While I’m a fan of Paige Shelton’s Alaska Wild series, in my opinion, Lost Hours isn’t the best of the five books. I found it confusing at times, with too many plotlines to keep straight. And, with the cliffhanger ending that I suspected was coming, I don’t know that I’m really excited about the next book.
Beth Rivers has been in Benedict, Alaska for a year now. She fled there after she was kidnapped and held in a van for three days. Now that her kidnapper has been arrested, newspaper articles revealed she writes bestselling thrillers as Elizabeth Fairchild. She’s learned to appreciate her life in Benedict. But, she hadn’t yet had the chance to see glaciers, so she and her “man friend”, Tex, go on a tour boat, only to have the tour interrupted.
The boat has to rescue a woman from a nearby island. She’s covered in blood, and insists she was a kidnap victim, but a bear killed her kidnapper. As a victim herself, Beth agrees to talk with the woman, identified as Sadie. Although Sadie secretly reveals she’s in the Witness Protection Program, something about Sadie’s story seems a little off. Beth accepts it at face value, but feels she has to tell Police Chief Gril Samuels what she’s learned. And, Gril has reservations about Sadie.
When the tour boat turned back, a smaller boat was in its lane, a boat piloted by Beth’s father, Eddy. She still hasn’t decided how she feels about him being there, since he disappeared from her life when she was young. He’s been patient while she decides. It’s Eddy who introduces Beth to a family, the Duponts, including their teen daughter, Gracie. Gracie appears to be a big fan of Beth’s books. When she disappears on a boat trip to the island, Beth feels a little responsible.
As I said, I thought there were too many plotlines – Sadie’s somewhat unlikely story, Gracie’s disappearance, Beth’s connection to her past and the kidnapper. Throw in an escaped prisoner in Alaska, and there are a few too many unusual occurrences for my taste.
As always, the residents of Benedict are my favorite part of the books. They all have secrets. We don’t know all the backstories. But, they come together to support each other and take care of Benedict. That’s the best part of Lost Hours.
Paige Shelton’s website is https://www.paigeshelton.com/
Lost Hours by Paige Shelton. Minotaur Books, 2023. ISBN 9781250846617 (hardcover), 288p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a galley through NetGalley to review for a journal.
