The Nowhere Girls

Detective Nikki Cassidy, #1

by

Dana Perry

Riveting thriller where the past comes hunting for the present.

The Nowhere Girls is the first book in author Dana Perry’s exciting series featuring FBI Agent Nikki Cassidy, and it is a riveting beginning. With its guilt-ridden main character and an intriguing plot where the past impinges on the present, readers will find it difficult to set this book aside. 

Twelve-year-old Caitlin Cassidy’s murder destroyed her family. Her police chief father suffered a fatal heart attack during the investigation, and her mother blamed her older sister, Nikki, for her death. Nikki shouldered the guilt her entire life, and it guided her to her career in the FBI. She couldn’t save her sister but would do her best to rescue other children in similar circumstances. With her past and commitment to this goal, she is ultra-focused on her work, even to the detriment of her personal life. Nikki has recently acquired a fiancé, one equally devoted to advancing in his own career with a prestigious law firm in Washington, DC. On the face of things, they appear perfect for each other, but the reality is the complete opposite. Nikki is a skilled and pugnacious investigator but has developed a reputation as a bit of a loose cannon and doesn’t recognize the impact the conflict of interest poses for the broader case because of her long-held guilt over her part in her sister’s death and her desperate need to find out the truth of what happened and why. 

The plot grabbed me from the first when her sister’s convicted killer requests a meeting with Nikki to finally answer her questions about Cassidy’s murder, and from there, the story unfolds with one twist after another. Just when I thought I knew where the story was going, something new would prove me wrong or change my mind. I was compelled to keep reading to find out how the author would resolve this very intriguing tale. 

I recommend THE NOWHERE GIRLS to readers of mysteries and thrillers, especially those who enjoy a professional female investigator. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours.