Losing Leah Holloway (Claire Fletcher #2) by Lisa Regan | Rating: ★★★★☆

As a note, a review copy of this novel was provided on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way. Thank you!

Lisa Regan effortlessly pens a second installment to her delightfully painful and thrilling Claire Fletcher series. As you would suspect, it comes with just as much tension and suspense as the previous chapter. While I enjoyed Losing Leah Holloway--and this new mystery--I did prefer the first book in the series in terms of pacing.

Five years after escaping her personal terror, recovering from years in captivity, Claire Fletcher takes a chance in rescuing a car full of five children after a mother drives them off a bridge. Losing Leah Holloway is undeniably a different story--new mysteries, old struggles--but still has that bizarre/creepy vibe that its predecessor had. Regan is able to showcase once more how rich her writing is and will leave you captivated; the hairs on the back of your neck sticking up from various chills and thrills. Lisa Regan has a way with making you feel on edge throughout the pages and this is her biggest gift. Her own personal calling card.

Much like with Finding Claire Fletcher, Losing Leah Holloway is more than its mystery and layers. It is about connection. It is about resolution. It is about hope. It is about horror. Regan pens facts and questions together easily and vividly; tying things up in a way that is satisfying to even the most picky of readers. She doesn't make things too difficult to solve nor does she make them blatantly obvious. As you watch the mystery unfold, you discover more and more about characters and the cruelty of life. It's very striking and at the end of the day, very fulfilling.

One of the things that I loved most about the continuation of Claire Fletcher was her past still lingering in the background. I don't care what you say (I have seen a critic of this) a victim does NOT forget or move on entirely. This is supposed to make your stomach turn, because it is true to life and all its horrors. It's perfectly accurate to have these flashbacks to her time in captivity. What she went through was traumatic and while it does not define her to a volume, it still is a huge part of her. Lisa Regan did the most appropriate thing she could in making sure this element to the story was still, at the very least, background notes.

And with the new mystery, it not only reminds readers of the novels roots--and introduces the newer readers to the first story, in case they had no read it--it balances out this new mystery and case. Plus, it offers a great amount of depth and the like to Claire's mindset, heart and relationships.

Overall, I really enjoyed Losing Leah Holloway and found myself on the edge of my seat once more. I am definitely looking forward to the possibility that this series will continue with a third book, though I haven't the slightest idea if it will. The perfect mystery for autumn.