Scan barcode
theeclecticreview's review against another edition
3.0
Ali has lost her job, her marriage and her best friend all in a few days. The job and marriage are a wash due to replacements with younger women, but her friend's alleged suicide does not ring true. Ali moves home to Sedona, Arizona and with the support of her family and friends starts an investigation of her own into her friend's death.
A good, but predictable ending.
A good, but predictable ending.
rhyvir's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
sasha_reads_books's review against another edition
3.0
I first got into reading J.A. Jance's books when my great-grandmother passed on to me a set of five or so books that this marvelous author had written. I read one of them (I can't for the life of me remember which one it was, my memory is something awful nowadays) and I immediately fell in love with her works. I took the time and effort to hunt down a copy of all of her works that had been released at the time (this was a number of years ago) and since, I've read all but the most recent of her JP Beaumont series. That series is now my favorite murder mystery series of all time and I will always cherish that portion of my collection. After reading that first book (which I do remember being not of the JP Beaumont variety) I have yet to have touched any of J.A. Jance's other series. That is, until now.
That was a lot of preamble just to say that this is my first time reading an Ali Reynolds book, but I think it's important to have that backstory when reading this review. I thought that this book would basically be a JP Beaumont story, but told from a different person's point of view. I knew it takes place in Arizona (my home state, by the way) but what I did not know is that this book is not really a mystery novel. Maybe someone out there might consider it one since the murderer's identity is concealed and there is, in fact, a murder that goes unsolved throughout the book. I have had a really hard time trying to nail down what genre the book feels like. It proclaims itself to be a "novel of suspense" on the front cover, but I feel like there was hardly any real suspense in it. There are a handful (think, more than two but less than five) moments of what I feel to be true suspense throughout the novel, most of which are towards the end. The rest of the story? Well, the rest is pretty much all character development. Trust me, I get it, it's the first of a series, so you need to establish the character (and heck, the JP Beaumont series took three novels to really establish the characters), but I feel like maybe there should've been more to the mystery and less to the missus of the story.
Oh, and there were a number of typos in this novel, one even going so far as to misspell a minor character's name.
TLDR - Loved the book, but it wasn't what I expected going into it, having only really read J.A. Jance's JP Beaumont series.
That was a lot of preamble just to say that this is my first time reading an Ali Reynolds book, but I think it's important to have that backstory when reading this review. I thought that this book would basically be a JP Beaumont story, but told from a different person's point of view. I knew it takes place in Arizona (my home state, by the way) but what I did not know is that this book is not really a mystery novel. Maybe someone out there might consider it one since the murderer's identity is concealed and there is, in fact, a murder that goes unsolved throughout the book. I have had a really hard time trying to nail down what genre the book feels like. It proclaims itself to be a "novel of suspense" on the front cover, but I feel like there was hardly any real suspense in it. There are a handful (think, more than two but less than five) moments of what I feel to be true suspense throughout the novel, most of which are towards the end. The rest of the story? Well, the rest is pretty much all character development. Trust me, I get it, it's the first of a series, so you need to establish the character (and heck, the JP Beaumont series took three novels to really establish the characters), but I feel like maybe there should've been more to the mystery and less to the missus of the story.
Oh, and there were a number of typos in this novel, one even going so far as to misspell a minor character's name.
TLDR - Loved the book, but it wasn't what I expected going into it, having only really read J.A. Jance's JP Beaumont series.
asukaluthien's review against another edition
3.0
This was an enjoyable read, though the ending felt a bit rushed.
javamamanc's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
laden_bookshelf's review against another edition
2.0
Caveat: I'm pretty sure I'm not the target audience for this book.
I've been a fan of Jance's for years and hadn't read a new book in a while. This was available from the library, so I picked it up. It's the story of a 40-something woman who gets canned for being 40something by her news channel. Within hours, it seemed, she found out her best friend from high school has gone missing. She loads up her car and her college-aged son and treks back to her hometown. Her son convinces her to take up this new-fangled thing called blogging. Mystery ensues as she discovers social networking and tries to figure out what really happened to her friend.
I just... meh. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it, I just didn't care all that much.
I've been a fan of Jance's for years and hadn't read a new book in a while. This was available from the library, so I picked it up. It's the story of a 40-something woman who gets canned for being 40something by her news channel. Within hours, it seemed, she found out her best friend from high school has gone missing. She loads up her car and her college-aged son and treks back to her hometown. Her son convinces her to take up this new-fangled thing called blogging. Mystery ensues as she discovers social networking and tries to figure out what really happened to her friend.
I just... meh. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it, I just didn't care all that much.
teuliano's review against another edition
5.0
I really like Ali Reynolds! I'll be looking for the rest of the series. Love Sedona too.
kjelu1022's review against another edition
4.0
This is my first J.A. Jance book. I fully enjoyed it. It was a quick read but kept my interest throughout the book.
Ali Reynolds, 40 something woman with a 22 year old son, has just been terminated from her TV journalist position due to age & sex discrimination. Shortly after, Ali discovers that her husband knew about the termination and has been cheating on her for quite awhile. When Ali gets a call from her hometown of Sedona, Arizona indicating a very close friend is sick and is missing, there is no hesitation in packing up herself and her son for a visit to her parents. In investigating her friend's disappearance, Ali turns herself into an amateur detective.
I am very interested in reading more in this series to discover what other adventures Ali gets into while discovering herself.
Ali Reynolds, 40 something woman with a 22 year old son, has just been terminated from her TV journalist position due to age & sex discrimination. Shortly after, Ali discovers that her husband knew about the termination and has been cheating on her for quite awhile. When Ali gets a call from her hometown of Sedona, Arizona indicating a very close friend is sick and is missing, there is no hesitation in packing up herself and her son for a visit to her parents. In investigating her friend's disappearance, Ali turns herself into an amateur detective.
I am very interested in reading more in this series to discover what other adventures Ali gets into while discovering herself.
novelesque_life's review against another edition
4.0
4 STARS
"Successful TV journalist Alison Reynolds' career comes to an abrupt end when top executives decide they need a "younger face". As if that's not enough, Ali discovers her media mogul husband is cheating on her: and her best friend from high school is missing." (From Amazon)
A great suspense/mystery novel. I liked Ali.
"Successful TV journalist Alison Reynolds' career comes to an abrupt end when top executives decide they need a "younger face". As if that's not enough, Ali discovers her media mogul husband is cheating on her: and her best friend from high school is missing." (From Amazon)
A great suspense/mystery novel. I liked Ali.