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Emma Griffin FBI Mysteries #13

The Girl and the Unlucky 13

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"Who are you?"
"I am the unlucky 13…"

Throughout the years FBI agent Emma Griffin had to overcome experiences of trauma and devastating losses.
The loss of her mother and the mysterious death of her ex.
She has spent most of her life trying to bring light to darkness and uncover the disturbing truths that were kept hidden by those who live in the shadows.

In the aftermath of the disturbing Arrow Lake investigation, Emma and Dean find themselves drawn to a missing girl's case from 5 years ago.
Ashley Stevenson, a young girl that vanished without a trace.
But when her sudden reappearance leaves far more questions than answers. Stories and lies collide until everyone seems guilty.
Then when the investigation suddenly takes a turn for the worse and they find evidence of human remains. Murdered in cold blood. Emma is then forced to re-evaluate everything she thought she knew.

In this world there are two types of people.
The lucky and the unlucky ones.
The lucky ones live to tell their tale.
The unlucky?
Their story is yet to be told…

358 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 15, 2021

1060 people are currently reading
1575 people want to read

About the author

A.J. Rivers

148 books1,537 followers

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5 stars
3,332 (62%)
4 stars
1,460 (27%)
3 stars
433 (8%)
2 stars
63 (1%)
1 star
20 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews
39 reviews2 followers
April 21, 2021
Great read

The only thing that kept this from bein a 5 star book is the sloppy editing. It was frustrating to read through the words jammed together or incompletely written and they detracted from the overall flow of the text. I would rather wait a little longer and have a well edited book to read.
161 reviews
April 20, 2021
While I have enjoyed this series, this latest book really seemed very contrived and actually didn't make sense. I felt like it was written very quickly and not edited well. Several hours after finishing it, I'm still trying to figure out what happened and honestly, I've decided that I don't care enough to go back and re-read it to sort it out. Which is too bad, because up to now, I've always looked forward to the next novel in the series with great anticipation.
Profile Image for MD.
41 reviews
March 13, 2023
Book 13 in the series was a nice surprise. The first one I didn’t guess the ending and it had a few funny lines too.
3 reviews
April 18, 2021
Another page turner

I love this series! I am looking forward to the next book in this series. Keep them coming AJ. As long as you write them, I will read them.
3,518 reviews
May 10, 2021
Emma and Dean are looking for a girl who disappeared five years ago at the age of 13. They are at a remembrance get-together when Ashley walks up. She tells Emma she doesn't remember what happened the night she disappeared. Okay, but what about right before she appeared or last week? Who took her and where has she been? She talks about a man named Wolf but Emma knows she is not telling the truth.

Two friends who were with her that night also lied but one gets a guilty conscience and finally confesses to Emma what happened. Why would a 13-year-old hang around with two 15-year-olds and why would they want a young girl hanging around with them?

Ashley's sister Leona starts crying whenever she is around Ashley. She tries to tell her mother the truth but her mother won't listen and Leona finally has had enough and runs off. Ashley follows her and the truth comes out. Leona was jealous of Ashley and the green-eyed monster took control.

The ending of the book seemed rushed. Too much in the last two chapters. You are reading it and find yourself re-reading it to see if it made more sense. It didn't. Too much of the book spent on Xavier and his nonsense.

The series started out so good but why does the author keep Xavier in the story? He is ridiculous and needs to be written out. He is not law enforcement but tags along with Emma and Dean in their investigation. He messes with evidence that could get the case thrown out. OK, A.J. Rivers, Xavier has had his time in the sun, now put him to rest.
Profile Image for Fine Lybbe.
17 reviews2 followers
June 23, 2023
“Awful things can happen anywhere, and it’s critical to be as prepared as possible to respond when they do. I’ve never particularly understood the common saying that bad things happen when you least expect them. That’s not always true. Some people know when they are in danger and will need to be able to protect themselves. As for the others, of course, they don’t expect it. That makes it even more important to be armed with knowledge and skill that can bring a terrifying and disorienting situation a bit more under control.”

The Girl and the Unlucky 13 — A.J. Rivers, 2021
(Emma Griffin FBI Mysteries book 13)

This particular feels too rushed towards the end. Felt like there could have been a couple more chapters where you could see more of how the mystery was unfolding instead of being pretty much in the dark on what Emma was putting together and then having it all dumped at the end. Overall, still a great book. Definitely didn’t see the ending coming and could not put the book down pretty much after the midway point.

The only thing that’s annoying about this book is the sloppy editing. It was distracting to read through the words jammed together or grammatically incorrect or incompletely written and they detracted from the overall flow of the text. The other books also had some errors but this was the worst. Need to hire a better proofreader!
Profile Image for Erika.
1,159 reviews18 followers
May 3, 2021
Once again we go back to Emma as she keeps her investigations going while she tries to plan her wedding, if a couple of mentions can be considered planning.  She still have a couple of cases open, but takes another one with her cousin, only as things get complicated it becomes an official FBI investigation.  That, plus Bellamy's and Eric's baby and a new FBI agent coming into the mix is what the book is all about.

As always, the investigation is very interesting, reading about Emma's technique and insights and how little by little the picture unfolds and we go to the bottom of the problem.  This time there is a lot of misdirection going on, but as always Emma is able to see what the others are missing.  I liked the antagonism and then the epiphany about Ava, the new agent.  I usually enjoy Emma's strong personality, but this time it was kind of weird watching her behave like that with the young agent.

There are still a lot of things going on with the open investigations that we are waiting to get answers from, but it seems as if we are moving forward, finally, with the Dragon stuff.  Either way, the book and this particular case were very interesting and have some good twists.  
Profile Image for Riss.
36 reviews7 followers
December 4, 2021
I started reading this series a few months ago as part of the Kindle Unlimited plan. While I enjoyed the first few books, they have rapidly gone downhill.

I will say that I have only stuck with the books this far because I have grown to like the characters and wanted to see what happened to them. About halfway through this book I wanted to quit, mostly due to the sloppy editing. Several of the other books have had typos, but this book was almost unbearable. Words were pushed together or left out entirely. Characters were referred to as “I” rather than “he” or “she”. I found myself having to reread paragraphs simply because the mistakes were so confusing. In the end, I continued reading simply because I had already invested so much time in the series and hoped that the end of the book would make up for the editing. It did not.

The end of the book felt extremely rushed. Typically in this genre it’s easy to look back and find clues that support the final “reveal”. This was lacking and I felt that the conclusion came out of left field.

In the end, this will be the last book I read in this series.
33 reviews
May 6, 2021
Another great mystery. I feel like an FBI agent myself!

I love the continuing story of Emma. Sometimes it gets so involved, I get confused and have to re-read to understand. In this book , the ending was confusing, but I finally got it. I would have liked more explanation of how Leona buried Ashley's body and where it was. I don't remember reading about where Leona disposed of her body or where.

One thing I did not like about this book was the attitude of Emma. She treated Ava so rudely , and I found myself not liking her at all. She might have been worried about being replaced, but it did not give her the right to bully Ava like she did; it made me disappointed in Emma.

But I feel like part of the team as I have read every book , and I look forward to the next one. Keep us guessing A.J. Rivers. We will find Dragon eventually and enjoy every written word getting there! Great job!
Profile Image for Penny.
66 reviews
May 20, 2021
Another?

Just finished this addition to the serial of Emma. It ended rather abruptly. Now that I've read so many of them, I hope there is at least another to wrap everything up! Been waiting for quite awhile to her to marry Sam an also there is the matter of 'Dragon' who did not come into play n this book.
Well, hope this isn't the end of Emma's story as I have come to be invested in these novels. Let's see if there is a good follow-up.
All in all, this was a good addition to the series. I would like to know more of what is found out about the discoveries at the lake and what happened there. I am glad several things about that were mentioned.
I am not a big fan of the new addition of another FBI operative on Emma's case. She seems too immature and perhaps counterproductive to the whole experience. Perhaps I will change my mind in the future, we shall see.
Profile Image for Monica.
1,081 reviews
June 20, 2023
I really like reading this series. Rivers also adds something new in each one. Emma and Dean are looking for a girl that disappeared 5 years ago. Emma is also having to mentor a new FBI Agent, which she isn't happy about. Of course, her and same haven't decided where they are getting married, yet. Plus, a new one is added to the family.

I didn't see the ending in this one coming. I was surprised which I like in a mystery. The reason for the 4 stars is that there were some grammatical and typing errors in this one.

🙃 Happy Reading 🙃

#SeriesLove2023
#carlisilepubliclibrary
#lonokecountylibrarysystem
Profile Image for Elizabeth Lanaghan.
1,138 reviews4 followers
May 6, 2021
Book Review: The Girl and the Unlucky 13 by A.J. Rivers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I don’t know how much more I can rave about this series before becoming redundant (lol). But I LOVE this series! Rivers is doing a great job at continuing to come up with new mysteries to solve. I can’t wait to see what comes next!!

#bookworm #bookaddict #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookrecommendations #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #readersofinstagram #bookishbounds #thegirlandtheunlucky13 #ajrivers #thriller #crime #murder #thrillerbooks #thrillerbooksaddict #bookreader #booklover #booknerd #bookreviewer #currentlyreading #readingtime #readersofinsta #goodreads #goodreadschallenge2021 #bookshelf #booksbooksbooks #bibliophile #bookstagramcommunity @a.j._rivers
25 reviews1 follower
Read
June 15, 2021
Very surprising ending

After being missing for 5 years Emma takes on this case with her cousin Dean. Emma's boss decided that Emma needs to mentor a new agent. Emma is put out that she is forced to do this and it shows how she treats Ava. After some things that Ava does on her own things come to a head that need to be worked out.

Emma finds after many twist and turns the answer to what happened to Ashley. You'll have to read to the end to know the answer to Ashley's disappearance.
215 reviews3 followers
Read
August 19, 2021
Good story

I really enjoy this series. The storyline is goo. The characters are likeable. This one takes a surprising turn. My primary criticism of this author is that it feels like she randomly throws in a character or a scene that does not contribute to the story. In this story it is Ava. She us supposed to be shadowing Emma. There is conflict between the two characters that really seems pointless. I did not enjoy this particular book in the series. I found my mind wondering and needed to go back and re-read parts. Just not a good flow to this particular story
Profile Image for Kirsten Schlewitz.
409 reviews30 followers
September 12, 2023
Too far for me

A fast paced story that draws you in, but everything is just a bit too much for me. Then it ends really quickly with no real explanation of how the characters specific to this story could've been pushed to the point where they made the (quite unbelievable) choices they did.

I think there are great points that could've been made with the topics chosen -- teen friendships, addiction, female rivalries. But they were lost by reaching too far for the twists and thrills.
41 reviews
April 20, 2021
This is an excellent well thought out book and the characters are complex interesting people.

The plot is full of twists and turns which keeps the reader intrigued.

My only criticism as a retired English teacher is the editing of the book. There are a number of grammar mistakes which weren’t caught and at times the sentence structure is awkward which interferes with a smooth reading of a sentence or paragraph.

25 reviews
May 16, 2021
Good read; ending jumped ahead too fast

I enjoy the Emma series; they are quick enjoyable reads and I’m a big mystery crime fan. Usually you can follow along no and start to unravel the mystery as the book moves alongside; however this time Emma brought all these pieces together wi5out the reader and we were suddenly told at the end. It felt like the book should have been another 100 pages but it had to be completed pronto so chapters were skipped. Still a good read.
Profile Image for Hannah Murphy.
3 reviews1 follower
June 16, 2021
I am highly invested in all the Emma Griffin books. They keep you on the edge of your seat. This particular feels too rushed towards the end. I feel that there could have been a couple more chapters where you could see more of how the mystery was unfolding instead of being pretty much in the dark on what Emma was putting together and then having it all dumped at the end. Overall, still a great book and am looking forward to the next in just a few days!
Profile Image for Rhonda.
130 reviews3 followers
December 31, 2021
A disappointment

This book in the Emma Griffin series was a sad uninsured shadow of what I'd come to expect of these stories. The ending explanation comes out of no where and is a mishmash of separated twins and addiction. Even the through line plot of Ava and Emma's relationship shows no real tension or vitality. It's as though the dialog was written by a set of toddler's flash cards being dealt out one by one.
100 reviews1 follower
January 20, 2022
Always fascinating, always lucky!

I enjoy the unraveling of the mystery and the suspense. The continuous story line of close friends and a new found relative and I love Xavier! Details into his
personality are so fascinating, I found myself laughing out loud!
Thank you for all the interesting moments you're providing me.
May you continue to be blessed with this wonderful talent.
24 reviews
January 23, 2023
Fun story

This was a fun story, but I wasn't 100% satisfied. Rivers has a way about her storytelling in which she tells the story without actually making any connections between the crime, the victim, and the perpetrator. No one would have suspected that ending because there really wasn't anything in the entire story to point the reader in that direction. I still enjoyed the story, I just prefer to not be surprised with so much new information during the big reveal.
58 reviews
February 10, 2023
Oh, the twist!

Wow! Ashley is back?! Had my gears spinning! Kinda, sorta didn’t see it coming. Great ending. But, I do have a question. Where is she? Anyway, I was mad at Emma for a minute concerning Ava but she made it right in chapter 49. And I can’t believe Emma didn’t get a concussion, shot, or stabbed this time. Guess it was time for a break! Oh well. Off to number 14. More answers.
182 reviews2 followers
March 22, 2024
A other story with a mystery and a big twist

Like the other Emma Griffin mysteries, this story has the reader riveted to the book. A young girl is missing, and the FBI is called in to the case. This book entails lots of great things with Emma's family and friends, all parallel to the bizarre story of the missing girl. Emma has the answers in the end, but the story isn't easy to digest.
145 reviews
December 30, 2024
The entire series is about as average as you can get, and now there are spin-off series with some of the other characters. However, compared to a lot of the other authors prevalent on Kindle Unlimited, I think the books are higher quality and are on par with many of the other potato-chippy mystery authors whose series I devour (Lee Child, Kathy Riechs, Patricia Cornwell, etc.) These will never be a 5 star, but sometimes that’s not what I’m looking for.
Profile Image for karin whitehead.
1,015 reviews8 followers
April 18, 2021
Emma is tapped to have a rookie agent tailing her. Emma isn't happy about it, failing to teach her the ropes. The case is about a missing girl from five years ago, Ashley. With plenty of twists, clues that are jumbled, and people being obtuse. Can Emma find the missing girl and what happened to her? Definitely A page turner!
I received this novel from ARC in exchange of an honest review.
Profile Image for Heatherrrrr.
28 reviews
April 23, 2021
Lucky 13 is definitely a hit!

I love this series so much!! I am already pumped for 14.

Also, love xavier. He is amazing.

This series has inspired me to begin a career in criminal justice. I can't wait to begin classes.
Keep up the good work AJ! Your inspiring more people than you know
Profile Image for Diane Belcher.
35 reviews2 followers
May 6, 2021
Love this book

This was my favorite so far in the Emma book series. They just keep getting better every time. Can't wait to read the next book that A J Rivers adds to the saga. I hope it happens very soon. You know how it is when you feel like you are reading about old friends? That's how these books feel.
921 reviews11 followers
May 10, 2021
Wow!! Shocking ending!

I think is my favorite, so far, in this series! I was shocked in the end because I usually know about how books will end; not this one! Just great writing! The characters in Emma's life are tactfully written. The characters of the plotlines are just as carefully woven to keep us guessing until that moment when it all comes together! Gotta read this one!
Profile Image for Donna Murphy.
117 reviews1 follower
May 13, 2021
Exhausting

I couldn’t read this book fast enough. It was like going up a mountain that’s loaded with switchbacks. I think my jaw dropped open in the last chapter and stayed that way till I finished the book. Took me 2 hours to read this book. Now I wish I would’ve read slower because I have to wait on the next book.
Profile Image for Tanya.
120 reviews
September 8, 2021
Now THAT'S an unexpected twist

Once again River's spins a tale that forces you to read as fast as you can. She has an amazing art of twisting the story line in a way that gives you glimpses of another storyline you know will either be in a future book or brings a little light to one already read. Good job!!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 146 reviews

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