Kristen Lepionka

If you've gotten this far in the series, you probably adore Roxane as much as I do. I spent much of Christmas Eve and Christmas evenings snuggled up with this one, as a little present to myself.

Roxane is supposed to meet her brother, Andrew, for a hike one autumn morning. (He's turned over a new leaf after the events of [b:The Stories You Tell|39298457|The Stories You Tell (Roxane Weary, #3)|Kristen show more Lepionka|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562591679l/39298457._SX50_.jpg|60879312].) He stands her up, but she has a chance encounter with an older woman who then falls off the trail to her (eventual) death. The woman's daughter isn't convinced that it was an accident. Her mother was an experienced hiker and things don't add up with the way that she fell. She suspects her former stepfather, a retired cop turned private investigator, of foul play.

As Roxane investigates, the PI ex-husband, a mysterious teenage boy and his missing mother, a secretive social club, even her client, all lead back to a sketchy church with a charismatic leader. (CULT! CULT! CULT!) With most people involved keeping mum, Roxane has to piece the puzzle together herself before other people get hurt.

Meanwhile, her relationship with Tom (TOM! TOM! TOM!) has fallen into a routine that works for Roxane. But when she takes off without telling him, he's left wondering how serious she actually is. And when she makes a discovery about her late father's infidelities, Roxane is put into more of a tailspin.

This one checks all my boxes (although it's a bit light on Shelby & Andrew) and has a solution that's complicated enough to leave me trying to piece all the connections together in my head, yet not so complicated as to be implausible.

I'm a little concerned because I read that Ms. Lepionka's next book does not feature Roxane. I hope that she doesn't pull a [a:Tana French|138825|Tana French|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1535655031p2/138825.jpg] and (seemingly) abandon a series that I love. show less

Roxane is a total mess: She has a messy love life, a messy family relationship, a job she's been phoning into since her father died. She takes Brad's case mostly because she needs the money but becomes more invested the longer she investigates. I...at some point... became more invested also. I kept rooting for Roxane, even when she tried her hardest to get in her own way. I wanted her to please do us all a favor and just figure this out. I didn't have a clue how the pieces of the case would show more all fit together, which became more and more obvious as all my guesses turned out to be more and more wrong...but I have to say that it was an entertaining ride the entire way. show less

I feel like reading this book should count as a workout, because when Roxane was in Derrow's house my heart rate was elevated the entire time. (This is what I want from a suspense book -- not those namby-pamby, convoluted bits of the story that are doled out in the most painful way possible just to string the reader along, and then you realize that 90% of the problem could have been solved if people had just TALKED TO EACH OTHER.)

Roxane Weary is a private investigator. She is also a hot show more mess of dammit, but a sympathetic one. (She reminded me of a less-manic Izzy Spellman from [b:The Spellman Files|129117|The Spellman Files (The Spellmans, #1)|Lisa Lutz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347521714l/129117._SX50_.jpg|2896642], which is a good thing.) Her police officer father, with whom she had a very complicated, strained relationship, was killed on duty nine months ago. Since then she's been drinking more and working less, until her older brother sends a client her way. Danielle's brother (a black man) is on death row, accused of murdering his white girlfriend's parents fifteen years before. Sarah, the girlfriend, disappeared at the same time, and the police assumed Danielle's brother killed her, too, but now Danielle is convinced that she spotted Sarah in their hometown, a suburb outside Columbus, Ohio. When Roxane tries to investigate, the local police are very adamant that she stay out of their idyllic town and leave alone a case they consider solved. But things don't add up and Roxane discovers that the town isn't as perfect as everyone would like to pretend.

Deciding to tell the story from Roxane's POV was a bold, but brilliant move. It's not always comfortable, especially when Roxane doubts herself and her behavior borders on self-destructive. But she's smart, and tough, and funny, and very complex. One cause of conflict between Roxane and her father was her bisexuality. (Another was his many affairs.) She has two on-going relationships, but neither is very healthy (although one partner I liked and one I didn't -- and while I appreciate that Ms. Lepionka created a Catherine character who isn't a nerdy librarian, I wish she didn't have to be such a bitch). Her relationships with her remaining family are just as complicated, especially with her perfect housewife mother and her clean-living eldest brother. (Her middle brother is her drinking partner and probably her closest friend.)

The last thing Roxane's father ever said to her was, "You turned out okay, more like me. I was afraid you were going to turn out like you mother. She's nice, that's what people would say about her, she's nice. But you... You know, maybe you could stand to be a little nicer, actually. You're a girl. You have to be nice. But not too fucking nice. That's what you have to do. Be nice but not too fucking nice." (See, he was a real gem!) And while Roxane notices all the many ways she's like her father, she also notices the ways she isn't and can choose not to be like him. I really loved the way that beneath her tough exterior (leather jacket, whiskey drinking, and all), Roxane really does care about the people she comes across, even mentoring Shelby (daughter of murder victim Mallory Evans), protecting Shelby and Joshua from the secret of Shelby's actual paternity, and risking her own life to save Veronica.

As this is intended to be the first in a series, I'm looking forward to seeing Roxane continue to get her shit together -- at least a little bit.

(4.5 stars rounded up for originality) show less

This was fantastic. I loved the mystery, I loved the suspense, I loved the characters. A new favourite crime tackling heroine for sure.

Roxane is totally badass. And a total hot mess. She has no idea if she's coming or going and I was digging it. I felt really sorry for her. She's struggling with her dad's death - they had a messy relationship and she's not sure how to resolve her grief for both what was and what could have been. She's sleeping with her dad's ex partner except he's now show more moving on to new people. And her old love, Catherine (who frankly is a manipulative bitch and reminds me of the character from Chicago Fire that screws with Leslie Shay), is back on the scene having sort of left her husband? It's all messing with her head something shocking.

Between that she's finding she's having a little bit of a drinking problem and her bank account has pretty much been emptied from months of not working. It sounds like a mess and it is until her brother recommends his friend come see her about a detective gig. Danielle's brother was convicted of murdering his girlfriend and her parents and his execution date has finally been set. But Danielle is convinced she just saw his girlfriend Sarah at a gas station - alive and well. She hires Roxanne to look into it. And that's when things get interesting.

I loved the fast pace of the mystery and Roxanne was brave and tenacious. The more crimes Roxanne uncovered the faster I flew through the pages. It was fantastic. It was well plotted and I had no idea who the criminal was. The resolution was awesome. I can't wait to read more Roxanne. 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5. show less