Whatever Happened to Betsy Blake?: A haunting psychological thriller (The Lenny Moon series)

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It’s fast paced and easy to follow. Other than Betsy and Gordon, the characters aren’t particularly likable. In fact, a lot of the side story felt kind of like a suspension from reality: the premise of his surgery being wholly dependent on him keeping his heart rate below a certain number seemed unfeasible - anyone with a heart problem in need of that type of surgery wouldn’t have a heart rate under 100 BPM. Never mind that the stress of facing surgery and death would have raised it astronomically. Then there’s the PI who acted more like a bumbling teenager than a seasoned investigator/former police officer. Or the major mob boss who runs around smoking weed and happy to talk about his money laundering with any and everyone? All this to say that the details of the story were pretty far fetched. Nor did it seem realistic that these people would be able to find out what really happened to Betsy Blake in a few hours. But surely rookie PI Lenny Moon – who has little or no experience in such high-profile investigating – doesn’t have what it takes to make a breakthrough in this case before Gordon is put to sleep.

David B. Lyon’s previous book, Midday, was one of the most surprising books I read last year. So when I was approached to read his next book, I didn’t hesitate, fully expecting another clever and tense plot and that is exactly what I got! I took to Lenny. He had a simplicity about him that was endearing. Ok he was after the reward but he also had Gordon’s best interest at heart. Gordon you felt for being in such a predicament but he had had seventeen years to do this. The Nurse Elaine doing her utmost to try and keep Gordon’s heart suitable for surgery whilst all the time the search is ongoing. I won’t give anything away other than to say prepare for the unexpected. I should have seen that coming!! Clever, brilliant, gripping. 5* all the way. An enjoyable enough read and a hard one to discuss in any great detail without running the risk of spoiling it for someone who might want to read it later. At one point I thought I got the answer and the author immediately debunked it, as if he could read my mind! Then I was presented with a conclusion I wasn’t satisfied with. And with just a couple of chapters left, I couldn’t help but wonder how the book will end. What happened to Betsy? Lenny did all this for nothing? I read all this for nothing? Well worth the time invested in reading it. I'd be curious to hear other seasoned crime-mystery-thriller readers' reactions, to see if they caught what I missed.

"What a fantastic, intense, addictive, and incredibly clever read which definitely left me guessing until the very last page"

I couldn’t fathom the fact that David just wrote another mind blowing book! I was on the edge the whole time, reading and thinking and trying to piece it together but I failed so miserably and I AM HAPPY ABOUT IT! Every chapter is charged with tension, and the last sentences of each of them are such great read-on prompts. I was glued to my kindle for two complete days. I couldn’t help myself but continue reading it.

If your daughter went missing, how many years would it take for you to admit she’s never coming home? When he is informed he must undergo major heart surgery that he only has a fifty percent chance of surviving, Gordon Blake hires a local PI to give the investigation one last try. But surely rookie PI Lenny Moon – who has little or no experience in such high-profile investigating – doesn’t have what it takes to make a breakthrough in this case before Gordon is put to sleep. …or does he?

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The chapters come in alternating heartbreak of a guilt-ridden father that took his eye from his 4-year-old child playing in the street just for a second, then she was gone, to a terrified Betsy telling how she had been playing when a man put his hand over her mouth and whisked her away in his car and into his cellar. Some 17 years had passed and Gordan Blake is now in hospital waiting for an operation where he only has a 50% survival rate and he was no nearer to finding out who had taken her. As far as everyone else is concerned the case is closed.

The story increases in speed and intensity as Gordon Blake’s operation approaches and time for Lenny and Betsy is running out, then it becomes completely unbearable. OMG, these words just sizzled. I so wanted Gordan to pull through as I had grown so very fond of this man and yet the house would be life-changing for Lenny Moon and his complicated family. But most of all what of Betsy? This is one mind-blowing story where you need to read to find out ………………………. Whatever Happened to Betsy Blake? Best book of the year" - The Book Magnet If your daughter went missing, how many years would it take for you to admit she’s never coming home? Setting - Dublin - my hometown birthplace, albeit half a century ago..... car journeys, taxi rides, home visits for interviews, a hospital ward and a cellar or two. The writing – amazing! The pace – amazing! The structure – amazing! The characters – amazing! The twists and turns – amazing! The final reveal – amazing! The intelligence behind writing this book – AMAZING! But surely rookie PI Lenny Moon – who has little or no experience in such high-profile investigating – doesn’t have what it takes to make a breakthrough in this case before Gordon is put to sleepIrish author David B. Lyons was raised in Dublin where his 2019 mystery, Whatever Happened to Betsy Blake, takes place. A little girl named Betsy had been kidnapped 17 years before at age 4 and has been missing ever since. Seventeen years ago, four year old Betsy Blake disappeared. She was never found. Now, her father Gordon is in hospital awaiting surgery. His odds of surviving aren’t exactly great. Gordon’s biggest fear is dying on the operating table, not knowing what happened to his daughter. So he hires a private investigator, Lenny Moon, who has exactly five hours to find out whatever happened to Betsy Blake. Can Lenny achieve what police have failed to do?