Series: Nearly Gone #2
Published by Kathy Dawson Books in June 2015
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
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AFTER HELPING TO CATCH A SERIAL KILLER last spring, Nearly Boswell isn't looking for her internship in a crime lab to be anything more than an edge on her college applications. She's determined to get out of Sunny View trailer park and prove to herself that she's nothing like her con man father.
But on her first day, a girl from the trailer park turns up dead and an old ally of Nearly's calls in a debt that could jeopardize her future. Then the corpse of a missing person is discovered, buried on a local golf course - and there's a message for Nearly etched into its bones.
Could the corpse be her father, who went missing five years ago? Or is her father a murderer?
As a series of violent crimes with cryptic messages strike a little too close to home, her friends think she's being paranoid. And Reece, her recklessly confident boyfriend, is preoccupied with a new girl as part of his informant work with the police.
Nearly's going to have to risk her future in order to discover the truth about her past in time to stop a killer before he strikes again. And she might have to do it alone.
I finally read Nearly Found by Elle Cosimano, the follow up to Nearly Gone. Nearly Gone was one of my favorite reads in 2014 when it was released. I remember recommending it as a bookseller. & I was HIGHLY anticipating reading Nearly Found. (By the way, you can check out my review for Nearly Gone on my Goodreads page.) Fast forward approximately 3-years, and I have finally read Nearly Found. I didn’t read it back in 2015 because that was a transitional time for me. I was graduating, needed to find a full-time job, worrying about paying for student loans, and was moving back home. So I didn’t really have the money or the time to read Nearly Found. & To be honest, it’s probably okay that I waited. Nearly Found just did not live up to Nearly Gone, which was a 5-star read for me back in 2014.
Nearly Found follows Nearly Gone. The serial killer is in jail, but now his father is out on parole, the father Nearly’s father left high and dry. & People Nearly knows are turning up dead yet again. Oh, and Nearly also has a new internship at a forensic laboratory, which comes into play a lot during the story.
Nearly Found was a page-turner just like Nearly Gone. It had a solid mystery that was very complex. I enjoyed watching Nearly’s relationship with her peers grow. I just think for me personally, Nearly Found took A LOT of liberties when it came to the mystery and forensics of it all. I know it’s fiction, and I honestly could have lived with it if Nearly wasn’t an intern at a forensic laboratory or if it weren’t for that one scene. & Perhaps, it irks me a bit more because I know what the consequences of her actions could be despite her good intentions. View Spoiler »
The ending of Nearly Found was fairly satisfying. It wrapped up most of the loose ends. I was hoping for more closure, however, since this was the final book. I was really hoping for more closure for Nearly in regards to her father. The closure that occurred just didn’t feel complete or significant enough.
Anyway, if you enjoy YA mysteries and do not work in or with law enforcement, I’d highly recommend Nearly Gone and Nearly Found. They are page-turning YA mysteries with interesting characters, a bit of science, and a small paranormal twist, I guess you could say. If you have read Nearly Gone or Nearly Found, I would love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to share them with me in the comments. 🙂