Latest Books LOST LIKE ME with Ivanka Fear

Two women’s lives intersect. One goes missing and needs to be found while the other must remain lost. Both their lives depend on it.

Following a horrific event twelve years ago, Cheryl MacGregor disappeared from the city where she grew up and moved to a remote northern town, assuming a new identity with her husband, Jim. She thought she was safe from the danger that led her to flee—until her parents’ deaths last year.

When Jim’s receptionist, Julia, mysteriously vanishes from her home Cheryl teams up with Detective Scott Evans for two reasons: to find Julia and to write the exclusive report that will forward Cheryl’s career as a journalist. While investigating the possibility that Julia’s disappearance may be linked to strange happenings at an abandoned mine, Cheryl uncovers a connection to her own former life, reminding her that the threat to her family is still out there.

Ivanka Fear

Ivanka Fear recently sat down with The Big Thrill to discuss her latest mystery, LOST LIKE ME.

A novel is such a major undertaking; there’s the writing of it, of course, then you’re spending months and months revising, polishing, and then promoting it. How did you know this was the book you wanted to spend the next couple of years on?

This is the second book in the series, following Lana in her new life as Cheryl. The first novel I wrote was about a woman with a dark past. Once I completed that book, I realized that the background to her story needed to be told, and so I wrote three books to precede the original novel with more to follow. What I loved most in writing this book was developing the relationship between Cheryl and the detective, along with creating the atmospheric setting.

Can you pinpoint a moment or incident that sparked the idea for this book?

The idea for this book came from an unsolved missing person case that was in the news years ago. I wondered what happened to the person and why she was never found. In researching the case online, I discovered that an incredible number of people disappear every year under mysterious circumstances. The main character in my Blue Water Mysteries series, Lana/Cheryl has left behind her old life, gone into hiding, and taken on a new identity. Being a curious reporter but always watching her own back, finding her husband’s missing receptionist seemed like the perfect story for her to pursue.

Were there any particular books, movies, or songs that were knocking around in your head while you were writing this one?

It was the news articles I read online that inspired me to write this story. Although I’ve read and watched many stories about missing people, a real-life incident was in the back of my mind as my story unravelled and I considered possible reasons for the disappearance. I’ve also seen plenty of cozy mystery shows where the detective has a nosy sidekick who insinuates herself into his investigation, so a big focus in my book is the relationship between Cheryl and Detective Evans.

What can you share about what you’re working on next?

My latest work in progress is a thriller about a group of people who have a yearly high school reunion to commemorate the loss of one of their friends. One of them is an author who incorporates her own experiences into her fiction, something her classmates may not appreciate. Her latest book just might be the death of her.