Book Review for The Off Season by Kelly Simmons

 

The Off Season by Kelly Simmons

Published: October 1, 2024 by Moonlight Press

 Taken from Goodreads:  THE OFF SEASON explodes on the tranquil shores of the Chesapeake Bay. A headstrong thirteen-year-old girl insists her mother’s drowning was anything but an accident. She’s forced to tangle with the languid bay police department as well as the year-rounder adults and teens who might be complicit not just in her mother’s death, but a decades-old cold case. With echoes of GONE GIRL and STAND BY ME, it’s part crime, part coming of age about grief and longing.

 

My Thoughts:  A young girl investigates her mother’s drowning as the others have labeled it an accident.  I enjoyed this girls tenacity while worrying that at every turn she would find herself in harms way.  I held my breath as she found more clues, put more information together to make sense, and showed the police that the accident was not an accident.  I respected that the police officer saw that the girl was grieving and did not put her off from her task but gave her his ear to share her thoughts.

Kelly Simmons is not new to me, I enjoyed her past books and I enjoyed this one also.  She knows how to write a thriller with real characters.  The storyline has many twists and turns that will keep the reading turning pages with the need to know more.   I did find the ending a bit confusing and I am not sure I was able to follow it.   It could be tied up a bit neater. 

Thank you Kelly Simmons for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

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Meet Kelly Simmons (Taken from her website):  Kelly Simmons was born the same day as Dorothy Parker. Coincidence? She thinks not. She’s a former journalist, advertising creative director and the author of eight novels sold in a dozen countries, from Simon & Schuster and Sourcebooks. She teaches in the Drexel University MFA program, and is a member of The Tall Poppy Writers and The Liars Club, a nonprofit dedicated to helping fledgling novelists.

 

NEW! Additionally, she guest hosts the weekly novelist interview podcast “Liars ClubOddcast,”and just debuted a serial audio drama with Hollywood’s Speak Studio. If you love suspense and love audiobooks listen up to OPENTHE WINDOW.