Annalisa Vega has traded in her police badge, and is embarking on a new career as a private investigator. In addition, after much soul searching, she remarried her ex, Nick Carelli, a detective in the Chicago Police Department. Anna’s first client is Mara Delaney, an assistant professor of psychology who has written a book, “The Good Sociopath,” that focuses on a brilliant and gifted neurosurgeon named Craig Canning. Mara’s premise is that there are more sociopaths among us than we realize. They can be charming, and according to Delaney, the good ones may choose to channel their impulses into productive endeavors. Mara hires Anna to investigate Dr. Canning, to make sure that he is not hiding anything that could hurt the sales of her soon-to-be-published work of non-fiction.

In “All the Way Gone,” Joanna Schaffhausen presents us with a plot that has many moving parts. There are a host of red herrings, more than a few violent confrontations, and shocking twists and turns. While Anna tries to figure out if Canning is a Dr. Jekyll on the surface and a Mr. Hyde in private, she and Nick are navigating personal issues involving Cassidy Weaver, Nick’s adolescent daughter. He had had a one-night stand seventeen years earlier and, until recently, did not know that he was a father.

The author’s colorful characters, well-written dialogue, and fast-moving action sequences propel this novel along successfully until its final pages. Although the story is undeniably engrossing, its concluding revelations require a sizable suspension of disbelief. Still, Anna and Nick are an appealing couple, and “All the Way Gone” makes the thought-provoking case that sociopathy is poorly understood. We still do not know whether this mental health condition is inborn, unchangeable, and invariably a precursor to criminal behavior. ( )

In the fourth installment of the series, Annalisa has taken over a private investigator office and her first client is a professor who wants the doctor who's the focus of her soon-to-be released book to be looked into. Mara Delaney is sure that Dr. Canning is a good sociopath, the title of her book, but when a woman in his building falls to her death, Mara thinks maybe he's not so good after all.

During Annalisa's investigation, everything points to Canning, but he was at the hospital in surgery when it happened. How could that possibly be? When things start happening to Mara and Annalisa, and it seems that Canning is two steps ahead at every turn, Annalisa starts second-guessing herself.

Cassidy, Annalisa's stepdaughter, has decided she wants to be Anna's assistant at the PI office. After asking Anna to look for her friend Naomi's mom, and Anna doesn't take it on, Cassidy does it herself. Her investigation instincts are good, but not good enough to keep her out of trouble.

There were definite twists in this one, and although I wouldn't say it was a thriller or even very suspenseful, it was a really good mystery with a turn around every corner. The stories between the characters were well-developed and moved the plot along. The characters were fully fleshed out, and had their own voices and personalities.

All in all, I think this is a good addition to the series. I haven't read the first three books, but if they're like this one, then I'm sure they're worth the read. If you like a female cop/private investigator with real-world issues and a twisty pyschological mystery, then this is for you.

Thank you to @Minotaur_Books and @NetGalley for a digital copy for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own. ( )

This is the fourth book in the Annalisa Vega series, and it is just as excellent as the first three. Joanna Schaffhausen really knows how to keep the twists and turns coming.

There is so much going on in this book. This is just Anna’s family life; starting a new detective agency after quitting the police force, dealing with a previously unknown daughter of Nick, Anna’s husband that she remarried, and Cassidy, Nick’s daughter is dealing with her mom dying from ALS.

Then you have Mara coming to Anna before she’s officially open to make sure the subject of her book, Craig, really is a “good” sociopath. Anna starts delving into the case and starts finding red flags almost instantly. She knows in her gut that Craig did the murder, but she needs to figure out how.

The reader then gets even more red herrings, clues, and twists brought before them. And as a side story to all the craziness, Cassidy has decided she wants to work as an assistant to Anna and starts looking for her girlfriend’s mother, since Naomi is dying from a kidney disease. This leads to even more drama and danger.

With so many characters and crazy turns, this is a book I think anyone who enjoys suspense or thrillers would enjoy. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series, and you may want to start with book one, Gone for Good, just so you get the full experience. You don’t have to, since each book can stand on its own, but you should! ( )

Annalisa is back, but she is no longer on the police force.

She hung her own shingle out as a private investigator.

She didn't have to wait too long for a client.

Mara arrived asking Annalisa to check into the death of young woman who fell from her balcony. She thinks Craig Canning, a famous neurosurgeon, pushed her.

Mara and Craig have other connections too. Mara has written a book about sociopaths and centered it around Craig.

Annalisa gets another client as well.

Her husband's daughter has a friend who needs to find her mother. Her mother is bad news.

Dr. Canning is also bad news especially when he threatens Annilissa and her livelihood and Mara about a secret she has.

Another can't-put-down read by Joanna Schaffhausen.

Lots of tension, twists, and surprises that will keep you off track and keep you turning the pages to get to the end.

Fans will be delighted. 5/5

​Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ( )

This is the fourth book in the series featuring Annalisa Vega. I certainly enjoyed my latest visit with the intelligent and determined Annalisa.

Annalisa has left the Chicago Police Department and become a private investigator. For her first case, she is hired by Mara Delaney who is anxiously awaiting the publication of her book entitled The Good Sociopath focused on Dr. Craig Canning, a local neurosurgeon. The thesis of her book is that sociopaths can benefit society because they are useful in professions requiring emotional distance. A young woman plunges to her death in Canning’s apartment building, and Mara is worried that her poster-boy for desireable sociopathy may have been involved, thereby threatening the argument of her soon-to-be released book. Annalisa is hired to investigate and hopefully prove that Dr. Canning is indeed what Mara has portrayed him to be: cold-hearted but not homicidal or violent. Annalisa’s investigation convinces her that a clever murder has been committed but Canning insists on his innocence. Where lies the truth?

As in the other books, Annalisa also has some conflict in her personal life. Her remarriage to Nick has brought his teenaged daughter Cassidy into their lives. A typical teenager, Cassidy doesn’t always listen to advice and sets out to help a friend find her mother. This case becomes Annalisa’s second case, but Cassidy sets out to solve it on her own.

Tension builds gradually. Cassidy places herself in danger and Nick and Annalisa have to rush to rescue her. Annalisa, like her stepdaughter, also finds herself in tense encounters with Canning. He realizes why Annalisa is investigating him so a cat-and-mouse game ensues in which they both intrude on each other’s territory. More than once Annalisa faces him alone.

The author has a doctorate in psychology and her knowledge of the workings of the brain is at the forefront. She asks a number of questions: Can sociopaths be good people who make valuable contributions to society or are they “violent predators to be eliminated at all costs”? Can sociopaths be helped or are they “all the way gone”? The book also inspires the reader to consider whether it is justifiable to kill a murderous psychopath if that death actually helps save others?

The plot is complex with a lot of twists, especially at the end. Given the psychological makeup of the characters involved, this complexity seems appropriate. There is a clue about 45% through the book that steered me in the right direction, though I certainly didn’t guess the details.

Though this is the fourth book in the series, it can be read as a standalone because there is enough backstory provided to ensure the reader will not be lost. However, I advise readers to treat themselves and read the previous three books (Gone for Good, Long Gone, and Dead and Gone) first.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2024/08/review-of-all-way-gone-by-joanna.html) or substack (https://doreenyakabuski.substack.com/) for over 1,100 of my book reviews. ( )

All the Way Gone by Joanna Schaffhausen is a highly recommended investigative mystery and the fourth novel in the Detective Annalisa Vega series.

Annalisa Vega is now a private investigator after leaving the Chicago police force. Her first client is Mara Delaney, a professor who has written a book titled The Good Sociopath centered around Chicago neurosurgeon Craig Canning. The premise of Mara's book is that some sociopaths are beneficial to society, like Dr Canning who, even though he may lack empathy or genuine emotions, has saved hundreds of lives. Mara asks Annalisa to look into Craig's life because she suspects he may be responsible for the death of Victoria Albright and therefor may not be as good as her book claims.

Once Annalisa begins looking into the case she is presented with another case by her teenage stepdaughter, Cassidy Weaver. Cassidy's friend Naomi needs a new kidney and is trying to find her mother, Elizabeth Johnston, who abandoned Naomi when she was three.

As the complicated cat and mouse plot unfolds sociopaths pop up all over the place, keeping the tension and your interest high. Annalisa has been told that sociopaths only care about winning at all costs, and this is clearly the case. More than one person may have wanted Victoria eliminated and the two investigations are bringing out all the animosity between characters. There is some suspension of disbelief required, which is easily done. Clues are dropped about the guilty party, but you have to keep reading to learn the real story.

Although this is the fourth book in the series it can be read as a standalone novel. Following the whole series will naturally provide more back story and character development, but since Annalisa has left the police force and is now working as a PI, it changes her approach to a case, freeing her up in some ways. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2024/08/all-way-gone.html ( )

This is the fourth in the Detective AnnaLisa Vega series. It can be read as a standalone.

Remarried to Nick, AnnaLisa has left the police department and opened her own private detective agency. Her first client is an author who has written a book that purports that there are some “good" sociopaths who contribute positively to society and she has focused on neurosurgeon Craig Canning. When one of Dr. Canning’s neighbors falls to her death, the author hires AnnaLisa to investigate just to make sure that he truly is “good.”. Oh, but there is so much more to Dr. Canning!

On the home front, Nick has recently discovered a daughter, Cassidy, from an affair he had when he was married to AnnaLisa the first time. Cassidy asks for AnnaLisa’s help in locating the long missing mother of a good friend of hers who needs a kidney transplant.

I have read a few of Schaffhausen’s books and like her writing. This is a fast read, with a lot of mystery surrounding the possibly suspicious death and the glib narcissism of Dr. Canning. Annalisa is an intelligent young woman whose doggedness is her worst enemy. The idea of a “good” sociopath is an interesting concept and gives the reader a lot to think about.

Thanks to #netgalley and #StMartinsPress #Minotaur for the DRC. ( )