The Next Girl: A C.T. Ferguson Crime Novel (The C.T. Ferguson Mystery Novels Book 8)

The Next Girl is the eighth book in the C.T. Ferguson Mystery Novel series by Tom Fowler. When Ashleigh Swain doesn’t return home at night her parents contact the Baltimore police. The police tell the parents to wait, which leads the Swain’s to contact C.T. Ferguson to find their daughter. As C.T. begins to search for Ashleigh he learns she’s actually the third blonde-haired, blue-eyed, seventeen-year-old girl to go missing. Brittany O’Connor, blonde, and seventeen went missing the day before Ashleigh. The clock begins to pick up speed when the first girl is found dead after being shot in the back of the head. An interesting read.

C.T is on the case again and working with his cousin Rich and the usual gang. Girls are missing and they look alot alike. The story drags you along and keeps you going until the end. I have really loved every book in this series and cannot wait for the next one.

Another exciting CT Ferguson adventure!

Things get real – and really bad, as CT faces kidnapping and sex trafficking as a few cases begin. Sometimes hope is an awful thing for family and first responders to have – especially when it is devastatingly crushed

The scars and bruises from the painful truths and mysteries surrounding his own sister’s death are freshly haunting for CT. Dealing with disappointments in very human and damaged and dead form are hard for this super hacker to swallow

At least CT has Gloria to lean on. A fluffy bunny, she still does her best to support her man when things get dangerous or go badly. Her ongoing work with the likely future mayor could well bring some bumps in their road ahead.

Davenport manages to be at the edge of several investigations without being enough of a target to be prosecuted, especially given his money and power. As CT makes his distaste for Davenport more clear and openly hostile, I would expect more than bumps in the trouble likely to find its way to CT as Davenport consolidated and expands his power and influence

Intense action, emotion and psychological torment in this well packed and painted adventure!

The Next Girl #8 – C. T. is back again with new storylines that move at a fast pace through the frustrations, the investigations and the pain of his newest case. Well thought out and vividly told, this is a difficult story to put down. The new characters run the gamut while the old do their jobs. It is easy to figure out the who and the why, but it is still an interesting, intriguing read. 5*

The C.T. Ferguson Series:
The Reluctant Detective #1 – This is my first read by this author and I like it. This story fits into one of my all-time favorite genres with plenty of humor, action and investigations. The storylines are good and realistic, and I like that the PI is a privileged person instead of a Mickey Spillane stereotype. C.T. also has an interesting past that plays a large part in this introduction. Add in his parents, his older police Detective cousin and a good supporting cast, which all make it difficult to put the book down. The pace is steady without any boring bits. This is one of the better edited books I’ve seen from an Indie author. 4*

The Unknown Devil #2 – Another difficult to put down fast paced pages full of intrigue, suspense and action. Unfortunately, this is my fourth read, instead of my second, but that did not detract from the meshing of previous storylines with the current lines. This book is well thought out in plot and character development along with realistic dialogues, realistic fight scenes and a smart mouthed character full of himself with plenty of good humor. There is infrequent use of vulgar language considering the criminal elements involved. Interesting information about the hacking of cellphones and other electronics. There is a bit too much detailing of insignificant information: clothing; cooking; etc., but still a worthy read. 4*

The Workers of Iniquity #3 – Even with the relaxed pace, this is another hard to put down book. There are multiple storylines happening and if that is not enough to hold your interest, here are a few more added. The characters are interesting and they have good dialogues and work in their roles. C. T. has been a PI for almost a year at this point. The solutions and the way problems are handled are entertaining; some have a good revenge edge and others bring rewards. The crime topics are more than loan sharking. 4*

Already Guilty #4 – I could not put this book down. Well written, fasted paced, and intriguing with great storylines and characters, a real page-turner. Bits reminded me of Lithgow and Denzel’s revenge movie, but the author does well making this his work. There are plenty of good characters, old and new, and the storylines merge well with the story’s plot and the past books. Of course, there is always something or someone to mess up the flow, but that is what makes the series interesting. C.T. is C.T. and you cannot help but respect him and his efforts, and he has a hard row to hoe this time with his special case. I do not know how the previous books flowed since I have only read the first of this series. 5*

Daughters and Sons #5 – I enjoy reading this series. Even though I have not read all of them, I have not missed anything due to the author’s talent for storytelling. The past is not thrown at the reader to figure out or reminisce over. C.T. continues to develop as more of his personality appears. He has good supporting characters, which is perfect to go along with the intriguing and interesting storylines. There is enough detail to make the reader a fly on the wall without the Hollywood dramatics or the usual stupidity found in this genre. Realistic with storylines, dialog and actions while immersed with good humor and quite a bit of smart mouth from C.T. 5*

A March From Innocence #6 – This story picks up a couple of weeks after Daughters ended. Well thought out storylines; good action scenes; intelligent dialogues; well developed characters on both sides of the law; and good humor with some romance. Clean but the topic is disgusting. Young children. Older men. Add some interesting ways that C. T. handles things makes this a difficult book to put down. 5*

Inside Cut #7 – Oh, dear. My first C. T. book that did not work for me. It felt incomplete, like not everything was there, no enthusiasm on Mr. Fowler’s end. True, I do not care much for college sports so the topic was not my cup of tea. I did like a past method coming to play; never think if something (or someone) is outdated that it cannot work in the present or future. Lack of education and experience is easy to beat. The storylines dragged a bit for me but the characters were good, like always. I disagree with the outcome on Eddie, the old family friend should have his due. Although, the way the storyline went on involving Bruno in the first place did not work for me. C. T. came through and did his usual good work helping others and correcting the outcome of an uncovered crime. While this story is not on par with the others in this series, it is still an OK read. 3*

Novellas:
Hong Kong Dangerous, prequel – This is an interesting introduction to C.T. and his cousin Rick. The events in this short, quickly read novella lays the path to C. T. becoming PI. C.T. is in HK hacking and being a nuisance to the Chinese government. He and his cohorts are arrested and C.T. finds himself in prison. Rick is a sergeant in the Bmore police force working hard to become a detective. A few of the other repeat characters are mentioned but not in detail. 4*

3.5 Red City Blues – This is an interesting read perfect for quick getaway. The timeline is a year after he starts his PI business. A basic well told story with none of the usual detailed cooking or running scenes. 4*
The C.T. Ferguson Series end.

My fav PI, C. T. Ferguson has a knack for investigating (savvy hacking skills help). In The Next Girl, the hacks produce very little and tension builds with each obstacle he faces. That would include author, Tom Fowler’s play by play of C. T.’s martial arts at work as he races against the clock. Stress and fear of failing brings out his vulnerable side and readers get a most exciting, engaging great read. Cannot leave out romance, Gloria is still there to take care of that. Don’t miss this book, it’s the best!! In fact, the series is the best. It’s at the top of my favs and I recommend it for all readers. I received this ARC for an honest review. Love C. T. ! Gloria? I’m still jealous!