Book & Audio Review: Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg

Lost Hills
Author: Lee Goldberg
Narrator: Nicol Zanzarella
Series: Eve Ronin (Book 1)
Publication: Thomas & Mercer (January 1, 2020); Brilliance Audio (January 1, 2020)
Length: 241 p.; 6 hours and 41 minutes

Description: A video of Deputy Eve Ronin’s off-duty arrest of an abusive movie star goes viral, turning her into a popular hero at a time when the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is plagued by scandal. The sheriff, desperate for more positive press, makes Eve the youngest female homicide detective in the department’s history.

Now Eve, with a lot to learn and resented by her colleagues, has to justify her new badge. Her chance comes when she and her burned-out, soon-to-retire partner are called to the blood-splattered home of a missing single mother and her two kids. The horrific carnage screams multiple murder—but there are no corpses.

Eve has to rely on her instincts and tenacity to find the bodies and capture the vicious killer, all while battling her own insecurities and mounting pressure from the media, her bosses, and the bereaved family. It’s a deadly ordeal that will either prove her skills…or totally destroy her.

My Thoughts: The first Eve Ronin thriller is an action-packed story. Eve has parlayed a viral video of her taking down an action movie star into a position in robbery-homicide for the Las Angeles Sheriff's Department. She been partnered with Duncan Pavone who is 163 days from retirement.

Their first case together takes them to an isolated house in Topanga Canyon where they find lots and lots of blood but no bodies. A woman and her two children were likely slaughtered in the house, but no bodies have been found. When the obvious suspects - the live-in boyfriend and ex-husband - are alibied, the case looks like it has hit a dead end. 

The LASD is already reeling from scandal at one of the jails and needs their new, bright poster girl to solve the crime and change the media's focus. Eve feels great pressure to prove that her new job wasn't only a publicity stunt and to prove to herself that she is up to the challenge.

A new suspect is identified, and all the clues lead to a certainty that he was involved. However, the evidence is circumstantial and not conclusive. Eve needs to find the bodies. 

I enjoyed the setting. Southern California with its connection to the entertainment industry and tendency to wildfires makes a great background. Eve, whose mother has made a career out of being an "extra", thinks Eve should capitalize on the publicity she's receiving to further her own career. After having her childhood disrupted by her mother's ambitions, Eve has no desire to pursue such a career. 

I liked the characters, especially Eve, and liked the way the tension of the story kept ramping up to a fiery conclusion. Nicol Zanzarella's narration did a fine job with the characters and the building suspense. 

Favorite Quote:

"Most crimes have a Walmart connection," Duncan said. 

"It's like six degrees of separation," Garvey said. "Only with Walmart."

"Almost never fails," Duncan said and went to his cubicle. "That's why I have Walmart's regional supervisor on my speed dial."

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.