Gone for Good barely made it into the Hit or Miss category over the Worth Your Time category. The primary reason for its classification is my own response to reading this and that is the great thing about my blog, my opinion matters (even if it only matters to me)!

I found myself unexcited by the characters but enthralled by the plot. As I find value in connecting to characters, I did not enjoy this novel as intensely as others did. I will be reading the second novel in this series to see if there is character development and if so, I am totally fine with the limited progression of character development in this novel.

If you are a frequenter of detective mysteries, Gone for Good contains typical characters found in this genre. I will note, I am basing this off of TV crime series as it has been years since I have read a crime novel; if you enjoy those TV shows or again, are a frequenter of this genre, you will adore this as hundreds of others did.

If you value a bit more depth in character, then this may not be worth your time. The biggest draw towards picking this as a read is that the plot is solid. If any part of the blurb intrigued you slightly, I say this novel is worth a read. It is a light-hearted detective read with plenty of room to grow and become a great series.

Gone for Good contains a fantastic detective mystery. There are moments that require the suspension of belief, I will never understand or look over characters making dumb decisions with a killer on the loose, but apart from those moments, the plot is great.

The beginning lacks suspense but the end contains enough to make up for it. A great plot with so much space for referencing and allusions back to this first case for future Detective Vega novels.

The characters are the weaker aspect of this novel. If you like fast-paced mysteries with impulsive and slightly one-dimensional characters, then you'll love these individuals. It is important to take that comment with a grain of salt as Annalisa Vega will be seen again and if she develops in future stories, then the lack of depth is totally fine in this work.

I was not a personal fan of what drove the characters but as I haven't read a detective novel in so so long, I can't remember if the composition of these characters including their drive is typical to detective stories. I am going to go with yes, this novel is highly rated on goodreads and I must assume the characters fall into top-notch for this genre as they are a core component of this book.

So, if you like detective mysteries and how typical characters are written, then you will enjoy Gone for Good, and you will enjoy it much more than I did.

It isn't something you would expect and that is perfect for a detective series. If Gone for Good had ended on a conclusive note, then there would be no jumping off point for the next novel. A solid novel in all that I feel other readers like you will enjoy much more than I did.

Gone for Good reminded me of a Criminal Minds episode with untied endings from the season being tied up in the finale and then bam! - something else happens to ensure another season is guaranteed. I didn't mind that but I've come to the conclusive I don't think crime novels are for me. Annalisa was such an impertinent character by putting herself in danger, having a romantic past with her current partner and not being professional about it, and having a relationship with a victim's son. Her actions were so predictable because I knew whatever the professional choice was, she wouldn't make it. Also, I am beating myself up that I couldn't figure out who the killer was until he was revealed. I CANNOT believe I didn't make the connection between 'Shoes,' and Barnes being in a wheelchair.

I watched a Brooklyn-99 episode with that exact same plot, a suspect in a wheelchair was ruled out as the killer due to their immobility only to discover that they were mobile, and how did they discover it? The dirty shoes! I think about that scene all the time because at the time of watching, it was such a compelling bait-and-switch, but turns out other writers use it too and is why I am so frustrated with myself I didn't make the connection!! This is why I would be a terrible detective.

It is also why I understand why so many praised this novel because crime-wise, it had all the perfect crumbs to pick up and play detective yourself and unless you are like me, it meant you got to enjoy being a detective too!

I did not expect Alex's relation to Katherine's murder. I thought it was the dad, turns out I was quite wrong. It is these moments why Gone for Good was so enjoyable to read, I just wish Annalisa had been less erratic in decision making.

I am definitely reading the second novel but if Annalisa does not develop, I think I will skip the rest. And, we must note that Gone for Good is going to be a fantastic movie. I really hope it gets turned into a movie because I will watch it as soon as it is released.