The Forgotten Girls - Alexa Steele - 3.5 stars

I decided to read this book for part of the Read Your E-reader read-a-thon/challenge. This a new author for me and I enjoyed the story. Glad that I got to this one and will continue with the next book.Synopsis
In an elite suburb of New York City, girls are dying. That doesn’t happen in Greenvale, with its immaculate lawns, exclusive yacht clubs and multi-million dollar mansions. But behind its perfect façade, its trimmed hedges and luxury cars, a darkness lies. Girls, dependent on Adderall, outmaneuver each other to get into top colleges, while the mothers’ need to live vicariously only makes it worse.

Bella DeFranco is one of the Bronx’s top SVU detectives. At only 37, she disarms everyone with her stunning good looks, yet she is as tough as most men—and a lot smarter, too. Yet when is summoned to Greenvale, she finds herself getting lost in a case that even she can’t comprehend. She stumbles into a land of secrets, a place where husbands hide their pasts from their wives, where friends are not what they seem, and where no one wants to know too much. As she digs deeper into layers of suburban dysfunction, she comes to learn that, behind all the fake smiles, there is a subtle violence--rivaling even her crime-ridden streets of the Bronx.

With a killer on the loose, time running out, and a new partner who never recovered from his washed-up alcoholic days, the odds are stacked against Bella. She is determined, though, to save these girls, whatever the cost. Yet as she gets close, the depth of psychosis she discovers shocks even her.

I liked the plotline of this story a lot which drew me to the book. I found that it was very engaging, I also found that it flowed very well, but there were parts that felt a little rushed, a little too clean. I was worried though, as I began reading, that it might be a bit predictable, but that was not the case at all. There were plenty of times that I had guessed wrong. I was so sure that I had the bad guy nailed. and then something new would come to light. This was more along the lines of a pretty dark read with a lot of sleuthing. It did however lack a lot of excitement that I crave when reading a mystery, but the dark side of the book gave it an edginess that I enjoyed.

I liked the wide range of characters in this book, you had your humble, smart, and talented characters, your high end snobby and uppity characters as well. I found that there were more 'love to hate' characters than there those you just love. Many of them I just wanted to slap around for their lack of emotion and just for being annoying. Reading it also made me thankful for who I am as a person.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery and a lot of sleuthing because this book certainly had that. I am giving it a 3,5 star rating because it does have plenty to enjoy, but could have so much more.