I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Lost Hills
by Lee Goldberg
Series: Eve Ronin #1
Series Rating:
Published by Thomas & Mercer on January 1, 2020
Genres: Police Procedurals Mystery
Pages: 240
Format: Audible Audiobook, Audio CD, Hardcover, Kindle, Paperback
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Book Depository
Also in this series: Bone Canyon, Gated Prey, Movieland, Dream Town
A detective’s brutal first case could make or break her career in an exhilarating thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg.
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.
Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg is a fast-paced wild ride with a fabulous lead character and her various supporting characters solving what a most heinous crime is.
Will Eve figure out the Ape Man’s plan before it is too late?
Eve Ronin
Our main character, point of view, and a detective is Eve Ronin. She is the newest and youngest ever detective on the Robbery and Homicide division of the LASD. Eve got her position by social media. Yet, Eve strives to be the best at the job that she wants more than anything. She has had a hard life, and at times, her past dictates her moves, but sometimes it works to her advantage.
I like that Eve is fierce, with a strong will, and stand-up for what she believes in, type of person. She is an extremely complex person, and yet I was rooting for her from the beginning. The only thing that Eve needs to work on is finding a life outside of her job. However, I think that her partner is going to make sure he teaches her that point.
The Case
The crimes were terrible, and they just kept getting worse as Eve learned more. I won’t spoil it for you, but it made me pause that Ape Man was so sure he could get away with it all. What a sick guy. Add to the gruesomeness of the crimes, Eve’s past, and the way she is treated by all of the law enforcement officers in LA county, I couldn’t put the book down.
Five Stars for Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg
I love Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg. I wanted Eve to solve the case, lock the jerk in jail forever, and earn the respect of her fellow detectives. But even in books, life is hard. Lee Goldberg’s superpower is his ability to create these flawed and personable characters that you want to know more and more.
I am looking forward to the next installment in the Eve Ronin series.
If you haven’t read Lost Hills, you should. It is spectacular, and I highly recommend it.
You can also get Lost Hills on #KindleUnlimited. And Check out the interview with Lee Goldberg from a couple of years ago HERE.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg.
Until the next time,
This Guest Review is for Baroness’ Book Trove.
About Lee Goldberg
Goldberg broke into television with a freelance script sale to Spenser: For Hire. Since then, his TV writing & producing credits have covered a wide variety of genres, including sci-fi (seaQuest), cop shows (Hunter, The Glades), martial arts (Martial Law), whodunits (Diagnosis Murder, Nero Wolfe), the occult (She-Wolf of London), kid’s shows (R.L. Stine’s The Nightmare Room), T&A (Baywatch, She Spies), comedy (Monk) clip shows (The Best TV Shows That Never Were) and total crap (The Highwayman, The New Adventures of Flipper).
He’s written and produced TV shows in Canada (Murphy’s Law, Cobra, Missing), England (Stick With Me Kid, She Wolf of London) and Germany (Fast Track: No Limits). His mystery writing for television has earned him two Edgar Award nominations from the Mystery Writers of America.
His two careers, novelist and TV writer, merged when he wrote the eight books in the Diagnosis Murder series of original novels, based on the hit CBS TV mystery that he also wrote and produced. He followed that up by writing fifteen bestselling novels based on Monk, another TV show that he worked on. His Monk novels have been translated and published in Germany, Poland, Thailand, Japan, Turkey, and many other countries.
In addition to his writing, he’s worked as an international TV development expert and consulting producer for production companies and major networks in Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
But perhaps he’s best known for his pioneering work mapping the human genome and negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Goldberg lives in Los Angeles with his wife and his daughter and still sleeps in Man From U.N.C.L.E. pajamas.
Thank you for the great review!