A pretty okay read for me - I was looking for a procedural that didn’t focus solely on cops, given how they tend to propagandize them. I did3.5 stars.
A pretty okay read for me - I was looking for a procedural that didn’t focus solely on cops, given how they tend to propagandize them. I didn’t connect with any of the characters except Judge Dawson (and that was only because she’s a shadowy hyper-competent side character that doesn’t require excessive depth to be cool and aloof).
To the credit of the author, the story-telling does draw you in, but the “bad guy” is such a nonentity that it didn’t create enough tension. He says maybe a handful of words the entire time and we never see his perspective. I think there’s too much attention paid in the narrative to how he looks (scarred and damaged by a genetic disorder) and not enough about his actions and motivations once discovered. The cannibalism angle the lead detective spends so much page space on as a rationale for the crimes is almost entirely dropped once they actually find him. He somehow managers to fade into the background during the court scenes which are solely about his competence to stand trial. I think the author got too invested in showing the complex relationships that exist between prosecutor, defense and judge in a court circuit to focus on anything else....more
Not a huge fan of how (view spoiler)[Lynette's second traumatic brain injury miraculously cured her of the crippling anxiety and some symptoms of her Not a huge fan of how (view spoiler)[Lynette's second traumatic brain injury miraculously cured her of the crippling anxiety and some symptoms of her OCD, (hide spoiler)] but this book's premise already required some hand-waving so ...more
I love Emery and John-Henry together but!!! it's so frustrating to see them talk past each other (and unfortunately so realistic). The timing is alwayI love Emery and John-Henry together but!!! it's so frustrating to see them talk past each other (and unfortunately so realistic). The timing is always off. Each time one of them has an emotional epiphany, the other one is spiraling.
I am very much looking forward to when Emery lets go of Nico - sorry kid, he's meant for a much more traumatized man. ...more
Hazard and Somers are so toxic to one another because they can't talk AND emotionally regulate at the same time. Nico, baby, just leave - he's never gHazard and Somers are so toxic to one another because they can't talk AND emotionally regulate at the same time. Nico, baby, just leave - he's never gonna want you the way he wants Somers (and I want him to have Somers)....more
The resolution of who was pulling the strings was a nice full circle moment, but the real joy (such as it is) of this story was the relation4.5 stars.
The resolution of who was pulling the strings was a nice full circle moment, but the real joy (such as it is) of this story was the relationship between Ike and Buddy Lee. The way they navigated their complex emotions regarding fatherhood, their failures and their individual upbringings was my favorite part to read. I knew this kind of revenge story wouldn't have a true happy ending, but I sure as hell wanted it to....more
It's really important for me to like both characters involved in the relationship in this genre in order for it to work and I really just didn't care It's really important for me to like both characters involved in the relationship in this genre in order for it to work and I really just didn't care for Nick/Brayden. I should have known better than to choose a book where the male lead was a cop; it's not the kind of fiction I can enjoy anymore. On top of that, his personality was annoying and it ruined any of their sex scenes for me. A tragedy, because the chair scene could have been great with a different lead.
Evie's confession was way too rushed - she had barely forgiven him for his previous transgressions toward her. If this story had been a crime thriller where Evie was the main character, investigating her sister's death while navigating her family dynamics and potential leaks to local and federal police, that would have garnered far more stars....more
Blue and West's story has been resolved and I still don't know who Pandora is. Blue and West's story has been resolved and I still don't know who Pandora is. ...more
I liked this just fine, I think. There were definitely some parts that resonated more than others, specifically about the notoriety of killers (nearlyI liked this just fine, I think. There were definitely some parts that resonated more than others, specifically about the notoriety of killers (nearly all men) and the anonymity of their victims (nearly all women). The contemplation of good, evil and the grey in-betweens did not feel as poignant to me as it was likely meant to be.
Upon further thought, I did appreciate the idea of knowing someone only for the good they brought to your life, without understanding how terrible or traumatic their behavior was to other people. This novel is the extreme example, given the murder, but I wish more time was spent on it - the concept was a burden on a non-POV character we don't meet until 2/3rds of the way through....more
This is one of those novels that could have benefited from the love interest's POV as well, especially given that he is the one who suddenly attai3.75
This is one of those novels that could have benefited from the love interest's POV as well, especially given that he is the one who suddenly attains telepathic powers and is hearing everything Jerry can't keep from him. This lack of perspective also kept me from getting a true sense of Flynn as a character. I didn't really start seeing any sort of depth to him until the last handful of pages after the climax of the novel when (view spoiler)[Jerry's kidnapping into the trunk of his car, which led to Flynn's confession (hide spoiler)].
The case that Flynn was even in town for was abandoned relatively quickly and never truly picked up again - we learned more about the kitten they rescued than the serial killer still at large. Also, the transition from investigation to The Big Plot Summit was too abrupt and did not fit the previous style of writing between scenes. It definitely threw me off in a way that made me skim through several pages searching for something that made sense before back-tracking. Maybe I'm a simpleton....more
Jackson makes you want to wrap him up in cotton-wool and keep him safe forever. This man has been through Enough.
I really do appreciate how this serieJackson makes you want to wrap him up in cotton-wool and keep him safe forever. This man has been through Enough.
I really do appreciate how this series tries to dig into corruption at the higher levels (district attorneys and state prosecutors) and the lower ones (street-level "bureaucrats", aka cops) - with both Ellery and Jackson fighting it in their own ways. Ellery's privileged East Coast upbringing meant that he is slower to see the nuances of misconduct, but no less furious about it.
It was hard to get rid of the crooked or the incompetent. One of the reasons people like [dirty cop character] or [other dirty cop character] could abuse the system for so long was that the DA's office was terrified of getting rid of them. Once they got rid of a cop, everything that cop had done was suspect. It wasn't just plucking a poisoned flower. It was digging deep into the bedrock of things and uprooting the entire tree.
The relationship between FBI Special Agent Javier Merlo and small town Deputy Cloister Witte has illustrated to me that while I do enjoy the 2.5 stars
The relationship between FBI Special Agent Javier Merlo and small town Deputy Cloister Witte has illustrated to me that while I do enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope, I have caveats. Number one is that there still needs to be some basic respect for one another as people, which Mr. High and Mighty Javi did not have when it came to Cloister. [Side note: I cannot fucking get over that name, regardless of it being explained away as his mother's maiden name.]
Cloister presents as a big dumb redneck with a dog and revealing his investigatory insight, his excellent partnership with his K9 unit dog and the copious amounts of sex they have still does not change how poorly Javi views Cloister on a fundamental level. His entire POV is just horny classism.
The mystery was pretty okay, with the surprise-not surprise of (view spoiler)[the missing child actually being alive when they found him (hide spoiler)]. Honestly, I would have preferred a story about Cloister by himself, training and working with his dog Bourneville on the case; it would have kept my attention better. He calls her Bon Bon, which is the best cop propaganda I've read all year....more
Cooper and Oliver have come so far. I love them so much and I am desperately sad this is the last book in the series. I am hopeful for much more, giveCooper and Oliver have come so far. I love them so much and I am desperately sad this is the last book in the series. I am hopeful for much more, given the big plot twist of (view spoiler)[Cooper being seen as the incarnation of the Moon, a wolf mythological figure. (hide spoiler)] They're so incredibly loving and communicative in comparison to their earlier relationship; one of the best lines from Cooper early on in the novel shows the truth of this:
Cooper vowed. "You can always tell me what you want out of life and I'll always be first pick on your heist team ready to help you get it."
"As often as I like?"
"Dreams change. People change. Please just don't stop giving me the chance to change with you."
P.S. I would reread this whole series from Oliver's POV in a heartbeat, just in case Charlie Adhara is reading......more