The Woman Left Behind by Kristen Ashley

Misted Pines Book 4. Can Stand Alone. Romantic Thriller/Suspense/Mystery

Thank you to Kristen Ashley and her team for an early copy of this book for review. My reviews are always honest and unpaid. This post contains affiliate links.

“I would love this man until my dying breath.”

I’ve been waiting for Harry’s story since the very first book in the Misted Pines Series and The Woman Left Behind by Kristen Ashley finally gave it to us. Widowed seven years ago, after only a year of marriage, Harry is now the new sheriff in town, stepping in after Leland Dern and half his department were taken down in a corruption scandal. His job? Sort through all the old cases and figure out what was overlooked—or intentionally ignored. That’s how he stumbles on a sixteen-year-old robbery case… and two bodies recently discovered a few states away that might be tied to it.

Sixteen years ago, Lillian’s loving, well-respected parents were accused of burglary. They didn’t do it—but they vanished, leaving 17-year-old Lillian alone and hoping someone would find the truth. Nobody in their small town believed they were guilty, and the community rallied around Lillian after they disappeared.

Now, all these years later, Harry delivers the devastating news that two bodies might be her parents. When he shows up at her house, something clicks into place for him—something that’s been dormant since his wife died. And here’s the kicker: Lillian has been quietly crushing on “Handsome Harry” for years. She’s been to town meetings, lives just a block from the station, and yet Harry had never really seen her before. Maybe it was grief. Maybe it just wasn’t time yet. But now that he sees her—really sees her—everything changes.

“She frowned at it. ‘Stop being hot.’
‘I’ll try.’
Her eyes lifted to his. ‘You’ll fail.’”

They get together pretty early on, but Harry, being the good guy he is, doesn’t want their relationship to begin while she’s in the middle of a traumatic investigation. He wants to wait until her case is resolved—until she’s truly okay. He was such a sweet, respectful guy, but with just enough alpha edge to make it delicious.

The romance was a strong part of the story, but the mystery surrounding her parents took center stage. Now that old cases are being dug up, someone is getting nervous—and things start to get dangerous.

“I’m so sorry you have to go through this with me.”
“Lilly,” he said sharply. At his tone, he felt her head move and her gaze on him through the dark. When he got the last, he stated, “I feel like the luckiest man on the planet that I get to be here for you while you go through this.”

This is the fourth book in the series, and while it could stand alone, the police corruption arc started in the earlier books, so I’d recommend reading them in order. As with most of KA’s recent books, there were a lot of characters—both new and from the previous stories—and reading a physical ARC over the course of a month made it hard to keep them all straight. I think if I had read it faster or had the audiobook, I wouldn’t have struggled as much.

That said, even when I was a little lost in the details, the romance made it completely worth it.

“Lillian had rested her cheek on her knee, but her gaze was on him, a look on her face he’d seen nuances of since he’d met her, but the feeling behind it was full force now, nothing buried, nothing hidden, nothing restrained, and it hit him like a rocket. There was gratitude, and such depth of affection, it felt like it filled the room, he was swimming in it, and the waters were cleansing and warm. And he’d been reborn.”

Likes:

Harry Moran is just so amazing—the way he truly sees her and tries to help in any way is just ~~sigh~~….
Brought out all the feels.
Lillian couldn’t have been a better heroine. Her strength and light really made the book special.
I loved Lillian’s found family.
The dogs were such a great addition to the story.
I always like how Kristen’s books are first person for the female and third for the male.
Mature characters who have lived a little.
Lillian had a history of picking guys not good for her—don’t we all? This made her more realistic to me.
How they were mature and talked—great, mature communication.
I fell in love with her parents through the narrative, even though they were never in the book.

Dislikes:

I had trouble keeping all the characters straight.
The couple was together and solid from very early in the book.
I found it a little slow—I was never racing to pick it back up, even if I loved it when I was reading it.

The Down & Dirty:

Kristen Ashley is one of my favorite authors for a reason. Most important in a book is for me to love the FMC, and Lillian was awesome. Harry is the perfect romance hero: protective, a good communicator, handsome, sweet, alpha, and lets you know how he feels and how much he appreciates you. Add to that he’s hot in bed? Yep—perfect romance hero. The Woman Left Behind felt like a quieter, slower Kristen Ashley book, and it brought all the feels. I wish my menopause brain was better at keeping all the characters straight—I had to search a few names to remember who was who. While I usually enjoy a mystery/thriller, this one had so many threads that it was hard to connect them all. But the romance? I LOVED them together. I’m excited to return to Misted Pines… but I’ll probably wait for the audio next time.