Never Let Go by Elizabeth Goddard

Never Let Go by Elizabeth Goddard ISBN-13: 9780800729844 Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: Revell Released: Feb. 5, 2019

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
As a forensic genealogist, Willow Anderson is following in her late grandfather's footsteps in her quest for answers about a baby abducted from the hospital more than twenty years ago. The case may be cold, but things are about to heat up when someone makes an attempt on her life to keep her from discovering the truth.

Ex-FBI agent--and Willow's ex-flame--Austin McKade readily offers his help to protect the woman he never should have let get away. Together they'll follow where the clues lead them, even if it means Austin must face the past he's spent much of his life trying to forget. And even if it puts Willow's tender heart at risk.


My Review:
Never Let Go is a romantic suspense novel. Unfortunately, the story just didn't work for me. Austin deals with emotional trauma in his past by ignoring it. Willow can't help but dig up a person's past. This is given as the reason their relationship didn't work, so it should be great once Austin starts sharing about his past. Except her lack of trust is still a major issue. It's things like her asking (or agreeing) that he should leave, then feeling devastated that he's abandoning her (which he's never done). Or he's been doing sweet things for her and buys a necklace that she was admiring, and she's hurt and jealous that he must be buying that necklace for some unknown girlfriend. He even asks her, "Please, just trust me for once in your life!" And she does...once. Then she's back to assuming the worst about him. I don't understand why he's even attracted to her.

The mystery/suspense also didn't work for me. They followed up on a old clue and showed people an age-progressed picture of their suspect. People immediately know who she is. So why did the FBI agents not find her since they had a more accurate photo 21 years ago? And you know that the whole small town would have been talking about this young, single, local woman who, without getting pregnant, suddenly had a baby. And the one person who knew the identity of the Bad Guy had been killed by the start of our story, so I still don't understand why he was drawing attention (and a much more severe prison term) to himself by going around trying to kill the investigators. His tracks were already covered. And the girl still being alive was what was bringing about his ultimate aim. So why try to kill her and others to prevent her discovery? It just didn't make any sense.

And, finally, at about 60% of the way in, the story could have neatly wrapped up. So the author had Austin's brother basically reason, "Everything my brother has told me fits the facts as I know them, but I won't ask him why he thinks he's working for the girl's birth mother. I'll just assume he's been hired by the killer (who is now trying to kill them?) and do my best to prevent them from finding the girl!" Talk about forced. Willow's main job in the story seemed to be doing things without thinking about the consequences, getting attacked by bad guys, and trying to stay alive long enough for Austin to save her. This just wasn't my type of book. There was no bad language or sex.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.