Book Review: Ready to Die by Lisa Jackson

 

ISBN-13: 9780758287519

Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation

Publication date: 7/30/2013 (nook) Hardcover available now

Synopsis:

Nothing

His blood quickens as he stares at the photographs. Six faces, all guilty—and detectives Regan Pescoli and Selena Alvarez are at the top of his list. One by one, he'll stalk them, then he'll squeeze the trigger, savoring the way each lifeless body crumples to the reddening snow. One down already. And then there were five. . .

Can Prepare You

Sheriff Dan Grayson lies near death after a shooting, and the police department of Grizzly Falls, Montana, is in shock. Alvarez, torn between a new relationship and her loyalty to Grayson, works with Pescoli to whittle down the list of suspects. The deeper they go, the more personal and dangerous the case becomes. Then a prominent judge's body is found and the killer sends a sinister warning to the press: "Who's Next?"

To Face A Killer

Pescoli isn't waiting to find out. Headstrong and eager for justice, she'll track the scant clues on her own if she has to. But her search leads her straight to a monster who has had her in his sights all along. And when hunter meets prey, both must be willing to kill—and ready to die. . .

The good:

The suspense is this book wasn't nail-biting, but it had a good plot and didn't reveal the who-dun-it till the very end (although I suspected it from the beginning, so you probably will too.)

The characters were unique and flawed and interesting.  I cared about what happened to each of them, so that kept me reading as much as the crime/mystery plot.

The bad:

I felt like I came into this book behind the curve (which I did).  This is the latest in a series of books about these two detectives.  The beginning of the book tried to push in a lot of backstory.  It wasn't boring, it did give insight into the characters, but I felt like so much had happened to them that I had missed out on.

This was not a romantic suspense.  Even if it's labeled that way, I disagree because I think a romantic suspense by definition should have a happily ever after.  This was a mystery book with relationship subplots.  If you are looking for a love story, this is not your book.  I'm thinking that the "couples" that are developing in this story will play out in other books, but since this series has been going a while, who knows when that pay out will be.

Overall, I liked the book.  It kept me interested and again, I liked the characters.  Had I known there wasn't a guy and girl who end up with a happily every after, I might not have picked it up, but it was a good read all the same.

I will probably read the next book in the series if it comes out soon, but I won't be picking up any of the past books in this series.