Elizabeth Becka

Not Who We Expected by Lisa Black is a very highly recommended investigative thriller and the fourth novel in the Locard Institute series. This can be enjoyed as a standalone novel, but the whole series is definitely worth reading.

Locard Institute forensic experts Ellie Carr and Rachael Davies are contacted by legendary rock star Billy Diamond to find his missing daughter, Devon. She and her boyfriend Carlos, had left Yale six months earlier to take some time off. They went to a career show more development retreat called Today’s Enlightenment in Nevada and contact between Devon and Billy dwindled away to nothing. Then Carlos's body is found a few miles away from the ranch in the Truckee river and Billy wants to know his daughter is okay.

Ellie goes undercover to join the isolated retreat and find Devon. She quickly understands that the retreat is a cult and attendees follow every word and order from their leader, Galen. In the meantime, Rachel is working with Billy to learn more about Devon and her deceased sister, Isis. Billy knew Isis and she was the reason he contacted Rachel to find his daughter.

As expected the writing is excellent and the fast-paced plot is engaging and increasingly tense. Both Ellie experiences and activities in the cult and Rachel's look into Isis's past are compelling and interesting. Ellie's experiences increasingly indicate a dangerous situation, while Rachel discovers unexpected information about her sister. Black includes an informative afterward concerning cults and additional reading material about them as well as quotes from some cult survivors at the beginning of each new section.

Ellie and Rachel are fully realized, intelligent, complex strong female characters. Having read the previous Locard Institute novels, I know these characters and their past cases but new readers should be able to easily follow the plot without this prior knowledge.

Not Who We Expected is an excellent investigative thriller and I'm eagerly anticipating another future installment of the Locard Institute series. Thanks to Kensington for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion. show less

That Darkness by Lisa Black is a 2016 Kensington publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book in the Gardiner and Renner series.

I’m not entirely sure my feelings about this book are entirely settled just yet, however, even though I have a few lingering feelings of unease, I thought this story was pretty clever.

Maggie is a fingerprint expert working in forensics and Jack is a cop working homicide. show more They cross paths after a spate of dead bodies show up in the Cleveland morgue, all of them murder victims. While they seem unconnected, forensics tie them together and it nags at Maggie, who is perhaps a little OCD. But, her powers of observation could be her undoing when evidence begins leading her to the most unlikely suspect she could ever imagine.

This is one of those times when I struggle with what to leave in or what to leave out in a review. Suffice it to say, Jack Renner is a most interesting man, a man with a hidden agenda, one that Maggie inadvertently stumbles across. This part of the story was very well executed because the reader is well aware of Jack’s after hours activities. So, I was on pins and needles as Maggie begins to methodically connect the dots. Does her knowledge put her in danger? Will she expose Jack?

The crime element exposes all manner of lowlifes and losers who parade through the criminal justice system without being rehabilitated, or those who walk away with a slap on the wrist or get off Scot free, and who continue to terrorize and murder at will. This novel explores the flaws in our system as well the temptation one may entertain of taking the law into their own hands. This type of personality, the vigilante, is not without conscience, like, say, Dexter, who is sociopathic. The vigilante is righting a wrong and so could evoke a certain amount of empathy from the reader and perhaps even garner some respect, become something akin to the antihero.

In this type of setup, I questioned my own moral code as I caught myself actually hoping Maggie would remain in the dark. Two wrongs never make a right, but are there gray areas? Is it right to cheer this character on or feel relief if they escape prosecution themselves?

To balance out the equation, we have a 'by the book' character, in Maggie, who is sharp, dedicated, and sees things in a right or wrong manner, until she crosses paths with Jack, who leaves her feeling conflicted, up against a wall, forced to make a choice she will have to live with for a long time come.

Did she do the right thing? What would you do? How do I feel about her decision?

Although I don’t know what’s going to happen next in the series or what plans the author may have for the characters, it should be very interesting indeed.

Overall, this is a very well written crime novel and a compelling, thought provoking thriller. It’s unique, dark, and at times brutally graphic and raw with emotion, but also provides a smattering of dark humor which is like the cherry on the cake.

I’m definitely on board for book two! show less

The Deepest Kill by Lisa Black is an excellent, heart-stopping forensic mystery/thriller featuring two complex female protagonists. This is very highly recommended and the third novel in the Locard institute series.

Dr. Ellie Carr and Dr. Rachael Davies, forensic experts at the Locard Institute, are called by billionaire Martin Post, the genius behind OakTree software design, to his compound on the Florida Gulf Coast. Martin's pregnant daughter, Ashley, has been found dead. She had taken out show more her boat into the Gulf, went missing, and her body washed up on the shore. Martin wants Ellie and Rachel in on the autopsy and investigation to make sure every angle is looked into. The two quickly determine her death was murder. Ashley's husband, Greg, is naturally a suspect, but her murder could also be due to the project she was working on for OakTree. FBI agents Michael Tyler and Luis Alvarez are also on the scene investigating.

The writing is exceptional in this compelling, engrossing story with a fast and riveting plot. As the facts are uncovered in the investigation and interviews in each chapter, the list of suspects grows. More details from Ellie's childhood are also revealed along with the elements from the investigation. Ellie and Rachel have various complicated pieces and clues to investigate. All the intricacies add depth and interest to the narrative while the two try to follow their knowledge and intuition to untangle the many pieces of their investigation.

The Locard Institute series continues to be a very appealing and highly rated series for me and I look forward to another installment of the series. The Deepest Kill can be read as a stand-alone novel although those following the series will appreciate the new insight and development of characters. Both Ellie and Rachel are complex, interesting fully-realized characters. It was such a pleasure to follow them along as they investigated a new case. The other characters in The Deepest Kill are also well-developed and intriguing

Anyone who appreciates novels with details about the forensics and scientific details involved in an investigation along with strong, competent female characters will enjoy The Deepest Kill. I'm anxiously awaiting their next case. Thanks to Kensington for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
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The latest Theresa MacLean book, The Price of Innocence, starts off with a bang . . . literally. Theresa is called in to investigate a possible suicide in a luxury apartment building in downtown Cleveland. Theresa and her cousin, police detective Frank Patrick, barely exit the building before it is blown up. This narrow escape is quickly followed by the murder of a police officer the very next day. Then that police officer's beneficiary is found dead, followed by another explosion in a show more building that is beside the initial explosion site. Two explosions, one murder, and one suspected suicide in such a short period of time are a little too coincidental to Theresa. Will she be able to find the connection between these incidents before another murder takes place?

Although Theresa is a forensic scientist, this isn't a CSI-type story . . . well not quite. Because of Theresa's familial ties to the police department, namely through her cousin, she does work in the field quite a bit and routinely bounces ideas off of her cousin. She also spends quite a bit of time in the laboratory testing evidence and writing reports. Theresa is naturally inquisitive and often takes the initiative when questions arise due to the evidence on a case. This time around Theresa's investigation takes her into the past of the deceased officer and reveals possible ties to drug dealing and an unsolved case. The story takes a few twists when Theresa becomes flirtatious with David Madison, the ex-husband of a school teacher that sexually molested a male student the same age as her eldest son. Another twist comes in the form of a local millionaire/entrepreneur that may have ties to the deceased police officer. The Price of Innocence is a fast-paced read that offers murder, possible terrorism, illegal drug deals, and hints of romance. If you enjoy mysteries then you'll definitely want to add The Price of Innocence to your TBR list. show less