to the senator being egotistical, the higher up FBI agent thinking he knows everything and will not admit to being wrong, to the FBI partner and the chaos his life goes through. Anyone who has dealt with police will relate to these characters. I do NOT like spoilers, so i will just say that the book ends with a cliff-hanger for book 2 (just a warning). I am intrigued enough by this book that I will buy book 2 (Once Taken) and will also leave a review for that one as well. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a good investigative story.

Overall this was a good book. Well written, and characters pretty well developed. My only issue with the book is Riley, the main character, who is on leave while recovering from being captured and tortured on a previous case where she saved the life of a woman being held captive and was being captured. Riley suffers from recurring bouts of PTSD and is ambivalent as to whether she should be trying to help. So WHY would she put herself in danger of again being captured and tortured by the current serial killer she’s pursuing. She had called for back up. Why didn’t she at least wait until they would be on their way. Instead she goes to the deserted house where he is living and holding his most recent victim and after she realizes its the right house, searches it alone. And gets caught. It is a very exciting ending to the book, which I won’t spoil for anyone. But after she realized it was the right place, she still could have been caught by the sick serial killer while trying to leave to wait for her backup, with the exact same ending. Instead of deliberatly and stupidly placing herself in danger by snooping through the house alone. That’s why I gave it a 4 rather than a 5.

This is my first Riley Paige Mystery book. This book starts off with Riley's peers and her long time partner Bill Jeffreys discussing a case that Bill feels he should at least run by Riley but their boss Brent Meredith doesn't know because she got hurt really bad in the last case they were on. A women had gone missing and when they found her Riley went in to get her by herself and got hurt in the process but she got the lady, Marie, out of harm's way. Anyways she was at home on leave and Bill took the case over to talk to her to see what she thought. This book is really intense. We find out that Riley's mother was killed by this man robbing a 🍬 candy 🍭 store because she would not give the stocking faced man her 👛 purse, she was killed, she was just six years old. Her father was in the military until he retired and was living off the grid in VA somewhere. Riley has a fourteen year old daughter named April and a ex husband who her daughter can not stand at the moment. So with all this we find that Riley is drawn into this case. She has the unique and maybe unfortunate ability to get into the mind of the killer. I will probably do these books in doses because they are so intense. Blake is definitely a good mystery thriller writer. I would highly recommend if you love a great mystery told through the eyes of Blake Pierce. Good Read, get it.

Once Gone is a fast-paced, suspenseful mystery that kept me turning pages late into the night. The story follows FBI Special Agent Riley Paige, a complex and determined character who’s trying to get back into the field while recovering from past trauma. When a serial killer begins targeting women in a disturbingly familiar way, Riley is pulled back into action—and into a case that feels eerily personal. Blake Pierce does a great job balancing tension, character development, and plot twists. I especially appreciated Riley’s depth—she’s not just a brilliant agent, but a mother and survivor, which adds emotional layers to the story. The pacing is quick, with short chapters that keep the action moving. While some of the dialogue can feel a little stiff and a few plot points stretch believability, the book delivers what it promises: a thrilling mystery with a strong female lead. Fans of psychological thrillers and crime procedurals will definitely enjoy this one. I’m excited to continue the series and see where Riley’s story goes next!