Talking to Strangers is a wonderfully tragic mystery novel. The novel follows Detective Elise King and reporter Kiki Nunn as they investigate the murder of Karen Simmons, a middle-aged woman who was involved with dating apps.

The peek into the world of older women on dating apps and the creeps they have to deal with felt fresh and interesting — it’s not something I’ve seen covered in a mystery novel before. Each of the female characters was so well-developed that my heart broke for them.

Karen’s murder also echoes the murder of a young boy in the same forest, over a decade ago.  I loved the way Barton blended the current case and the cold case. She kept me guessing and intrigued throughout.

This one did start off slowly, but once I got to know the characters it completely hooked me.

Talking to Strangers is book #2 in the Elise King series, but I read it without having read Local Gone Missing, and it worked well as a standalone.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for my review copy of this book.