Kristen Lepionka

Winner of the Shamus Award for Best PI Hardcover novel 2019 Shaken by the outcome of her last big case, PI Roxane Weary is keeping a low profile. When she takes on a new client who suspects his fiancée is cheating on him, Roxane is happy to have landed a run-of-the-mill surveillance job. Until, that is, Marin Strasser, the woman she's been tailing, turns up dead. The police are convinced her client is the one who pulled the trigger. Certain - and scared - that things aren't so straightforward, Roxane starts to follow a paper trail that gets more dangerous the farther it goes. So who really was Marin Strasser? Who could have wanted her dead? And how can Roxane stop her work from once again pushing away the few people she thinks she can trust?

What You Want to See

Lacy W

A special thank you goes out to Netgalley and Minotaur books for allowing me to read this eARC early. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

4. 5 stars!

tw: sexism, mentions of child abuse, slurs against those with mental illness, alcoholism, mentioned drug use 

I missed my favorite bisexual private investigator, Roxane, even though it's only been a couple of weeks, if that. But how could I not miss Roxane with all her smarty assery and wisdom? Not to mention, it's so amazing that a female MC is bisexual especially in crime thrillers. I mean, how often do you see that? Not very often, that's how often!

I really am starting to love crime thriller books and it's because of Roxane (and Tracy Crosswhite from the Tracy Crosswhite series). She is far from perfect, sure, but I don't expect my heroines to be perfect. She has a bit of drinking problem, never listens when she should and can be angry and rude for no reason. But that is why I love her. She knows who she is and doesn't change for anybody. She works on the changes for herself. 

The plot was far more interesting then the first book. Although the synopsis gives away a huge amount so it's just best to go in blind. Just don't bother with it all because the book has so many twists and turns. My head was spinning and I loved every minute of it. 

I also liked that this book had more of Roxane's personal life but it, in no way, took away from the main story. Cat was a major figure in this book. If you recall, she was the ex in the first book. I didn't like Cat in the first book. I thought she was horrible for Roxane and I thought she was selfish. However, she had a bit of a redemption arc and you all know I am here for character arcs. By the end, I found myself rooting for them. Something I definitely didn't see coming. 

I had to deduct half a star because Roxane can get a little wordy and repeat a lot of what she says while trying to figure out the mystery. It's not super bothersome but my eyes did glaz over huge paragraphs once or twice. Her way of solving a mystery was going over every detail over and over to see if she missed something. That is fine, don't get me wrong, but it's a bit difficult to read and my eyes were begging for paragraph breaks. 

Overall, this book was fantastic! I early await 2019 when I can get my hands on the third book. I think this is a series that everyone needs to stop sleeping on. It may be a thriller but it has a lot more to offer than just that. I really highly recommend this series.

Kate

Too many characters and elements hurtling towards a conclusion that left me confused. Disappointing because I loved the first one which balanced unique, well-drawn characters to care about and twisty intrigue. Still, it was well-written enough to be compelling - I read it through in basically one sitting.

What You Want to See

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