The Wrong Girl by Hank Phillippi Ryan

3.0 out of 5 stars Adoption agency run amok!, September 13, 2013

 This second installment in the Jane Ryland series after "THE OTHER WOMAN" finds Jane, now a reporter for a local newspaper, embroiled in another mystery involving betrayal, secrets, and murder. Jane and Jake are drawn into investigating a series of deaths that lead them to a corrupt adoption agency and an overworked foster care system. All the victims seem to be related to a central issue - the question of whether adults who were adopted as babies and are seeking answers are being reunited with their true birth mothers or if something illegal is going on. It seems that an old colleague of Jane's (Tuck Cameron) coincidentally meets her purported birth mother through the agency but is convinced that the agency has made a mistake; that she is "the wrong girl."

The action shifts constantly from character to character and there are a lot of twists and turns in the narrative that keep the reader guessing as to what is actually going on because there are different aspects of the case that are all connected to Brannigan Family and Children Services. Many unbelievable scenarios and coincidences provide the forward momentum of the story as it spins first in one direction and then another.

Of course there is a component of romance to this series -- Jane and Jake want to be together but their jobs make it impossible as they need to remain objective. I found their longing for a public relationship with each other to be the least compelling part of the novel and, seriously, it would have been better if everyone answered their phone calls!

Overall, I didn't particularly like the constant shifts in point of view and the jumpy transitions in the flow of the story. I didn't really care much about any of the characters as I did not see any real depth to them. I think it's important that if you choose to read this book that you read the first in the series prior to doing so. I'll likely not read a third in the series. 

Amazon Vine ARC