Love is Murder by Allison Brennan

Title: Love is Murder
Author: Allison Brennan
Series: #0.5 in the Lucy Kincaid series
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Ballantine Books (January 24, 2011)
Source: Library Find
Rating: ☕☕☕1/2

Synopsis: I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU . . . DEAD

After a tough breakup with her boyfriend, Lucy Kincaid needs a different kind of break. So she heads west to join her brother, an ex-cop, for a long weekend of skiing in the mountains. At a picturesque lodge tucked high in the Sierra Nevada, Lucy finds just what she’s looking for: a peaceful retreat undisturbed by Internet, television, and cell phone distractions. She also finds an unexpected group of newlyweds seeking their own idyllic getaway.
But finding one of her fellow guests dead wasn’t in the brochure. And neither was the overnight snowstorm that leaves the lodge cut off from the outside world. When Lucy’s brother suspects the honeymooner’s death was foul play, he’s mysteriously stricken ill. Now, to keep him and herself alive, it’s up to aspiring FBI agent Lucy Kincaid to figure out which of the lovebirds trapped in the lodge is really a bird of prey.

My Thoughts: This was a nice introduction to the Lucy Kincaid series but it isn't necessary in the grand scheme of things to read it prior to starting the series.

The Good, The Bad, and Whatever Else I want to Mention: Since this was the first of her series, Lucy is young and not as established as she was in the Max Revere book featuring her and Max. It really was nice to see Lucy as a young woman. Thankfully the issues I had, not necessarily with her but with the way her background was rehashed, in Shattered, were mostly absent from this book. It's been a few months since I read this book because I'm a little behind in my reviews but I recall a vague mention of her past but that was it which I'm grateful for because the constant rehashing that was done in Shattered diminished my enjoyment of that book.

As I mentioned earlier in the overall grand scheme of the series (which I've not yet read but am fairly confident in drawing my conclusions) this novella is a throwaway. For me, this means you could read it or you could skip it. Nothing really happened that would have a tremendous impact on Lucy's character in future books. It was a nice little mystery set in a snowed in ski lodge setting and Lucy and her brother were interesting characters but had I not read this book I would have been A-OK to just jump into book 1 of the Lucy Kincaid series. Also as a side note this was labeled Romantic Suspense but there is no romance in it at all. Lucy is fresh out of a breakup and there is no love interest in the works either.


In a Nutshell: If you have time and enjoy the Lucy Kincaid series I'd recommend you spend an hour or so reading this short novella. If you're looking for a mystery/thriller in the vein of Karin Slaughter or Lisa Gardner I'd skip this one.

Shattered by Allison Brennan

Author: Allison Brennan
Series: #4 in the Max Revere series
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Minotaur Books; Reprint edition (August 22, 2017)
Source: Library Find
Rating: ☕☕☕☕

Synopsis: Over a span of twenty years, four boys have been kidnapped from their bedrooms, suffocated, and buried nearby in a shallow grave. Serial killer or coincidence?

That’s the question investigative reporter Maxine Revere sets out to answer when an old friend begs her to help exonerate his wife, who has been charged with their son’s recent murder. But Max can do little to help because the police and D.A. won’t talk to her—they think they have the right woman. Instead, Max turns her attention to three similar cold cases. If she can solve them, she might be able to help her friend.

Justin Stanton was killed twenty years ago, and his father wants closure—so he is willing to help Max with her investigation on one condition: that she work with his former sister-in-law— Justin’s aunt, FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid. Trouble is, Max works alone, and she’s livid that her only access to the case files, lead detective and witnesses depends on her partnering with a federal agent on vacation. She wants the career-making story almost as much as the truth—but if she gets this wrong, she could lose everything.

Haunted by Justin’s death for years, Lucy yearns to give her family—and herself—the closure they need. More important, she wants to catch a killer. Lucy finds Max’s theory on all three cases compelling—with Max's research added to Lucy’s training and experience, Lucy believes they can find the killer so justice can finally be served. But the very private Lucy doesn’t trust the reporter any more than Max trusts her.

Max and Lucy must find a way to work together to untangle lies, misinformation, and evidence to develop a profile of the killer. But the biggest question is: why were these boys targeted? As they team up to find out what really happened the night Justin was killed, they make a shocking discovery: Justin’s killer is still out there … stalking another victim … and they already may be too late.

My Thoughts: This series just gets better and better.

The Good: With this book Allison Brennan brought in the star of her Lucy Kincaid series into Max's world. I have not read any of the Lucy Kincaid books and now I really want to. Max doesn't really work well with others and to see her have to work with an FBI agent was a great way to move Max's character forward. Lucy is a mystery to Max and Max doesn't do well with mysteries. She needs answers and with Lucy she can't get those answers. This is where you see Max really maturing even more than in the last few books. She lives with it. I liked seeing Max realizing she wanted more from her life as well.

The plot was pretty straight forward but kind of took a little back seat to the characters of Lucy and Max. I'm so character driven so I didn't hate this and if there were slow parts or flaws in the plot I never noticed. The actual story of boys being murdered was pretty intense and I really liked it a lot. Even though we know who the killer was through a large portion of the book the investigation was still riveting.

The Bad: There was quite a bit of repetition in regards to Lucy's background that was an irritant. Since I had not read any of the Lucy Kincaid books this was new information to me but it is told and told again and if you didn't get it the first dozen times it is told again. All of this was strictly for the reader as Max had no knowledge of Lucy's traumatic past and the book ended with her still in the dark about it. Had I gone into this book having read the Lucy books this repetition would have been even worse.

Another thing some people would find as a negative in this book would be the lack of romance. Sure Lucy and her husband, Sean, have an amazing relationship but Max's romance was completely lacking in this book. There is no sex and barely even any communication between Max and the man she has been dating since the end of book 1.

In a Nutshell: I love this series and can't wait for the next book to come out. Until I can get my hands on the next book once it's published I'm happy to be able to read more about Lucy Kincaid. I'd recommend people who like Romantic Suspense to read these Max Revere books but don't let her abrasive personality in the first book stop you from continuing on. This series is good.

Poisonous by Allison Brennan

Title: Poisonous
Author: Allison Brennan
Series: #3 in the Maxine Revere series
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Minotaur Books; Reprint edition (April 12, 2016)
Source: Library Find
Rating: ☕☕☕1/2

Synopsis: Teen-aged Internet bully Ivy Lake fell off a cliff and few people cared ... except her mentally-challenged eighteen-year-old step-brother, Tommy. He loved her in spite of her cruelty. He's distraught and doesn't understand why his blended family is falling apart. After a year, the police still have no answers: Ivy could have jumped, could have been pushed, or it could have been an accident. With too many suspects and not enough evidence, the investigation has grown cold.

Tommy thinks that if someone can figure out what happened to his step-sister, everything will go back to normal, so he writes to investigative reporter Maxine Revere. This isn’t the type of case Max normally takes on, but the heartbreak and simple honesty in Tommy's letter pulls her in. She travels to Corte Madera, California, with her assistant David Kane and is at first pleased that the police are cooperative. But the more Max learns about Tommy and his dysfunctional family, the more she thinks she’s taken on an impossible task: this may be the one case she can’t solve.

If Ivy was murdered, it was exceptionally well-planned and that kind of killer could be hiding in plain sight ... planning the next act of violence. Max believes the truth is always better than lies, that the truth is the only thing that matters to gain justice for victims and their families. But for the first time, she wonders if this time, the truth will kill.

My Thoughts: While I wasn't as involved with the crime part of this book as I was in the previous book I did enjoy this book quite a bit.

The Good: I liked Max's interactions with the kids in this book. She showed immense compassion when talking with them and treated Tommy, an 18 year old with special needs, with respect. I'm not sure if she would have been as compassionate if this was the case we read about in the first book. In the first book she was colder...almost impersonal. She also did whatever it took to get to the truth  regardless of who might get hurt. In the second book she had to take a hard look at who she was as a person and made some discoveries she didn't like. In this book she is still struggling with her discoveries she made of herself in the previous book. This has made her a better character. She isn't as "in your face" and even though she is still a very strong woman she doesn't plow over people or jump into verbal confrontations immediately, as she would have in the first book.

The investigation was interesting and completely relevant to the time with social media such a huge impact on our youth. I liked seeing, once again, Max's methodology and her legwork when it came to investigating the cold case.

The Bad: While I like that Max's character is growing I don't think she made as much of a forward movement as she could have. She is having a hard time not opinionating about Nick's and David's ex's. She's not understanding even though the women, mother's of their children, are complete witches there is a large amount of finesse and towing the line in making sure those women do not cut the men completely out of their kid's lives. Max's personality is to just blast the women, hire a better lawyer, take what is owed you. Stop playing nice. The men don't want that stress on their kids because those women would make the kids miserable by not letting them see their dads, talking bad about their dads in front of them, etc. I'm not sure if Max has the capability to learn these things. She has no intention of becoming a mother and I'm not sure is she is maternal at all even with the compassion she showed the boys.

Also, there was some things that were repeated throughout the book. I was a little annoyed with this but didn't notice it happening in the other books so I'm hoping it's just a one off. Oh and if you're more interested in the romance aspect of Rom/Susp this book has very little in the way of romance. Nick does make an appearance a couple times in the book but the majority of the book is about the investigation. There isn't a lot of suspense build up either. There is some at the end but like I said it's mostly about the investigation.

In a Nutshell: I'm enjoying these books more than I thought I would after reading that first book. Even though I only rated this 3.5 I'm looking forward to the next book a lot.

Compulsion by Allison Brennan

Title: Compulsion
Author: Allison Brennan
Series: #2 in the Maxine Revere series
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Minotaur Books (April 7, 2015)
Source: Library Find
Rating: ☕☕☕☕

Synopsis: Investigative reporter Maxine Revere has a theory: that the five New York City murders for which Adam Bachman is being tried are just part of his killing spree. In probing the disappearance of a retired couple who vanished the prior summer, Max uncovers striking similarities to Bachman's MO and develops a theory that Bachman wasn't working alone.

Max wins a coveted pre-trial interview with the killer, whose disarming composure in the face of her questions is combined with uncomfortable knowledge of Max's own past. She leaves the room convinced, but unable to prove, that Bachman knows exactly what happened to the missing couple. The D.A. wants nothing to jeopardize his case against Bachman and refuses to consider Max's theory. With no physical evidence, Max has to rely on her own wits and investigative prowess to dig deep into Bachman's past. The picture that Max puts together is far darker and more deadly than she ever imagined.

As Max gets closer to the truth, she doesn't realize that she's walking down a road that has been paved just for her. That every step she takes brings her one step closer to a brilliant, methodical sociopath who has been waiting for her to make just one small mistake.
And when she does, he'll be there waiting.

My Thoughts: While the first book in this series was just ok for me I really enjoyed this second one a lot!

The Good: Maxine was a little hard to like in the first book. As an investigative reporter she digs for the truth often to the point of causing some people emotional distress, like her family. In this one she is forced to acknowledge her shortcomings (and there are many). It was nice to see her so vulnerable. We also got to know more about David and Marco. Love David by the way.

The suspense did take nearly half the book to really take off. The first half is interesting though because we see Max's methodology in researching the cold cases in addition to the beginnings of a trial. These aspects, I felt, were really well written. And oh boy! When the suspense took off it did. Maxine proved she is not only a strong independent woman but a kick ass survivor.

The Bad: Even though I really liked this book I thought the mystery kind of got really convoluted and complex. I think simpler might have been a little better but ultimately I did enjoy the mystery as well. Also just an FYI this is light on the romance so if you're looking for some hotness this one is really mild with the smooching and the wet parts.

In a Nutshell: I totally liked reading this second book in the Maxine Revere series and I'm really looking forward to the third book.

Notorious by Allison Brennan

Title: Notorious
Author: Allison Brennan
Series: #1 in the Maxine Revere series
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Minotaur Books; Reissue edition (March 25, 2014)
Source: Library Find
Rating: ☕☕☕

Synopsis: Maxine Revere has dedicated her life to investigating murders that the police have long since given up any hope of solving. A nationally renowned investigative reporter with her own TV show and a tough-as-nails reputation, Max tackles cold cases from across the country and every walk of life. But the one unsolved murder that still haunts her is a case from her own past.
When Max was a high school senior, one of her best friends was strangled and another, Kevin O'Neal, accused of the crime. To the disgrace of her wealthy family, Max stood by her friend, until she found out he lied about his alibi. Though his guilt was never proven, their relationship crumbled from the strain of too many secrets.

Now Max is home for Kevin's funeral―after years of drug abuse, he committed suicide. She's finally prepared to come to terms with the loss of his friendship, but she's not prepared for Kevin's sister to stubbornly insist that he didn't kill himself. Or for an elderly couple to accost her at the airport, begging her to look into another murder at Max's old high school. Max is more interested in the cold case at her alma mater than in digging around Kevin's troubled life, but she agrees to do both. As Max uncovers dark secrets, she finds herself caught in a complicated web of lies that hit far too close to home. And it's becoming increasingly clear that someone will do whatever it takes to make sure the truth stays buried.

My Thoughts: An alright book with a hard to connect to heroine but an interesting murder mystery.

The Good: While I might not have enjoyed the ultra rich people and their surroundings I did think the actual mysteries involving the old murder case and the new one were quite intriguing. I liked learning about both murders and Kevin's suicide but honestly this was just about it for the good things in this book.

The Bad: This book was pretty tedious to read. It seemed to take forever because of all the details that were actually not necessary to the progression of the storyline. Max was also a detriment to the story as she starts investigating for personal reasons all the while denying she is investigating. Her background is supposed to make her seem more real to us and help us connect to her. For me this didn't work because all I could think about was "Oh poor Max. Abandoned by her mother as a child and she never knew her dad. How terrible she had to endure living with her billionaire grandparents and go to the elite private school." She would complain and then back it up with how she was privileged as a child and shouldn't complain.

Have you ever read a book where you think "If only this (insert plot twist of your choice) would have happened instead of the one the author actually used. I'm not saying I could have written this book better. I am a reader not a writer...obviously. However, I would have loved if Max's mother had been discovered in this book and a certain Uncle, who is nothing more than a douche-canoe, knew all about it. I'm assuming the re-entry of Max's mother will happen in one of the next two books but as of right now it's a dangly bit. I don't like dangly bits.

In a Nutshell: So, not a terrible book but not great either. I know Allison Brennan writes some really good books and I'll continue with this trilogy if only to finish something I started. And of course with the hopes I'll connect with Maxine at some point.