Category Archives: Afton Tangler Series

Review: Shadow Girl by Gerry Schmitt

Title: Shadow Girl by Gerry Schmitt
Afton Tangler Thriller Series Book Two
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery
Length: 320 pages
Book Rating: C+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Penguin’s First to Read Program

Summary:

The brutal murder of a business tycoon leaves Afton Tangler and the Twin Cities reeling, but that’s just the beginning of a gruesome crime spree…

Leland Odin made his fortune launching a home shopping network, but his millions can’t save his life. On the list for a transplant, the ailing businessman sees all hope lost when the helicopter carrying his donor heart is shot out of the sky.

Now with two pilots dead and dozens injured, Afton Tangler, family liaison officer for the Minneapolis Police Department, is drawn into the case. As she and her partner investigate family members and business associates, whoever wants Leland dead strikes again—and succeeds—in a brazen hospital room attack.

The supposedly squeaky clean millionaire has crossed the wrong person—and she’s not finished exacting her revenge. The case explodes into an international conspiracy of unbridled greed and violence. And as Afton gets closer to unearthing the mastermind behind it, she gets closer to becoming collateral damage…

Review:

The second installment in Gerry Schmitt’s Afton Tangler Thriller series, Shadow Girl is an intriguing police procedural about a plot to murder a home shopping network mogul.

Minneapolis Family Liaison Officer Afton Tangler and her partner Detective Max Montgomery are among the first on the scene of a horrific helicopter crash. They quickly learn the crash was no accident-someone deliberately shot the helo out of sky.  The discovery the copter was delivering a donor heart for multi-millionaire Leland Odin raises some very interesting questions about why someone wants the executive dead. Their preliminary inquiries fails to offer a motive and before their investigation has the opportunity to gain speed, the killer’s second attempt on Leland’s life is successful.  Max and Afton are soon embroiled in the hunt for the person responsible for Odin’s death but will they locate the murderer before he (or she) strikes again?

Since Afton is hoping to eventually become a full-fledged detective, she is eager to help Max with the investigation. She often acts without thinking and in this case, she puts herself right in the path of danger during a suspect chase.  Afton is given a lot of leeway as she assists Max but will her impulsivity and personal feelings cloud her judgment as they struggle to solve the case?

With no motive for the murder or a viable suspect, Afton and Max are struggling to make any progress on the case when someone closely connected to Leland disappears.  A lack of cooperation by family members and business associates impedes their investigation and they often rely on gut instinct to uncover information. Through hard work, determination and a few lucky breaks, Max and Afton are finally getting close to finding Odin’s killers but a motive for the crimes remains elusive.

Since the reader is fully aware of who the bad guys are and what their next move is going to be, there is a distinct lack of tension as Shadow Girl  slowly unfolds. Despite the initial lack of knowledge for the perpetrator’s somewhat nefarious and violent plot against Odin, it does not take much to deduce the suspect’s motive for the crime. In this newest addition to the  Afton Tangler Thriller series, the lines between Afton’s position with the police force are very blurred since she acts more like a criminal investigator than a family liaison officer.  It will be very interesting to see what Gerry Schmitt has planned for her in the future installments of the series.

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Review: Little Girl Gone by Gerry Schmitt

Title: Little Girl Gone by Gerry Schmitt
Afton Tangler Series Book One
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller
Length: 329 pages
Book Rating: C+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Penguin’s First to Read Program

Summary:

In the first Afton Tangler thriller, the unforgiving cold of a Minnesota winter hides the truth behind an even more chilling crime…

On a frozen night in an affluent neighborhood of Minneapolis, a baby is abducted from her home after her teenage babysitter is violently assaulted. The parents are frantic, the police are baffled, and, with the perpetrator already in the wind, the trail is getting colder by the second.

As family liaison officer with the Minneapolis P.D., it’s Afton Tangler’s job to deal with the emotional aftermath of terrible crimes—but she’s never faced a case quite as brutal as this. Each development is more heartbreaking than the last and the only lead is a collection of seemingly unrelated clues.

But, most disturbing of all, Afton begins to suspect that this case is not isolated. Whoever did this has taken babies before—and if Afton doesn’t solve this crime soon, more children are sure to go missing . . .

Review:

Little Girl Gone is the first installment in Gerry Schmitt’s new mystery series starring family liaison officer Afton Tangler.  After a three month old baby is kidnapped, Afton takes full advantage of the unexpected opportunity to hone her detective skills when she gets to work alongside veteran detective Max Montgomery on the case.

A family liaison officer with the Minneapolis P.D. , Afton is a twice divorced mom of two daughters who is hoping to move through the ranks and eventually make detective.  An avid outdoorswoman, she is intelligent and tenacious with a keen eye for detail.  One of Afton’s strongest attributes is her ability to feel empathy for victims and she is determined to find Susan and Richard Darden’s missing baby.

While he appreciates modern technology, Max Montgomery is a little old school and relies on copious handwritten notes and good old-fashioned detective work to solve crimes.  Believing the truth will be found in the details, he is an excellent mentor for Afton as he teaches her a few tricks of the trade during the investigation for the kidnapped baby.  Max fully believes in Afton’s ability to become a topnotch detective and he always takes her suggestions seriously.

The investigation into the baby’s kidnapping yields few leads since there is very little evidence to go on initially.  Knowing time is not on their side, Max and Afton quickly look into the Darden’s background.  While the couple appear to be on the up and up, the detectives decide to dig a little deeper into Richard’s work history.  While Max and Afton are still trying to get a clear picture of why he recently changed jobs, Susan stumbles across shocking information about her husband but does this new information have any bearing on the case?

While Max and Afton are looking into the Dardens, their most promising lead seems to involve a woman that Susan met at a doll show in a local mall.  Drawn to the woman’s display of “reborn” dolls that eerily resemble real babies, Susan eagerly shows off pictures of her baby Emily Ann as the doll maker tries to convince her to commission a doll that will look exactly like her daughter.  With little more than a nondescript likeness of the doll maker, will their investigation turn up any viable information about the mystery woman?

Although Max and Afton are fully rounded, interesting characters, some of the other characters (including the kidnappers and an overly ambitious reporter) are woefully underdeveloped.  While the identity of the kidnappers is known from the beginning, the motive for the crime is not initially apparent.  It is quite intriguing watching Max and Afton slowly sift through the evidence to find the information that will break the case wide open.  Although the finale of Little Girl Gone  is highly improbable, Gerry Schmitt delivers a pulse-pounding and dramatic conclusion that will completely satisfy readers.  All in all a nice beginning the Afton Tangler Thriller series that fans of police procedurals will enjoy.

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