Network of Deceit (Amara Alvarez, Book 2)

 

TOM THREADGILL

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Revell, 2021.

How acquired: Revell Reads.

First line: How long could a human being scream?

(For Goodreads synopsis, scroll down.)

My thoughts: NETWORK OF DECEIT picks up not long after COLLISION OF LIES left off. A teenage boy is found dead on a float at a water park. While the general consensus seems to be heatstroke or drugs, the medical examiner points out to Amara that the boys toes are not wrinkled up from being in the water. And with that, Amara is handed her first homicide investigation.

Amara dives into the investigation, which leads her to three other teens who, along with the deceased, were heavily into online gaming. She believes the other kids are keeping secrets, and know more than they're letting on about the first boy’s death. I was actually a little surprised at how she treated the kids, at times she was downright mean. But she got results, even if it made her feel a little uncomfortable at times. At one point she and Starsky even had a conversation about crossing the line and having to learn where your own line is.

Speaking of Starsky, I love their banter and their interactions. When the story starts, they’ve been out to eat a few times, always dutch, and Amara often wonders about their relationship. Are they dating, or just hanging out? Does she want to date him? She’s not sure where it’s going, and he doesn’t give any hints, and I enjoyed watching how their relationship grew and developed.

As Amara gets deeper into her investigation, she finds herself the victim of a hacker, who reveals to her a knowledge of personal information about herself and her mother. She then has to turn over her laptop and cell phone to a CSI tech, and is given an old flip phone to use while the tech has hers. Not having a smart phone not only impeded her in her investigation but in her life. It became a running theme that was terribly amusing, with a frustrated Amara unable to order an Uber or look up literally anything without a smart phone, but it was also a sad commentary on how much we rely on our phones in our daily lives.

The author details a lot of the minutiae of being a detective, particularly since cybersecurity and ransomware are involved. Talking to suspects, the victim’s family members, the water park’s head of security. Online research, and many phone calls, looking for information or trying to connect a potential clue to the case. I’d heard of ransomware, but I had no idea that you could actually purchase ransomware insurance! As I learned more about it along with Amara I found the subject very fascinating.

While there isn’t a lot of physical action, there is plenty of suspense and the story still felt pretty action packed. The characters are well developed, and there were some surprising turns in the plot, which kept me in the dark and trying to guess who the murderer was. Definitely not who I expected! I certainly hope we’ll get more Amara in the future.

Goodreads synopsis: Amara Alvarez's first case as a homicide detective drags her into the murky world of computer hackers. When she finds herself under attack by cybercriminals, she has no choice but to use unconventional methods to expose the truth and find a killer.

Obsession (Natchez Trace Park Rangers, Book 2)

 

PATRICIA BRADLEY

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Revell, 2021.

How acquired: Revell Reads Blogger Program.

First line: The January warm spell had definitely ended in South Mississippi.

(For Goodreads synopsis, scroll down.)

My thoughts: OBSESSION takes us back to the Natchez Trace Park, where Emma is an interpretive park ranger. Near a visitor’s center is an old slave cemetery, and Emma is about to begin a project using a ground penetrating radar machine to locate the individual graves and determine how many slaves were actually buried there, and hopefully give them recognition and provide closure to their descendants. One night she goes back to the visitor’s center after hours, having forgotten a file, and is nearly shot by a stranger who then flees. Enter Sam, her ex-fiance who has recently returned to the area and is a law enforcement district ranger. Not to mention her newly self-appointed bodyguard.

Along with the mystery of who took shots at Emma, a break comes up in an older case – Emma’s brother disappeared ten years ago, on the same night that a young woman was killed, and during the investigation at that time the then sheriff concluded that he had killed the woman and then gone into hiding. Emma has been trying to find her brother with no luck, and she’s always partly blamed Sam for not taking care of him. When a mysterious note is left on her doorstep with her favorite flowers, it becomes obvious she has a stalker. Sam and Emma don’t know if the three incidents – the shooting, her brother’s disappearance, and the stalking – are related, but it’s clear that she is in danger.

I loved the first book in this series, STANDOFF, and this second book was just as good. As with the first book, the writing flows, with plenty of action and suspense. Ms. Bradley’s characterization is wonderful, and I loved both Emma and Sam, although I sometimes agreed with Sam that Emma needed to let him protect her and not be so quick to rush in on her own. She’s tough and feisty and independent, and Sam quickly realizes his feelings for her haven’t changed since they’ve been apart, even though he still isn’t quite sure why she called off their engagement ten years ago.

While I enjoyed watching Emma and Sam get to know each other again and begin to repair their relationship, other relationships were brought forward, and the theme of forgiveness ran through the book. Sam’s parents, after being apart for years, are suddenly getting back together, and he struggles with his feelings, unable to comprehend why his mother would take back a man who who abused her and Sam when he was young. And frankly, I sided with Sam on that.

I did guess who the stalker was, though I wasn’t 100% positive until his identity was revealed to us. There were a lot of twists and turns, and I will be eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

Goodreads synopsis: Natchez Trace Ranger and historian Emma Winters hoped never to see Sam Ryker again after she broke off her engagement to him. But when shots are fired at her at a historical landmark just off the Natchez Trace, she's forced to work alongside Sam as the Natchez Trace law enforcement district ranger in the ensuing investigation. To complicate matters, Emma has acquired a delusional secret admirer who is determined to have her as his own. Sam is merely an obstruction, one which must be removed.

Sam knows that he has failed Emma in the past and he doesn't intend to let her down again. Especially since her life is on the line. As the threads of the investigation cross and tangle with their own personal history, Sam and Emma have a chance to discover the truth, not only about the victim but about what went wrong in their relationship.