A Good Killing (2015)

by Allison Leotta

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Anna Curtis (4)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
104	9	263,186	(4.24)	1
"Former federal prosecutor and critically acclaimed author Allison Leotta's spellbinding thriller follows prosecutor Anna Curtis as she heads home to Michigan to defend her sister in a case that will bring her to her knees. Newly single after calling off her wedding, sex-crimes prosecutor Anna Curtis is summoned home to Michigan when her old high school coach--a hometown hero--is killed in a fiery car crash. But Anna isn't there to prosecute a crime, she's home to support her innocent sister, Jody, who has been wrongfully accused of the coach's murder. But maybe Jody isn't so innocent after all? The police are convinced that Jody was having an affair with the married coach and killed him out of jealousy. As Anna investigates with the help of her childhood friend Cooper Bolden--an Afghan War veteran with a secret of his own--she slowly peels back the facade of her all-American hometown and discovers that no one is telling the truth about the coach, not even the people she thought she knew best. When the town rallies against them, threatening not just Jody's liberty but both sisters' lives, Anna resolves to do everything she can to save her sister and defend the only family she has left. In her best book yet, Leotta, "a highly entertaining storyteller" (George Pelecanos), explores the limits of vigilante justice, the bonds of sisterhood, and the value of the truth"--… (more)

all members

▾Members

Recently added by

terrykathy, jlrommel, CelticLibrarian, RedHead4, chicleeblair, tackyj, NafizaBMC, shonajane

▾Tags

▾LibraryThing Recommendations

▾Lists

None

▾Will you like it?

▾Conversations (About links)

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 1 mention

▾Member reviews

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 9 (next | show all)

Twisty and entertaining legal thriller.

This installment, the 4th, continues immediately after the previous ended. Anna is reeling from her broken engagement and gets a call from her sister, Jody. Someone they both knew from their hometown has been murdered and Anna hears that Jody has been wrongfully accused of the crime. Anna escapes to Michigan to act as Jody's defense attorney. But, everyone is lying and the local hero who was killed may not have been such a saint after all.

I like the main characters and the fast paced narrative. The point of view flips between Jody and Anna and is told in a time shift with Jody's voice being mainly from when she was a teenager and Anna present day. The legal detail and lawyerly shenanigans are realistic as expected since the author has experience in the field. Not so enamored with Anna's quick rebound romance with Cooper but I do hope she is done with Jack. Frankly, I would prefer the action and plot revolve more around the legal than the personal love lives of the characters, but I do plan to continue to the next in the series.

I listened to this on audio and sometimes followed along in the e-book. The narrator's voice grates on my nerves occasionally because of the way she pronounces certain words and how she does male voices. I'm really working on trying to enjoy audiobooks. (

)

CelticLibrarian | Dec 11, 2023 |

There is a place in my reading pile for books that are quick, engrossing, but not life changing. This is one of those. I read it in 3 days which is pretty amazing to me considering I'm reading on my subway commute and before bed usually. The plots are good and have enough twists and turns to be interesting while the characters are generally very good and are probably the most compelling part of the book. I've read 4 of this series now and I know I'll read the next one in the future. (

)

MarkMad | Jul 14, 2021 |

How far would you go to save your sister?

Anna Curtis is back in her hometown just outside of Detroit. Newly single after calling off her wedding, Anna isn’t home to lick her wounds. She’s returned to support her sister, Jody, who has been wrongfully accused of murder after their old high school coach, a local hero, dies in a suspicious car crash.

But maybe Jody isn’t so innocent after all. The police are convinced that Jody was having an affair with the married coach and killed him out of jealousy. As Anna investigates with the help of her childhood friend Cooper Bolden, an Afghan War veteran with a secret of his own, she slowly peels back the facade of her all-American town and discovers that no one is telling the truth about the coach, not even the people she thought she knew best. When the town rallies against them, threatening not just Jody’s liberty but both sisters’ lives, Anna resolves to do everything she can to save her sister and defend the only family she has left.

Gmomaj | Nov 20, 2019 |

Easy read, suspenseful...a little too "on-the-surface" story. I didn't draw me in to Leotta as a writer.

mgiampaoli | Oct 24, 2015 |

There were things I liked about this book, but it reads a lot more like YA or romantic suspense than a true suspense or thriller novel. The plot was good, rather unique at the end, but started out rather slow. The plot of the evil athletic coach is a little overused and that was the main theme for most of the book. Did keep me reading to the end. (

)

MarlaAMadison | Sep 18, 2015 |

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 9 (next | show all)

▾Published reviews

no reviews | add a review

▾Other authors

» Add other authors

Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Allison Leotta	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
High, David	Cover designer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

Anna Curtis (4)

▾Awards and Honors

view history

▾Common Knowledge

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.

For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Canonical title

A Good Killing

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

Holly Grove, Michigan, USA

Detroit, Michigan, USA

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Since the house is on fire, let us warm ourselves.

-- Italian proverb

Dedication

For my sisters, Kerry and Tracey,
my best friends and most biased witnesses

First words

When I was fifteen, my favorite place in the world was the high-jump setup at the school track.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Spiegel, Lauren

Blurbers

Fairstein, Linda

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

▾Book descriptions

"Former federal prosecutor and critically acclaimed author Allison Leotta's spellbinding thriller follows prosecutor Anna Curtis as she heads home to Michigan to defend her sister in a case that will bring her to her knees. Newly single after calling off her wedding, sex-crimes prosecutor Anna Curtis is summoned home to Michigan when her old high school coach--a hometown hero--is killed in a fiery car crash. But Anna isn't there to prosecute a crime, she's home to support her innocent sister, Jody, who has been wrongfully accused of the coach's murder. But maybe Jody isn't so innocent after all? The police are convinced that Jody was having an affair with the married coach and killed him out of jealousy. As Anna investigates with the help of her childhood friend Cooper Bolden--an Afghan War veteran with a secret of his own--she slowly peels back the facade of her all-American hometown and discovers that no one is telling the truth about the coach, not even the people she thought she knew best. When the town rallies against them, threatening not just Jody's liberty but both sisters' lives, Anna resolves to do everything she can to save her sister and defend the only family she has left. In her best book yet, Leotta, "a highly entertaining storyteller" (George Pelecanos), explores the limits of vigilante justice, the bonds of sisterhood, and the value of the truth"--

▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Haiku summary