2. Once Gone by by Blake Pierce

#1 Riley Paige, FBI
listened on Audible (Chirp)
narrated  by Elaine Wise (lovely BRITISH accent....)
Unabridged audio (7:34)
2015
304 pgs.
Adult murder mystery/police procedural
Finished 1/6/2020
Goodreads rating:  3.93 - 18,599 ratings
My rating: 2
Setting: contemporary Virginia and surrounding states

First line/s:  from Prologue:  "A new spasm of pain jolted Reba's head upright."
from Chapter 1:  "At least the stench hadn't kicked in, Special Agent Bill Jeffries thought."

My comments:  This book is about Riley Paige, a female FBI agent working out of Langley in Virginia and read by a woman with a beautifully lilting British accent.  Talk about disconcerting!  I cannot imagine what the audio company was thinking.  I had to keep adjusting to the setting, every so often thinking that it was all based in Great Britain.  And then there was Riley herself.  A mom.  A brilliant problem solver.  An extremely smart agent.  She is suffering from PTSD, which is perfectly and totally understandable.  The depression, the drinking, the debilitating thoughts she had.  What I didn't understand was her recklessness and carelessness, and the made me dislike her, and eye-rolling dislike.  Her partner, Bill, seems pretty much like a dolt, a yes-man to her decisions and a constant "don't go alone" to her unheeding ear seem to be pretty much the sum of his abilities.  Will I read more?  There are a lot more in the series.  Perhaps.....
     Plus, what a crappy cover!

Goodreads synopsis:  Women are turning up dead in the rural outskirts of Virginia, killed in grotesque ways, and when the FBI is called in, they are stumped. A serial killer is out there, his frequency increasing, and they know there is only one agent good enough to crack this case: Special Agent Riley Paige.
          Riley is on paid leave herself, recovering from her encounter with her last serial killer, and, fragile as she is, the FBI is reluctant to tap her brilliant mind. Yet Riley, needing to battle her own demons, comes on board, and her hunt leads her through the disturbing subculture of doll collectors, into the homes of broken families, and into the darkest canals of the killer’s mind. As Riley peels back the layers, she realizes she is up against a killer more twisted than she could have imagined. In a frantic race against time, she finds herself pushed to her limit, her job on the line, her own family in danger, and her fragile psyche collapsing.
          Yet once Riley Paige takes on a case, she will not quit. It obsesses her, leading her to the darkest corners of her own mind, blurring the lines between hunter and hunted. After a series of unexpected twists, her instincts lead her to a shocking climax that even Riley could not have imagined.
          A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, ONCE GONE marks the debut of a riveting new series—and a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.