What do readers think of Valley of the Lost by Vicki Delany? Write your own review.

A fun, fast-paced mystery set in a small mountain town in British Columbia. Smith and Winters, the police team who are the mainstays on the case, both come with backgrounds and baggage that makes us want to know more about their histories, which we hope the author will provide through additional books in the series. Written with a great sense of place and character development.

This is a sequel to Vicki Delany's first book, In The Shadow of the Glacier - and a good one, too. My only negative comment is that if one has not read the first book, it's easy to get confused, as some things that occurred in the first book are not recapped in the second. Otherwise, the characters are engaging and likable, the mystery is fast-paced and intriguing, with a neat twist and a satisfactory ending. I am looking forward to reading more in this series.

Valley of the Lost has an unusual cast of characters, from an aging hippie mother to a young female officer who still lives at home , victim that no one know anything about and an infant left at the scene. That being said the characters never seemed quite fleshed out to me. I usually become attached to the characters while reading a book but that never happened with this book. The plot had some good twists but didn't flow. I would read this book if it was the only one I brought on a plane otherwise I would look for something else to read.

Funky characters, beautiful setting and interesting plot turns made this an OK mystery. I liked the flowery and very descriptive writing in the beginning, but it got to be a little too much by the end. I read the first two thirds of the book easily, but it took much longer to read the last third.

Although this was a second book in a series, and I have not read the first book, I did not feel that I was missing too much information that it hindered my enjoyment of this book.

Satisfying, but not spectacular. Would most likely appeal to those who already love mysteries.

A colorful setting in the southeastern corner of British Columbia, strong, realistic characters, and a suspenseful gripping plot make this mystery novel a fascinating read. It is the second novel (do read the first) in a series featuring young Constable Molly
Smith of the Trafalgar Police,along with her sergeant, her family, friends and foes and a mysterious baby found in the woods by Molly's mother. The action is fast-paced and the many unexpected turns in the plot keep the reader's attention looking
toward the solution. For someone brought up on stories of British Columbia this was an especially enjoyable reading experience.

Valley of the Lost by Vicky Delany has all the elements of a good mystery, a beautiful setting, quirky characters and a murder; however, it was more like being lost in the "valley of the lost" than reading about it. Delany introduced over 20 characters in the first 30 pages and unlike other writers in her genre; she did not give enough background for the reader to pick up the story line or provide a desire to return to the first novel for more more details. I wish Delany had spent more time fleshing out the main characters of Molly Smith or Sgt. Winters than racking up some peculiar body count where the author with the most characters in a novel wins. There were just too many holes in the plot to make it an entertaining read.

An avid mystery reader, I was disappointed in this book. I felt that too many characters were introduced, but not adequately developed. For instance, the two detectives from the USA who didn't appear until the end of the story. The book seemed to be made up of several short stories that the author tried to tie together into one book. Also, I was somewhat offended by the author's obvious push to legalize "pot". I do not feel that a work of fiction should be used as a vehicle to promote one's political views. The story started out with great potential but for me, became bogged down in too many side stories. The ending was rather anticlimactic.

Valley of the Lost takes place in picturesque Trafalgar near Vancouver, Canada. Lucky Smith finds a small baby crying behind the Women’s Support Center where she is a counselor. Lucky discovers the body of a young female. Is she the baby’s mother? Could this be a drug overdose? The next morning a counselor from Child Services demands Lucky turn the baby over to them. They will find a licensed foster home until the baby’s family can be located. Lucky forcefully says no; she will be his foster mother.

Constable Molly Smith, Lucky’s daughter, is a new recruit with the local police department. The detective enlists Molly’s help to solve this case. Molly is popular with the young women in town and thinks she can get more information from them than he can. Molly runs into a stone wall. No one in town has any information other than her name is Ashley (no last name) and the baby’s name is Miller. Many twists and turns drive the mystery to a surprise ending.

Valley of the Lost is a delightful mystery and I look forward to more adventures featuring Constable Molly Smith. The first in the series is In the Shadow of the Glacier.