Martha Holmes Mysteries 1: The Lost Girls

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Private investigator Martha Holmes is falling out of love and back into her life – or so she thinks, until a decade-old missing persons case comes her way. Two teenage girls have been missing for ten years, and their families have never given up looking. Desperate, the brother of one of the girls turns to Martha, relying on her solid reputation to find some answers.

Martha isn’t so sure she can carry the weight of these girls’ lives and what their disappearances have done to the community, especially when she discovers there are more victims. The shambles of her marriage have left her uncertain of her capabilities and unsure of who she even is. She elicits the help of her best friend, Daisy, to ensure the community hasn’t forgotten Ottawa’s lost girls. Is there a chance to find them alive, still, or will Martha deliver the news she dreads most? As she sorts through leads that aren’t what they seem, and as more lives are endangered, it becomes apparent this suspect hasn’t forgotten the girls either – and might not let Martha get to the truth, or to them.

Mystery and Crime mystery divorce detective-fiction womens-fiction life-after-love

Chapter 1

“It was fun.” The moment my husband said those words, every gale of anger was verbally beaten out of me. The anguished storm wi... Read Chapter

Chapter 2

Photographs immortalize time. Two people, hanging onto a dream, staring into each other’s eyes while reciting vows. His black tuxedo.... Read Chapter

Chapter 3

In Sex and the City, Charlotte York claimed one had half the amount of time they were with a partner to get over the breakup. Despite b... Read Chapter

Chapter 4

An after-work rush and a long line met me when I entered the Mirage coffee shop. Since it was still a little before six, I got in line,... Read Chapter

Chapter 5

That was how I found myself on that street, between three and four that afternoon in the space where Chloe walked when she vanished. Pl... Read Chapter

Chapter 6

Long past midnight, I sat outside of a cheap motel, with a camera in hand and my mind wandering to Chloe and Sydney’s case. While adu... Read Chapter

Chapter 7

Arriving on the Remmys’ doorstep with Thomas the next morning felt bizarre. To stand where Chloe had walked down the sidewalk for the... Read Chapter

Chapter 8

“I’ll be honest, I’m not sure whether I should be insulted the family hired a PI,” Detective Aaron Sparwell said, his voice tin... Read Chapter

Chapter 9

Of all the people on the suspect list, the gas station clerk seemed the oddest. Liam Sampson. Then again, he had worked down the road f... Read Chapter

Chapter 10

I returned to Liam’s accounting office a few minutes before five, after spending the day on other cases, answering emails and returni... Read Chapter

Chapter 11

“It’s so crazy to think it’s been ten years. I revisit that day so often.” I watched Diane, a former classmate of Chloe and S... Read Chapter

Chapter 12

I don’t know how long I sat in my car after I pulled into my driveway, staring up at the crystalline sky through my windshield. Diane... Read Chapter

Chapter 13

“You know, I always knew you’d someday land a case much bigger than your usual work,” Daisy said, looking through dresses on a ra... Read Chapter

Chapter 14

My keys clinked into the glass bowl on the entryway table. I set my bag on the chair beside the table. It was the first time I’d been... Read Chapter

Chapter 15

“Chloe going missing was hard enough. It was like losing one of our own kids. But Sydney… that devastated me. And I knew—I just k... Read Chapter

Chapter 16

My curiosity got the better of me over the next two days, needing details about Don Glacken I couldn’t pull from social media. It fou... Read Chapter

Chapter 17

“Glacken is still a driving teacher? Jeez,” Thomas said, shaking his head over his coffee. He took his sunglasses off and set them ... Read Chapter

Chapter 18

Notebooks, papers, sticky notes, pens, and highlighters covered Daisy’s desk. My jaw dropped when I entered her office, pausing to le... Read Chapter

Chapter 19

Don’s routine didn’t vary much in the three days I watched him. He left his house promptly at seven thirty each morning, then got h... Read Chapter

Chapter 20

Still unsure what to make of the find, I returned home, lost in thought when I approached my door. By habit, I grabbed the mail from th... Read Chapter

Chapter 21

“Max Vermer? We talked to him after Chloe disappeared. We had no reason to remain suspicious of him,” Aaron said. “Are you tellin... Read Chapter

Chapter 22

“A note on your door and now this? Martha, this is going too far,” Daisy said. I walked into her house and set my bag down. “I�... Read Chapter

Chapter 23

“Donald Glacken, we need to talk.” I stood perched by his gate at five thirty, arms crossed, a stern expression greeting him. He ... Read Chapter

Chapter 24

“Don wasn’t lying,” I said. “Max indeed left that yearbook on Don’s doorstep.” I replayed the footage when Daisy paused b... Read Chapter

Chapter 25

Isolated. Surrounded by trees. A single driveway in and out. And no telling if Max had any cameras on the place. A huge yellow and blac... Read Chapter

Chapter 26

Walking up to a high school as an adult always felt weird. The large brick building, name in large letters across the front, a Canadian... Read Chapter

Chapter 27

“No girl ever reported Don Glacken to us at the time Max states,” Aaron told me over the phone. I sighed, sitting in my car in ... Read Chapter

Chapter 28

I didn’t get out of my car on Don’s street until Aaron pulled up. If there happened to be a crime scene inside, I didn’t want to ... Read Chapter

Chapter 29

I waited out by my car, watching the forensics team, coroner and Aaron comb the scene for evidence. A heavy sigh escaped me when a body... Read Chapter

Chapter 30

“What do you mean, Max murdered Don Glacken? They haven’t spoken in years!” Max’s wife, Linda, stared at us, wide-eyed, arms ... Read Chapter

Chapter 31

“I sure hope you have a plan,” Aaron said while we walked through the trees to where we had previously watched the house. “So... Read Chapter

Chapter 32

How much fight and resilience did it take for Chloe and Sydney to survive what they did? Taken as innocent girls, returning to the worl... Read Chapter

Chapter 33

“We found Hailey’s remains on the property, and a yearbook belonging to Samantha Abraham. Max will make a full recovery and face th... Read Chapter

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Check out Lavinia Thompson's Book

Martha Holmes Mysteries 1: The Lost Girls

Available on Amazon and various retailers: A seasoned private investigator. An abrupt divorce. A string of missing girls. And someone doesn't want Martha finding the truth.

Learn More