Reads like an action movie. The kind that's a bit over the top and snappy, and one in which you never feel the characters are in any real danger. I actReads like an action movie. The kind that's a bit over the top and snappy, and one in which you never feel the characters are in any real danger. I actually enjoy those sorts of movies, and the same thing goes for this comic. I was kind of expecting something a little more hardboiled from the Hard Case line, but even so, this wasn't a disappointment.
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Reading the foreword, Swierczynski talks about how this was originally an idea for a novel that he pounded a hundred or so pages out for, then a screenplay, and finally, it was turned into a graphic novel. It explains the tone of the story, at least.
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A regular Joe finds out that his wife might be cheating on him and rushes out to kill the guy. Or maybe just beat him up. But he's definitely got violence on his mind. So you're thinking that this is going to end with a body, one way or another, right? No.
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What ends up happening is these two guys have to save the city from a biological attack. Or maybe it's a bomb? Whatever. It's a government drill gone wrong and millions of people are going to lose their lives unless this odd couple can stop trying to kill each other long enough to work together.
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The whys and hows are kind of spoilers, but it was a wacky and enjoyable ride. As long as you know what you're getting into. Do not hop on this train thinking you're getting some kind of Brubaker noir. You're getting a quippy Bruce Willis movie. Recommended....more
It doesn't really tell you in the Audible Audio Original description but this is a graphic audio story with a full casExcellent mother/daughter story.
It doesn't really tell you in the Audible Audio Original description but this is a graphic audio story with a full cast (Nick Choksi, Harsh Nayyar, Annapurna Sriram, Bernard White, & Rita Wolf). I went into it thinking that it was a regular audiobook but I seriously regret nothing because even though this was only a few hours long, it was fantastic. The entire story is told through phone conversations and voicemails, which you would think might be terribly annoying. But no! So good! Soooo good! I'd already seen the movie (and loved it, btw!), so I was pretty thrilled to have accidentally stumbled onto this little gem as an Audible freebie.
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The story starts out innocuously enough with a young woman in California being lovingly harassed by her mother who lives in Delhi to please take finding a husband seriously.
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She's happy as she is, but (un)willingly goes to meet one of the many men her mother has found on matchmaking sites for coffee. And while waiting in the coffeehouse for the guy her mom wants her to meet, she runs into the most wonderful man, and they begin a fairytale relationship.
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But something about the relationship flips a switch in her mother, and she seems to be losing it. She doesn't trust this guy even though he is quite literally everything that someone could want in a son-in-law. He's rich, handsome, comes from an excellent family, and has fallen head over heels for their daughter. She demands her daughter break it off, claiming to her husband that her abusive ex-boyfriend has been reincarnated in this new boyfriend.
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Is she crazy? Did her past relationship break her mind? Or is this the epitome of the sinister cycle of violence repeating itself? Listen to it. You'll like the way this one ends....more
Who else hit the pre-order button like this? It opens in South Carolina, I couldn't resist.
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Steve and Amy Wheeler make one of the most charming cWho else hit the pre-order button like this? It opens in South Carolina, I couldn't resist.
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Steve and Amy Wheeler make one of the most charming crime-solving duos I've read. A father-in-law and his daughter-in-law? That is a bit different. And while over the course of the novel, you learn a lot about each of them, you can tell that this is just the tip of the personality iceberg with both. Amy is a badass who loves her work as a bodyguard. Who doesn't want to go to exotic locations and throw grenades out of helicopters? She's also a very compartmentalized person. And so is her husband's dad, Steve, a widowed ex-London cop turned village detective. Steve is owned by a cat named Trouble who has allowed Steve to believe the relationship was his choice.
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Amy and Steve have both been through things that have required them to shove their emotions into a tiny little box and suck it up, so they've formed this close bond through daily phone calls where they absolutely do not talk about their feelings. And they will both die on that hill. But they'll also both die on a hill protecting each other if necessary.
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So when Amy is targeted by a (dare I say?) supervillain and set up for a string of murders that she didn't commit, there is only one person in the world she would trust to help her save her life. I mean, she adores her husband, but he's in finance... I really liked her husband, though. They have their own strange, special relationship with each other. And they’re both so confident in it that instead of being weird, it’s just…adorable.
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Another character I loved was Amy's body-to-guard, Rosie, who has been threatened by a Russian mobster that she carelessly lampooned and wrote into one of her books. Oops. Rosie D’Antonio is a best-selling novelist who is sort of putting off this vibrant faux Jackie Collins vibe that I just loved. How old is she? Who knows? Anywhere from 65-85, she ain't telling, that's for sure. Age is just a number, and that number is directly related to how much booze you can still drink and whether or not you can crash at your good friend Barb's (that Barb for barbiturates, not Barbara, btw) shamanic therapy resort when things get hot. Full of life, full of energy, and I'm sure full of Botox, she’s still rocking her best life.
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Ok, so if you're like me, and already a huge fan of Osman's Thursday Murder Club Series, you'll definitely want to check this out. HOWEVER. This isn't exactly another cozy mystery series. But it does sort of come off like a cozy thriller. Is that a thing? I feel like it should be a thing. It's fun. <--that's what I'm trying to say. I think you'll like it. I did. Highly Recommended....more
Carver. Holden Carver. It doesn't have quite the same ring as a James Bond, does it? Still. If you like spy stories, you could do a whole lot worse thanCarver. Holden Carver. It doesn't have quite the same ring as a James Bond, does it? Still. If you like spy stories, you could do a whole lot worse than this.
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The first part of this is Point Blank, a story told from Cole Cash's POV as he tries to figure out who shot his old comrade, John Lynch. Grifter circles around the truth as he becomes more and more befuddled and simultaneously less and less of a reliable narrator. I know some of my friends weren't crazy about Point Blank, but I enjoyed it and thought it did a good job setting up why Lynch was in a coma for the entirety of Sleeper.
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The Sleeper storyline revolves around Holden Carver, a double agent buried deep inside a dangerous criminal organization headed by the evil science experiment, Tao. He's risen through the ranks to become one of the highest-ranking members of Tao's Prodigals and fallen (in love?) into a relationship with another Prodigal, the bloodthirsty Miss Misery.
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The lines between good and bad have begun to blur, and by the end of Book One Holden is no longer sure that he can straddle the line between them.
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I think it helps to know a little about the Wildstorm universe. But if not, it would probably be enough to just know there is a broader Wildstorm universe out there and this story sits inside of it. Good stuff. Recommended....more
What if James Bond were someone's grandma? Unexpected. I thought this would be a bit fluffy, and it was. But it also went a bit darker than I thought a What if James Bond were someone's grandma? Unexpected. I thought this would be a bit fluffy, and it was. But it also went a bit darker than I thought a book written in the late 60s about a widowed grandmother would go.
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It starts with Mrs. Pollifax recalling a feeling of uselessness so deep that she almost stepped off the roof of her apartment building. Oh. Yeah. That's not good. So it occurs to her that if she has nothing left to lose, she might as well shoot for the stars and pursue her girlhood dream of being a spy. I've often thought I'd become a P.I. or a bounty hunter after all the kids get gone. No one would see my shit coming... And with that in mind, she heads down to the local CIA office and tells them she wants a job. Due to a mix-up, she's brought on board as a courier. All she has to do is go on vacation in Mexico, act like a normal tourist, and then go to a bookshop and ask the owner for a certain book. She then comes home with said book. The end.
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But that would make for a terrible story! In this one, spoilery things happen, and she ends up trapped in an Albanian prison. With her is another spy who ends up badly beaten after interrogation and with a broken leg after a failed attempt to kill himself by jumping off a cliff. She has no training, no real skills, and no hope that anyone is coming to save them. But she does have a set of cards to play Solitare with and a big purse.
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One thing I do think readers should be aware of going in is that this is not an action-packed spy thriller. It actually does have a lot in common with Bond books, though, in that a bit of luck and a lot of determination not to die play a big part in the plot. And while Bond has a smarmy type of sex appeal, Mrs. Pollifax has kick-ass people skills.
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Plus, you know she makes it because there are 14 books in Mrs. Pollifax's series. I don't know that I'll read any more of these because spy stories just aren't my jam. But I'm not sorry that I read this one, either. Recommended for fans of your grandmother's CIA....more
I've never seen the movie, but I knewish the plot. Even so, I thought this was very cool. Kind of sloTwo US Marshals walk into a loony bin...
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I've never seen the movie, but I knewish the plot. Even so, I thought this was very cool. Kind of slow when it starts out, but the pace picks up midway through, and the ending is...oh, yeah.
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If you somehow don't know, Shutter Island is about a man who is inwardly dealing with the death of his wife, while on assignment as a US Marshal to find out what happened to a patient who has gone missing from an asylum for the criminally insane. At first, it looks like a locked room mystery, but you're soon aware that our narrator might not be on the island for the reasons he's claiming. Or not just for the reasons he's claiming. Because something about Shutter Island is not right.
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Ok, truthfully? This kind of book isn't my jam. It moved too slowly for me, and a lot of the inner monologue about his wife and his time in the army just bored me to tears. I was also bored by all the conversations he had with his partner. Again, this isn't to say the book isn't well-written, just a fair warning to readers who are like me and prefer a bit more action. Now, towards the very end of the book, you get all the thrills you could want out of a psychological thriller. But up till then? Eh.
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Still, this did exactly what it was supposed to and hits you upside the head...hard. Recommended....more
Wow. Ok, so I kind of waffled between being bored with all of the tedious police shit and just simply disliking Renee because she was kind of an assholWow. Ok, so I kind of waffled between being bored with all of the tedious police shit and just simply disliking Renee because she was kind of an asshole.
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I thought there was something spunky about her in the last book, but in this one, she just came off as judgy and a stickler for "rules". Bosch, who I also don't particularly like at this point, seemed more sympathetic. And that's never a good thing when you like a side character more than a main character. And even worse than that, you don't even really like that side character all that much.
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Basically, I just don't think I like Connelly's version of cops. I mean, I've never been crazy about cop stories in general, but I was hoping that Connelly would make them somehow seem more sympathetic to me, not like a bunch of robot psychos. Broken, weird, and even mean characters can be amazing, but Renee simply isn't interesting in this story. She sort of marinates in her own righteous juices, doing what she wants regardless of what is legal, but looking down on anyone else who does the same. She reminds me a lot of Mickey Haller's wife in the Lincoln Lawyer series, and it makes me wonder if Connelly just doesn't know how to write strong female characters that aren't absolutely off-putting.
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By the end of this, I was just done with her, and the last few pages just solidified it for me. (view spoiler)[So spoilery things happen and they find the serial killer. Renee leaves the scene at Bosch's urging to protect her badge, because she did some illegal stuff to find out whether or not she was on the right track. She was. And now Bosch plans to gets a confession from the guy using even more illegal means. He does. BUT. Bosch is pissed because this serial killer who is responsible for torturing, raping, and killing whoknowshowmany women that he grabbed off the streets (most of whom won't even be reported as missing persons) is sitting in a warehouse all tied up and waiting to be arrested with his flimsy tape-recorded "evidence" that any attorney could get thrown out. And so he calls one of the missing girl's fathers - a guy who has "connections" and isn't afraid to fuck this guy up and put him in an acid bath afterward. He calls that guy and lets him know who he caught. THEN. Then he grows some kind of a weird conscience and calls the police, telling them to hurry up and snag this guy. Which only denies the father his daughter's vengeance. Let me say right now that if a serial killer gets me someday, I am 100% on board with vengeance in my name, ok? Do it. Then Renee gets all mad when she finds out what Bosch almost let happen to the bad guy. What? (hide spoiler)] I don't think I like Renee anymore. And due to how bored I was for a lot of this, I just don't think I'm going to grab the next book anytime soon....more
3.5 stars...inching close to 4? I wasn't even really sure I was going to finish this at first. Cop stories aren't my jam. I stopped and started a few tim3.5 stars...inching close to 4? I wasn't even really sure I was going to finish this at first. Cop stories aren't my jam. I stopped and started a few times, to be honest. But by the time we got to the halfway mark, I was all in. And when it was over, I put the next book in the series on hold.
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The skinny gist is that Renee Ballard was bumped down to the Late Show (night shift) because she reported her superior for sexual harassment, and then her partner (the only witness) refused to back her up. Still dedicated to the cause, she's found a case that she desperately wants to close - a transgender prostitute who was nearly beaten to death after what looks to be days of torture. Her new partner, whose wife is dying, wants nothing to do with any of it as he only cares about being home during the day to take care of his spouse. Fair. You certainly don't hate the guy.
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Ok. So it starts off kind of slow but then the characters and the plot begin building into something a bit more special. I ended up liking this and I'm hoping it turns into my new go-to series....more
Mikey makes it his new mission to do the Resurrection Walk with innocent clients.
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The time jumps in this series always throw me off. When we lefMikey makes it his new mission to do the Resurrection Walk with innocent clients.
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The time jumps in this series always throw me off. When we left him at the end of the last book, he'd just proven his innocence in the murder of an ex-client, he and his ex-wife were tentatively back together, and their daughter was hunkering down with the two of them as the COVID outbreak shut the world down.
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When this one opens, there has been some major rift with the ex and they aren't on good terms anymore. However. I did appreciate that as the story progressed you could see that Mickey was finally free of her and no longer felt the weight of her judgment on him. I really can't stand his ex-wife and I was hoping we'd see some kind of character growth away from her nonsense.
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While Mickey is still taking all kinds of clients to pay the bills, he hires Bosch to try and sift through the request for pro bono cases that claim they were wrongly convicted. Bosch is having spoilery health issues and working for his half-brother allows him to have the kind of health insurance he needs. But don't worry, he still acts like a childish dick when it comes to working for a defense attorney.
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Renee shows up in this one when Bosch asks her for a favor, so her character gets some page time as well. And part of what makes the audiobook so fantastic is that it has three different narrators who read the chapters featuring Renee, Harry, & Mickey.
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This was a good addition to the Lincoln Lawyer series, and I think most fans of the character will enjoy it. I'm personally looking forward to seeing what Connelly throws him into when the next book opens. Although I have to admit that other than Harry, I basically hate every other character that Connelly has written. Not sure what that says about me. Recommended....more
Mickey gets arrested for murder. And COVID is coming...
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I thought the addition of the oncoming pandemic was an interesting backdrop. Not only isMickey gets arrested for murder. And COVID is coming...
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I thought the addition of the oncoming pandemic was an interesting backdrop. Not only is the clock ticking for the trial, but the reader is aware that the clock is ticking for the inevitable shutdown. And Connelly laces the legal thriller with just enough phrases like, did you hear about that virus that hit China?, to keep you biting your nails (after you wash your goddamn hands!) throughout the whole book.
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Ok, so remember that client of Mickey's that always had some horrible scam going? Donate to the burial fund of such-n-such school shooting! Or. Click here to send money to the survivors of such-n-such natural disaster! Yeah, that guy is the one found stuffed into the truck of Haller's Lincoln during a "routine" stop. He's kinda ripe, as he's apparently been sort of marinating in the trunk for a few days.
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Mickey's family & friends circle the wagons in his defense. Lorna, Cisco, & Jennifer are of course ready to go. But his half-brother Bosch steps up to help investigate, and his ex-wife Maggie takes a break from the prosecution table to help him head up his defense, as well. An old girlfriend (that you didn't realize was an ex until the book started) comes back into town to show her support. And (along with Bosch) his cyber-pimp client help put up $$ to spring him from the pokey. It's a love fest.
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Naturally, all the prosecutors think he's guilty as hell. Even though this looks like a COMPLETE setup to anyone with eyeballs. I have to say, by the end of the book you basically just yelling OH, COME ON! at the justice system. So yeah. It's a little OTT. And yet. I liked this one.
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Side Note: The author lets his political bias show through in this one. And fair. It's his book, and I don't necessarily disagree with him. But it's pretty apparent by the end of the book that Connelly isn't a Trumper, so if you think that might hamper your enjoyment of the story this is fair warning.
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The ending is sweet and I'm looking forward to seeing what the future brings for the Lincoln Lawyer. Recommended for fans of legal thrillers....more
A dead hooker's cyber-pimp is charged with murder. Should be another fat payday for Mickey Haller.
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Lots to like with this one. First, the last booA dead hooker's cyber-pimp is charged with murder. Should be another fat payday for Mickey Haller.
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Lots to like with this one. First, the last book left you thinking that Harry was going to really flip things over in his life and run for District Attorney. I closed the book thinking that we might see a different kind of Lincoln Lawyer in the next book. Once again, Connelly surprised me. This book opens with the reader learning that not only did he lose the race, his reputation was smeared and his wife and daughter left LA because of it. In a shocking turn of events, his ex-wife is mad at him. Again. Spoiler Alert: I do not like Mickey's ex-wife.
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Second, remember ol' Glory Days? That hooker that Mickey had a soft spot for a few books back? Yeah, that's who this client supposedly killed. Ouch. But he takes the case anyway because Mickey thinks the guy didn't do it AND he wants to make sure the right person goes to jail for this shit.
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Third, we get to know his half-brother Bosch a bit more in this one, as he plays a prominent role in this book.
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I'm trying not to give spoilers, so I'll just say this was good stuff. Maybe my favorite book in the series so far?
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And can I just say that the books are so much better than the Netflix show? Because they are. Mickey is just too nice in the show. Who wants to watch a show about a nice lawyer? Recommended....more
Harry gets into defending foreclosures during the housing crisis to make a buck. So how does he end up with another high-profile murder case? When his Harry gets into defending foreclosures during the housing crisis to make a buck. So how does he end up with another high-profile murder case? When his biggest pain in the ass client gets arrested for killing the bank executive in charge of her foreclosure, her first call is to him. Who better to defend the underdog than the Lincoln Lawyer?
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Harry takes her on thinking there might be a payday with the movie rights for this thing one day. Little does he know that he's already got some competition from a sleazy small-time producer who has seemingly wormed his way into his client's pants, potentially screwing with Harry's only hope at a payout.
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Nothing is ever quite what it seems, and there are a lot of twists & turns as Harry and his team work hard to find someone else who might have had a reason to want this guy dead. Unfortunately, they have to discredit a witness that put her near the scene of the crime and deal with how terrible it looks that the bank put that pesky restraining order on her...
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Because as it turns out, Harry might just believe this single mom wasn't the one who bashed the banker over the head. Is that a good thing? Read it and find out. Recommended for fans of the Lincoln Lawyer....more
I can't seem to get enough of this series. The minute I finished, I downloaded the next book. And while these aren't perfection, I'm finding they areI can't seem to get enough of this series. The minute I finished, I downloaded the next book. And while these aren't perfection, I'm finding they are highly addictive.
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This time around Mickey is on the other side as a special prosecutor in a case where the DA needs it to look like there has been no misconduct by his office. Why? Because decades later, DNA evidence has revealed that a convicted child killer wasn't responsible for the semen on her dress. However, it wasn't a sex crime and the State feels like they still have the right guy. And they need someone outside their office to head up a new trial against him. Enter Mickey Haller.
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This was a really good installment in the Lincoln Lawyer series. I love the way Connelly kept me off-balance with the guilt or innocence of the defendant. And coupled with Mickey being on the wrong side of the fence this time, I was constantly excited to see where the plot was heading. Plus, bringing Bosch in as a full-on character that we got to see through the eyes of, really got me hyped up to read his books.
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The only real complaint (if you want to call it that) was the somewhat anti-climactic ending. And don't get me wrong, there was a whole lot of crazy that went down when it came to the defendant and his defense team. BUT. The actual ending to the story almost felt like it was a "to be continued" thing. And I'm not sure if that will be continued in a Bosch book or if I'm reading something into the ending that just wasn't even there.
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Even with that, I think this is my favorite in the series so far. Recommended....more
I wasn't expecting that we'd start this story with Mickey Haller on bad terms with his ex-wife and daughter. In the opening chapter, we find out that I wasn't expecting that we'd start this story with Mickey Haller on bad terms with his ex-wife and daughter. In the opening chapter, we find out that he got addicted to prescription pain pills after being shot in the first book. So...yeah. That happened.
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Ok, this was a whole thing that added another layer to the story and took me by surprise. I liked it. The last book seemed to end on a somewhat high note because (view spoiler)[Mickey not only survived his serial killer/rapist client but also managed to get justice without losing his license. Sure, he had been injured, was angry at his ex-wife for lying to him, and all didn't quite turn out as rosy as one might hope for the client in prison who had been wrongly convicted of the original crime. (hide spoiler)] But. It seemed as though the next book should open on a high note, as well.
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Alright. So everything is on pins and needles with his family, but he's completed rehab and doing well. In fact, he's just about ready to start dipping his toes in the water of his law practice again when he gets called before a judge who informs him that one of his frenemies has died and left his clients to him. And one of those clients is a big-time movie producer who is accused of the double homicide of his wife and her lover. Oooooh. The smell of money is just wafting off of this case. Unfortunately, it's not all rainbows and unicorns. While he does manage to hook the producer, he can't seem to get him to take the murder charge seriously.
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Not to mention he's now concerned that whoever killed his predecessor might be after him. Or so says this cop Harry Bocsh...
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Things are never quite what they seem for our Lincoln Lawyer and that's a big part of what makes the books work. But I think the main reason I enjoy this series so much is that the characters Connelly introduces us to grow and change throughout the story.
I'm shocked at how much I enjoyed this. And I'm not a fan of legal thrillers. <--or at least, I never thought I was a fan of legal thrillers? Well, I'm I'm shocked at how much I enjoyed this. And I'm not a fan of legal thrillers. <--or at least, I never thought I was a fan of legal thrillers? Well, I'm a fan of this legal thriller, at any rate.
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There were some nice twists and turns in this one that I wasn't expecting. And I really liked all of the characters in this. I don't mean that they were all good, just that they were written really well. The main characters were realistically decent and flawed, and the side characters all had the potential to be more than just side characters. Like, you feel as though there was a real person under that throwaway character just waiting to come out and star in their own book.
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Ok. Mickey Haller is a defense attorney in LA County who shares custody of his young daughter with his ex-wife, a state prosecutor. And while they have an amicable relationship, the fact that he's defending the people she's trying to put away is a bone of contention between them. His father was a famous lawyer, but Mickey isn't there yet. Most of his time is spent in his Lincoln, hustling to pay the bills and taking on low-rent repeat offenders. And while he may want his money up front, he does everything in his power to get his clients the best deal he can. So when a rich fish seemingly bites his hook accidentally, he works double time to reel him in and get that big payday.
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As Mickey listens to his client profess his complete blamelessness and outrage at the charges of attempted murder, he starts to believe he might have stumbled onto a unicorn known as an innocent client.
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Now from there, things go tits up in a spoilery way. I'm not going to ruin it for anyone, but I enjoyed the hell out of the whole thing so much that as soon as I was done with this book, I put the next one in the series on hold at my library. Highly Recommended....more
Not for me. It seems as though so many people loved this, but I found it to be a bit of a slog. The first few hours of the audiobook were so. incrediblyNot for me. It seems as though so many people loved this, but I found it to be a bit of a slog. The first few hours of the audiobook were so. incredibly. boring. I seriously do not care about any of the mundane nonsense (her uniform was too tight in the shoulders but made her stand up straighter) that played no part in the plot.
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Maybe more importantly, I couldn't feel any of the terror that our heroine, Kit, felt as she entered the spooky murder house. What the fuck even are you going on about, girl? An old lady supposedly killed her family a million years ago. Said old lady now has use of one fucking hand that she uses to type words to you. Why is Kit freaking out all of the time? If she were a teenager, maybe. But this is a grown-ass woman. Are you kidding me with this nonsense? Oh no! I'm not sure if I want to know the truth! What? Why not?
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It may be that I'm just more curious than the average bear, but I would be all about hearing what happened on the night of this famous murder from the suspected murderer. None of this wiffle-waffling for me, I'd settle right in and snuggle up with a presumed killer for that level of gossip.
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Yes. Yes, I am. And, not to brag, but that's probably why I'll end up the subject of a Netflix documentary at some point.
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The conclusion to the mystery was over the top, but that honestly didn't bother me too much. It's a thriller, so you know that you are going to (hopefully) go on a bit of a wild ride when you picked the book up.
(view spoiler)[ Ricky just kind of popped out of nowhere, didn't he? And then to be related to Kit? Ok. Go with it, man! Victoria just had some shit luck when it came to the people in her life, I guess. The worst had to be her sister locking her in her room while she squeezed out a baby by herself. Cheese-us on crackers! That's a vagina's nightmare. And what was the point of her father locking them in their rooms as a game? Like, I get that he was a control freak, but that just seemed like an abstract thing to do. That Lenora and Ricky, both incredibly selfish people in life, decided to just sit there while the house fell away into the sea instead of trying to escape was pretty out of character for both of them. <--but ok! Dramatic license. I get it. (hide spoiler)]
The epilogue was kind of insane, though. And not really in a good way.
(view spoiler)[No matter how much I wanted Virginia to get a happily ever after, I simply can't respect someone who sits in their bed for years and years pretending to be mute & immobile. People are having to wipe your ass. Because you shit on yourself. And then lay in that shit until someone wiped it and changed your diaper. HOW? HOW!? Now, I have zero problems wiping someone's ass. Doesn't make me gag or feel weird or whatever else. If someone needs help, they need help, and you help them. Period. But I will be good and goddammed if I sit in my own poo for 20 years as a fucking prank to pay back a bitchy sister. That's just weird. (hide spoiler)]
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Alright. This has quite a few glowing reviews, so take mine with a grain of salt. I think the problem is that the story relies too much on atmosphere and that just isn't the kind of book that hits with me. It moved too slowly and I couldn't relate to the main character's fears. Recommended for...someone else....more
A woman's husband disappears - seemingly to go on the run after his tech company is accused of futzing with the stocks. But is that all there is to thA woman's husband disappears - seemingly to go on the run after his tech company is accused of futzing with the stocks. But is that all there is to the story?
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No. Obviously not or it wouldn't be worth writing a book about, would it? When a stranger hands Hannah a note from her husband with the words Protect her written on them, her life will never be the same.
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Protect who? Her surly 16 year old stepdaughter, Bailey, that's who. Now, Bailey is not at all interested in sharing her father with his new wife, or making room for Hannah in her life, no matter how hard she tries. But Hannah loves her husband and (more importantly) she loves Bailey, and since these were the cards she was dealt, she fully intends to play them.
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Alright. I knew nothing about this story except the title going into it and I had an enjoyable time. It didn't blow my mind but it was a fun mysteryish sort of tale. The story is told in the present day and in flashbacks, which is always a cool way to go in my opinion. I thought it had kind of a farty little ending, though. (view spoiler)[I thought her husband had been ridiculous to take his daughter and run off just because his wife's father was a mob lawyer. Just tell your father-in-law that you don't want to be involved with his business stuff anymore and let it go. When Hannah first found out that "the mob" had killed Bailey's mom because her grandfather lost a case, I called bullshit. That's just bad business practice and it made no sense. So when Bailey's mob lawyer grandfather said that his daughter was actually killed as a warning to the judge she worked for to back off of some sort of environmental protection act he was looking at, I completely believed him. That? That made sense. So basically Owen was an idiot to turn state's evidence on the mob and (IMHO) he ruined his own life. If you're that stupid, I have zero sympathy for you. Hannah and his daughter will probably be much better off without any dumbass advice from him. (hide spoiler)] But I think a lot of people will love it....more
This is a fun genre. It is a genre now, right? The final girl genre? I mean, I've read several stories dealing with the FG trope and while they've been This is a fun genre. It is a genre now, right? The final girl genre? I mean, I've read several stories dealing with the FG trope and while they've been hit-or-miss, I just can't seem to give any of the stories a pass.
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Now. I did correctly guess who the killer was in the first chapter or so. BUT! Riley Sager took me on such a ride that I second guessed and third guessed and fourth-guessed myself right up till the last chapter. And while I was right (sooooo satisfying) there were so many twists and turns along the way that I never smugly thought that I had the answer in the bag. Of course in my head when it was over, I was like bitch, I knew it was you all along! The lies we tell ourselves...
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Now, the concept of Final Girl is kind of thin here. So you'll need to be a fan of this sort of thing and kind of suspend the disbelief that the media would make such a big deal out of these Final Girls. Partially because you'll have to suspend disbelief that there are only 3 of them in the whole wide world. As in, only 3 "girls" survived these somewhat overdramatic serial killerish attacks by crazies. If you can do that, you'll probably really have fun with this one.
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The gist is that a young woman named Quincy survived one of those cabin in the woods with a group of college friends attacks. The ONLY survivor. And when one of the world's other famous Final Girls is found dead, Quincy teams up with her only surviving counterpart to find out if it really was suicide or...something else. The thing that makes this story so interesting is that her mind has completely blocked out the vast majority of the night, so the reader isn't completely sure whether or not she's a reliable narrator.
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I'm not going to say this is for everyone who is looking for a good horror-mystery/thriller, but for those of you who know what you're getting into? Recommended....more
Everyone's favorite Jane is back and this time she's on the trail of her wayward niece. Not because she cares, per see, but because she thinks his younEveryone's favorite Jane is back and this time she's on the trail of her wayward niece. Not because she cares, per see, but because she thinks his young woman may be a kindred spirit. And she thinks it might just be interesting to have a tiny psychopath in her life to...well, not mother, but maybe to help mold? And maybe (just maybe) someone who is like her would understand her. That would be...nice? Right?
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Ok, so finding Kayla involves going back to her hometown and meeting with the family that turned Jane into what she is today. As they say, nature loaded the gun and the environment pulled the trigger. Jane's parents have terrible trigger control. They are the epitome of what most people consider trash bags. Jane's mother in particular, whose complete neglect led to a pedophile being given access to her young daughter, coupled with a reliable amount of victim blaming, helped give rise to Jane's psychopathic tendencies.
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I won't spoil the story for you but Jane tries to figure out how to cope with her version of being in love, attempts to rescue her dangerous niece from a politician who might be even more dangerous, and deals severely with a co-worker who thinks he can steal her ideas.
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The writing style sucked me in and I found myself once again enjoying the ride inside of Jane's head. PS -I love that Jane has found a man with the sort of psychological issues that complement her own. So, here's hoping that Kayla doesn't kill them both in their sleep!...more