Really liked this

The story is slightly different to most female lead new detective stories. The lead is driven and charismatic, her partner due to retire and willing to help and guide her, despite her having reached her new detective status via YouTube fame. The characters are well developed and written. The story well thought out and not to unbelievable with the odd twist.

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Mostly enjoyed this one.

The plot is not too complicated and the chapters are nice and short. Everything moves quickly and should keep you gripped throughout. The story is gruesome but not gory and the details aren't overindulged in.

The main character is somewhat cold and often shuts down fun conversations which could have added a bit more to the dialogue. She also makes some poor decisions that are hard to sympathise with. She does eventually become more rounded and likeable.

However, as the book progresses the side characters who were fun and well developed increasingly become stubborn and irrational. They seem to be written as obstacles for her to overcome rather than sane people she could interact with. The end of the book is the worst for this and I feel the main character will just let it slide despite having claimed to know how to 'play politics'.

The narrator gets it spot on. This is some of the best narration I've heard in fiction in ages. Overall, I'd say it's worth a listen and despite its flaws I'll be on the lookout for the next in the series.

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If You're in the Right Mood . . .

I’ll admit straight away, I picked this up on a whim as it was new out and I had never read any of Lee Goldberg’s books before. I wanted a fairly light break from an historical fiction binge I was in the middle of and you know what? It really fitted the bill. Right off the bat I found myself warming to Eve, her situation having been catapulted into a new detective position off the back of some incredible luck and also her partner, Duncan, a much older detective nearing retirement. They are immediately relatable characters which in a book of such relative brevity is extremely important. It was helped significantly by a quality performance behind the microphone by Nicol Zanzarella, she maintained the momentum throughout, produced a credible Eve and most impressively provided a fairly authentic voice for Duncan. Quite something.

The story itself is a fairly detailed police procedural with a mystery that I enjoyed, albeit one where it did rely a little heavily on the crime scene investigators missing an aspect I am sure would have been spotted. It is well done though otherwise with some clever turns to the writing. I enjoyed the humour of Eve’s social media-fuelled notoriety and the resulting nickname but more seriously the way that the central crime scene was largely described by the senior crime scene tech. Hearing the gruesome details related through the flat dispassionate and consummately professional tones of the CSI somehow added a chill and a horror to it all that perhaps a florid and emotive description would not have. In amongst the forensic detail a truly ghastly story emerges.

Elsewhere, although it did provide some additional lighter moments I wasn’t totally taken by Eve’s relationship with her wannabe actress mother, but well, it’s an LA thing I guess.

So, I wouldn’t want to suggest that this is likely to be one of the great series in detective fiction but for a relatively quick, exciting read with relatable characters and a pleasing central mystery it’s probably worth consideration.

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5 people found this helpful