REVIEW: All the Missing Pieces by Catherine Cowles

In All the Missing Pieces by Catherine Cowles, Ridley Sawyer created her true crime podcast in the hopes of finding justice and closure for families who have had loved ones abruptly ripped from their lives. The catalyst for it all? When Ridley’s twin sister, Avery, disappeared five years ago, the night before their college graduation. She still holds out hope of finding out the truth about her twin, but in the meantime, Ridley is traveling the country in her VW bus investigating one cold case at a time. Which is what brings her to Shady Cove, California. A breathtaking tiny town on the edge of a national park, the locals are nice enough–until they realize why Ridley is there. Bringing up a heartrending event back up from a decade ago to possibly solve a case oddly similar to her sister’s, she learns quickly that danger can be found anywhere. Even while the local sheriff keeps an eye on her every move.

‘No matter how many interfering sheriffs got in my way. No matter what accusations they threw at me. I would find my sister, my twin.
Whatever it took.’

Shady Cove sheriff, Colt Brooks, does not have the mental bandwidth to deal with the chaos that Ridley and her darn travel companion–a three-legged cat named Tater–seem to have brought to his hometown. Especially knowing the podcaster will start digging into a case he hasn’t been able to crack in the ten years since it took place. But as Colt researches Ridley, he realizes that her podcast is done in a compassionate way that focuses on finding answers and giving families peace. And she’s been highly successful so far. It’s the attraction to Ridley and the feelings he hates to admit he has for her that has Colt doubling down on his need for her to stay safe. She has a habit of being outspoken and a bit reckless, two things that can get her hurt. Particularly when it seems the bad guy is closing in, making his presence known.

“You helped me find all the missing pieces. Even the ones I didn’t realize I needed.”

A romantic suspense centering around a true crime podcast that packed an emotional punch, ALL THE MISSING PIECES was Catherine Cowles at her finest.

‘I’d made countless promises to Avery that I would live. And no one made me feel more alive than Colter Brooks.’

CW: View Spoiler »Anxiety, agoraphobia, abduction, murder, PTSD, physical assault, opiate abuse (not detailed). « Hide Spoiler

I feel like every time Catherine Cowles starts a new series, not only do I want to immerse myself in absolutely *all* the details, but I also seem to fall in love with the setting. For ALL THE MISSING PIECES, it was Shady Cove, California. A small town with nice-but-nosy locals and surrounded by rugged terrain full of beauty at every turn, it was the perfect location for true crime podcaster and nature lover Ridley to hunker down and investigate a ten-year-old cold case. But it was the danger that kept creeping closer day after day that truly kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end.

I have to mention how much I love the book cover. It’s ripped right out of the pages and features Ridley’s tricked out VW Kombi bus. While we only followed her on her adventures in Shady Cove, she’d traveled all over the country in it with her cat Tater as her road trip buddy. As funny as it sounds, Ridley and Tater were oddly similar in personality: feisty, didn’t take any guff off anyone, but yet loyal and caring. And it completely floored–and frustrated–Shady Cove’s grumpy sheriff, Colt Brooks. Tater and Ridley were pretty much the bane of his existence. But they came to mean everything to him. The quick banter between Colt and Ridley and how fast she was to put him in his place was amazing. I loved everything about their (sometimes fiery) interactions.

As far as the case Ridley was investigating, Cowles had me suspicious of just about everyone in Shady Cove as well as people from Ridley’s life. There were so many layers and twists to the story. From information that was never released about Avery’s abduction–Ridley’s twin sister–five years ago to possible lies and cover ups in local woman Emerson’s own harrowing tale from ten years prior, it was a fascinating storyline. One that I think true crime fans will thoroughly enjoy.

QOTD: Are you a true crime fan? Have any favorite shows or podcasts we should check out?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: January 7th, 2025 | Sourcebooks Casablanca | Shady Cove #1

Sometimes the last thing you expect is exactly what you need, the final missing piece. And sometimes it comes in the form of a towering, broody sheriff, determined to get in your way at every step.

Ridley Sawyer knows what it’s like to miss someone, to feel like a piece of her vanished—because it happened to her the night her twin sister disappeared.

Now, Ridley channels that loss into hope, traveling the country covering cold cases for her true crime podcast. She might not have found justice for her sister but that doesn’t stop her from finding it for others.

Until Sheriff Colter Brooks gets in her way.

Colt knows what it’s like to have reporters descend on his town in the wake of a tragedy, and he’s not about to let a fiery podcaster stir up trouble. It doesn’t matter that her haunting blue eyes tell him there’s more to Ridley’s story or that he can’t stop imagining what it would be like to touch her.

But when Ridley’s cold case turns hot and she’s thrust into the crosshairs, Colt has no choice but to step in. Suddenly, Ridley’s living at his house, drinking his whiskey, and stealing his dog’s affections. But she’s also proving that she’s so much more than his first impression.

And as they get closer to the truth, the game they’ve been playing might just turn deadly…