Book Review: Lost Sisters (Ryder Nguyen Mystery, #1) by David Marshall Hunt

Lost Sisters by David Marshall Hunt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lost Sisters has an intriguing plot with an engaging main character, but a confusing timeline prevents it from really shining.

Ryder Nguyen, the adopted daughter of Gulf shore shrimpers, had been mesmerized by the exploits of John D. MacDonald’s famed Florida sleuth, Travis McGee, her entire adolescence. Her obsession ultimately led to a college major in criminal justice while continuing to crew on her family’s shrimp boats during her off time. Finding her soulmate in fellow Travis McGee fan and adjunct professor USAF Captain Slater Jackson, they fell in love and together formed their own private investigations firm, Slater & Ryder. 

A major cold case comes their way through one of Slater’s fellow pilots, Captain Tracy Billings, the great-granddaughter of one of the wealthiest men in Florida. Eight years earlier, her younger sister, Augusta, had gone missing from their massive and well-protected Florida estate, but the case had quickly gone cold when nary a trace of the ten-year-old was ever uncovered. 

Ryder, too, has unanswered questions about her own past. Abandoned on the steps of a community medical facility in Thailand, the only clue to her identity was a locket with a picture of a young girl and an infant inside. As tragedy strikes closer to home, Ryder can only forge ahead with the Billings cold case and try to seek out any information she can about her unknown origins.

Lost Sisters is the first book in author David Marshall Hunt's new mystery series featuring fledgling private investigator Ryder Nguyen, the half-American and half (presumably) Vietnamese adopted daughter of a Gulf Coast shrimping family. With its intriguing premise of reopening a cold-case kidnapping of a Florida millionaire's great-granddaughter paired with Ryder's look into her own murky origins, the book has great promise as a thrilling debut for the series. However, a confusing timeline, repetitive exposition, and a tendency to toss in people, items, and events before some necessary preamble hampers its success. Still, I enjoyed the story and was satisfied with what I read, even though I had to work for it.

Besides the premise, I found Ryder's narrative engaging; I was interested in her as a character and hoped for her success. Her hazy origins were intriguing, and her ultimate push to find the woman she thought might be an older sister compelled me to keep turning pages. I absolutely enjoyed reading about the Nguyen family's backstory and shrimping business. I could easily read an entire book devoted to just their lives, livelihood, and their experiences dealing with lessening their environmental footprint and putting up with ill-informed critics. I liked the story of Ryder's tugboat home/office; however, there are continuity issues with her possession of it. Initially, the owner tells her there'll be no rent and discusses and agrees to a name change for the ship to Ryder's Quest. Yet later, she complains that her landlord is increasing the rent and refers to her home as "Tugboat." Similarly, there are some inconsistencies with when she actually meets Tracy.

The references to John D. MacDonald and his famous "salvage consultant," Travis McGee, were fun, and I liked how the author used the influence her love of the series had on Ryder's future, such as her career choice, ethical considerations, and surprising connection it will create with her future husband. Slater is in the novel for only a brief period, and while I like the idea of Ryder having this ill-fated romance and its long-term ramifications, their relationship builds, taking up quite a bit of time early on, but too quickly becomes an afterthought. Yes, there is an obvious reason Slater is no longer in the story; however, it's almost as if he was never there, except for a certain complication.

I think the story would benefit from a little cleanup and reworking of the timelines, but I will be following this author so I can purchase the next book in the series. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to Ryder or what looks like might become her motley collection of employees and contacts. I recommend LOST SISTERS to mystery readers looking for a fresh and unique new private eye series.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.

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