Cold Light of Day is the first installment of Elizabeth Goddard’s Missing in Alaska series. It is interesting, because the name might lead one to believe the series is about search and rescue, but it actually has a different meaning entirely. This book is fast moving and filled with danger and interesting events on nearly every page.

The Police Chief Autumn Long is one of the protagonists and her character seems a bit of a mystery. In some ways she is super tough and dedicated to her job and in other ways, she seems rather wimpy. It is a bit hard to reconcile both of her personality traits. It felt as though her character should have fought harder for her job and not just given up.

The story is interesting and has all sorts of unsolved, mysterious issues. Fortunately, by the end of the story, Goddard has addressed them all and wrapped things up in a neat package. Adding to the danger and mystery is that of a budding romance. This is not an easy, romantic read, but more of a trying to figure out why things are happening type of story.

Review of an Advance Reader Copy

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: None

Violence/Gore: Many scenes where people are being shot at, some blood mentioned and some fatalities; scene in which characters find a corpse and many references to this discovery thereafter; report of a character being grabbed by another; a character is abducted and drugged; a character is attacked and handcuffed.

Sex/Nudity:   Non-married characters kiss and embrace.

Mature Subject Matter:

Death of a parent.

Drug/Alcohol Use:  

Several references to a character reported to be drunk often.