Review by Entrada Publishing:

The Opinion Page by author David Ackley is a suspenseful mystery that will leave readers guessing until the end. The book is not your normal detective novel. It’s filled with twists and turns, and amazing insight into the characters’ motivations.

Portland, Oregon police detective Galen Young is trying to solve two mysterious disappearances while dealing with his family drama at home. His eldest daughter was convicted of drug trafficking, leaving Detective Young and his wife to raise their grandsons.

As Galen Young’s family is taking up his time and attention, he’s also trying to learn what happened to Melissa Davidson. The four-year-old disappeared from the mall during a shopping trip with her mother, and detective Young is finding it difficult to develop any leads on the case.

Melissa Davidson’s disappearance heats up when the editor of the Oregon Sentinel’s Opinion Page, Robert Armin turns up missing. His wife, worried when her editor husband didn’t come home after work, contacts the police. Galen Young also ends up with this case and his desk, and during his investigation into Armin’s disappearance, he finds a clue to the Davidson case.

The editor’s abandoned car is found, and the crime scene technicians discover a blond hair in the vehicle. DNA testing proves that it belonged to Melissa Davidson, leading Detective Young to theorize the editor kidnapped the small child. As Galen Young goes over the editorials looking for a reason why Armin would abduct the little girl, more puzzles emerge.

“I’m sure she’ll turn up soon,” said Galen, although he knew that if her missing status stretched into a week with no clues or leads as to her whereabouts, the odds were increasingly unlikely.

Ackley draws readers into the story with his crisp, clear writing. Its format is similar to many of the police dramas that are popular on broadcast TV. There is the perfect amount of mystery and suspense, mixed with drama. Readers are not only familiar and invested in solving the two missing person cases, but in Detective Young’s life as well.

Ackley proves that he can write compelling and entertaining mysteries. The author of The Patent Clerk’s Violin has created a story filled with identifiable characters. Their lives are as complex as many readers, and even experienced police detectives can have disappointments and drama within their families.

Readers that don’t want to know the outcome of a mystery by the end of the first couple of chapters will love the many plot twists and turns in The Opinion Page. Just when you think you’ve solved the two crimes, another clue comes along. Anyone that wants a challenging and exciting mystery to solve will find that The Opinion Page has this and much more.

Publisher’s Weekly Review:

 

 

Review in the greatmysteriesandthrillers blog: “All men have crimes, and most of them are hidden.” – My Recommendations (weebly.com)

The Opinion Page by David Ackley is a compulsively readable procedural that takes place in Portland, Oregon. The story focuses on the kidnapping of a little girl and the disappearance of the opinion editor of the local newspaper. What at first looks like a typical missing person case quickly changes into a series of connected crimes that seemingly tie together the missing editor and the kidnapped girl. The author explores the detective’s techniques and gives us glimpses of real police work, mostly phone calls, emails, record searches, and boots on the ground canvasses and interviews. Ackley does a super job of putting the reader in the shoes of the investigating detective as we suffer along with him when leads die and people are hurt. The Opinion Page is an entertaining and engaging procedural that pulls in the reader and will release him/her only when the last page is turned.