From Christi Daugherty, author of The Echo Killing, comes another pulse-pounding suspenseful thriller featuring crime reporter Harper McClain.
For a woman, being killed by someone who claims to love her is the most ordinary murder of all.
With its antebellum houses and ancient oak trees draped in a veil of Spanish moss, Savannah’s graceful downtown is famous around the world. When a woman is killed in the heart of that affluent district, the shock is felt throughout the city. But for crime reporter Harper McClain, this story is personal. The corpse has a familiar face.
Only twenty-four years old, Naomi Scott was just getting started. A law student, tending bar to make ends meet, she wanted to change the world. Instead, her life ended in the dead of night at the hands of an unseen gunman. There are no witnesses to the crime. The police have three suspects: Scott’s boyfriend, who has a criminal past he claims he’s put behind him, her boss, who stalked another young bartender two years ago, and the district attorney’s son, who Naomi dated until their relationship ended in acrimony. All three men claim to love her. Could one of them be her killer?
With the whole city demanding answers, Harper unravels a tangled story of obsession and jealousy. But the pressures on her go beyond the murder. The newspaper is facing more layoffs. Her boss fears both their jobs are on the line. And Harper begins to realize that someone is watching her every move. Someone familiar and very dangerous.
Someone who told her to run before it’s too late…
The
Sexy Nerd ‘Revue’
Hmm, I’m not real sure where to start with this book? I didn’t dislike the story and I didn’t like the story all rolled up into one. I’m not sure where I should start.
So…Naomi Scott was a beautiful young woman with lots of promise and hope for a bright future in the legal world, but her light was snuffed out too quickly. The beautiful Naomi finds herself sprawled out on the streets of Savannah in a heavily populated tourist area. Who on earth wanted this woman dead and why? Crime Reporter, Harper McClain, was on the case, or so I thought? She knew of Naomi and felt awful about learning of her murder, but couldn’t wait to sink her investigating chops into this case.
This is where the story gets a little muddied for me. First off, I was extremely frustrated with the way Harper was handling this case. She immediately assumed that Naomi’s ex-boyfriend was the killer. She, nor the police, didn’t feel there was anywhere else to look other than the ex. I’m sitting here reading these words and wanted to jump through the pages to slap the hell out of all of them. Why on earth would you just automatically assume that the ex was guilty? Of course, I get why he was a person of interest, but when the evidence began to go in a different direction, don’t you think as a reporter it’s your job to follow-up on all leads no matter how absurd they may seem or appear?
If Harper said it once she said it a million times that Naomi’s ex-boyfriend was it! Of course, readers, you know that isn’t the case. And when Harper receives a valid tip as to someone else that may be the culprit, right away she dismisses it—that is until things began to happen and she was forced to believe the evidence that was coming forth.
I’m sorry, but that’s frustrating to me as a reader. It’s easy to understand why you’d think one person is the guilty party, but when people are telling you to look elsewhere, or at the very least come up with evidence supporting your strong gut feeling, you’ve got to do your due diligence and investigate the clues thoroughly and I found that Harper wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer at times. I found myself getting angry as I read and that’s not the purpose of why I’m reading. I want to be entertained—not frustrated with the protagonist.
In all fairness, though, I will say once I got past some of Harper’s silly antics and theories, I enjoyed the story. I had my suspicions as well as to the clues that were being given, but I had a feeling I was on the right track. Too bad Harper isn’t a real person because we could have worked together on this caper. (chuckle!) But at any rate, it wasn’t a bad read, however, I did find the story to drag on a little longer than I would have liked. There was great detail that I could have done away with, but that’s a personal preference of mine, certainly nothing against the author.
Overall, I felt this was an ok story line and nice read. If you like zany characters and a southern appeal, you’ll definitely enjoy this book.
No comments:
Post a Comment