Where the Lost Girls Go: A Laura Mori Mystery

Set in Sunrise Lake, Ore., this uneven series launch from Noonan (All She Ever Wanted as Rosalind Noonan) introduces rookie cop Laura Mori, who’s a bit of a fish out of water but eager to show what she can do. Mori becomes the lead officer in the case of an unidentified teenager killed in a fiery car wreck; the victim might be the missing 17-year-old daughter of Sunrise Lake’s most famous citizen, mystery writer Kent Jameson. In addition, Mori is at odds with the members of her traditional Japanese family, who don’t like her career choice. At 24, Mori has yet to move out of the family home. Meanwhile, her boss is on a mission to root out police corruption. And then there’s the deepening mystery of the lost girls of the title, runaway teens who go to Portland and subsequently disappear. Noonan tries to cover too many issues in a story whose multiple viewpoints don’t cohere until halfway through the book. [em](Feb.) [/em]