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booksuperpower's review against another edition
3.0
Ready to Die by Lisa Jackson is a 2013 Kensington publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
When I heard Lisa Jackson was coming out with a new novel soon, I realized I had not read any of her books in quite some time. Scrolling through my TBR list I discovered I had added this book to my shelves under ‘Netgalley’ but I had never reviewed it. Sure enough, I found it on my Kindle, stored in the cloud, never read or reviewed. Geez. Better late than never? I hope so, since I usually enjoy Lisa’s work and hate that so much time has passed since I read one of her books.
This book in the fifth in this series, and starts off with a huge emotional shock, which has Alvarez and Pescoli under pressure and very much on edge. Their beloved sheriff, Dan Grayson, is now lying in a coma and the ladies are determined to take down the person who shot him.
On a personal level, Pescoli is dealing with two petulant kids, a marriage proposal, and a new boss who has made it clear he doesn’t like her.
Can the women discover who shot Dan and if the disappearance of a prominent judge has ties to this case?
This story is one part police procedural, and one part family drama. The crime is very well plotted and kept me guessing all the way to the very end where a stunning twist left me floored. The only part I hated about the investigation was that Dan was the victim.
The personal dramas and side stories were sort of puzzling to me. Jeremy needed to be taken down a notch, even though he did earn a little bit of respect from me by the end of the book.
The other side story involving Dan’s brother and former sister-in-law was pretty sudsy and after it got my blood boiling a little, this sub-plot simply faded away and we got a one sentence update on the situation in the epilogue that was very disappointing. I hope this storyline is continued in the next book and that there is more of upbeat feeling to it as well. But, as far as I’m concerned that whole setup didn’t do one thing for the investigation into Dan’s shooting, nor did it address the suspicious death of Dan’s brother several years ago, another thread that got left flapping in the wind, but there is a hint that storyline is not yet closed. Still, I was left with the feeling I wasted all that emotion on nothing and wondered why it was even in this book. I think the story would have flowed a lot more evenly if the focus had stayed on the crime and on the ladies doing the leg work.
The crime novel sections, the investigation, and the police work is the bread and butter in this book and all the other sub-plots were more or less filler, except for the inside look into Pescoli’s life and the pressures she was under on all fronts. I like Alvarez and Pescoli being paired together as partners and believe they work well together. So, overall, this book is a solid thriller and crime novel, and for the most part was an enjoyable read.
3 stars
When I heard Lisa Jackson was coming out with a new novel soon, I realized I had not read any of her books in quite some time. Scrolling through my TBR list I discovered I had added this book to my shelves under ‘Netgalley’ but I had never reviewed it. Sure enough, I found it on my Kindle, stored in the cloud, never read or reviewed. Geez. Better late than never? I hope so, since I usually enjoy Lisa’s work and hate that so much time has passed since I read one of her books.
This book in the fifth in this series, and starts off with a huge emotional shock, which has Alvarez and Pescoli under pressure and very much on edge. Their beloved sheriff, Dan Grayson, is now lying in a coma and the ladies are determined to take down the person who shot him.
On a personal level, Pescoli is dealing with two petulant kids, a marriage proposal, and a new boss who has made it clear he doesn’t like her.
Can the women discover who shot Dan and if the disappearance of a prominent judge has ties to this case?
This story is one part police procedural, and one part family drama. The crime is very well plotted and kept me guessing all the way to the very end where a stunning twist left me floored. The only part I hated about the investigation was that Dan was the victim.
The personal dramas and side stories were sort of puzzling to me. Jeremy needed to be taken down a notch, even though he did earn a little bit of respect from me by the end of the book.
The other side story involving Dan’s brother and former sister-in-law was pretty sudsy and after it got my blood boiling a little, this sub-plot simply faded away and we got a one sentence update on the situation in the epilogue that was very disappointing. I hope this storyline is continued in the next book and that there is more of upbeat feeling to it as well. But, as far as I’m concerned that whole setup didn’t do one thing for the investigation into Dan’s shooting, nor did it address the suspicious death of Dan’s brother several years ago, another thread that got left flapping in the wind, but there is a hint that storyline is not yet closed. Still, I was left with the feeling I wasted all that emotion on nothing and wondered why it was even in this book. I think the story would have flowed a lot more evenly if the focus had stayed on the crime and on the ladies doing the leg work.
The crime novel sections, the investigation, and the police work is the bread and butter in this book and all the other sub-plots were more or less filler, except for the inside look into Pescoli’s life and the pressures she was under on all fronts. I like Alvarez and Pescoli being paired together as partners and believe they work well together. So, overall, this book is a solid thriller and crime novel, and for the most part was an enjoyable read.
3 stars
cath518's review
medium-paced
This is the 5th book in the Alvarez/Pescoli series. It's Christmas Eve (again) and Regan Pescoli has just arrived at the Sheriff's house to hand in her resignation when he is shot and his dog takes off. The Sheriff's department is immediately investigating who would want to shoot the sheriff and hoping he recovers from his wounds. Then, a local judge is killed and they are trying to determine if and how the events are connected.
kaz_loves_books's review
4.0
Brilliant, really good book, kept you hooked all the way through, full of suspense.
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