THE MISSED CONNECTION

Desperate to reconnect with the perfect man she met on a plane, a woman hires a private detective with ties to her past.

Since a traumatic stalker incident a few years ago, casting director Sasha Cruz has pretty much become a shut-in, but when a new job opportunity sends her to Paris, she wants to open herself to the world again. On the flight, she unexpectedly bonds with the man seated next to her, sharing some of her deepest feelings. Though they talk the whole way, they never exchange names or numbers. Back in Brooklyn, Sasha seeks out Wesley Dane, the P.I. who caught her stalker, and asks him to track down her dream man. She hasn’t seen Wes since he worked on her case and is surprised that he now owns a barbeque food truck. Wes loved aspects of his investigative work but was never able to keep his emotions separate from the job, so he left that world behind. He agrees to one last case for Sasha—helping her find love feels like a full circle moment. But they both crossed some boundaries last time, and that old attraction reignites, leaving Sasha torn between the man meant to usher in a new future and the one who reminds her of her painful past. Sasha and Wes are messy, complex, utterly captivating characters in this engrossing, romantic story. Williams balances several plotlines and tones—from emotionally heavy and realistic to light and whimsical—but it works due to her constant focus on the irresistible connection between the lead characters. The book’s ending gets pretty chaotic as the mystery takes some wild turns that don’t feel necessary to the story but are still entertaining, and the happily-ever-after feels somewhat rushed, but on the whole this is an immensely satisfying love story.

Flawed yet lovable characters shine in this celebration of human connection.