Kristin's Bookshelf

The Search | Book 3 in the Juniper Springs Mysteries
By A.J. Rivers
Narrated by Tiffany Vanlandingham
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Another fantastic addition to the Juniper Springs Mysteries. This one leaned a little heavier into thriller territory than some of the previous books in my opinion, with a much bigger final showdown and higher stakes throughout (trying to save someone versus solve a murder).

But don’t worry… the romance is still there 🥰

I’m hoping a future book gives Kaylee her own love story. Girl has been through it! You never know, maybe some more ghosts of podcasts past can come back and bite her again.

I really like how Rivers continues to build on the characters in this series – while this one focused on Allison and Jacob’s relationship, we still see Carrie+Ryan and Avery+Lance.

As always, Tiffany Vanlandingham absolutely delivers with the narration. There are a ton of characters and emotions woven throughout this series, but she gives each one their own distinct vibe and personality. It never feels confusing or repetitive.

I did struggle with the doctor character, though. Between the voice choice and his absolutely wild malpractice-level suggestions, I spent an entire chapter of the book wondering how he was even in business and why Carrie gave him the time of day at all. Unfortunately, because Carrie doesn’t have the same strong, confident energy as Avery and Allison, she more or less let him walk all over her. She second-guesses herself constantly, apologizes for everything, and feels much more emotionally vulnerable, which made parts of this storyline extra frustrating. Imma need this girl to get it together at some point!

Overall, another solid installment, and I’ll definitely keep recommending this series!