Toxicity

ToxiCity is another top-notch entry into Libby Fischer Hellman’s library of police procedurals and thrillers. Even though it is the third book in the Georgia Davis PI mystery series, it is in fact a prequel to Easy Innocence and Doubleback. It takes place ten years earlier, back when Georgia was a rookie cop in the Chicago suburbs. It answers the questions, “What really happened with Matt?” and “Why did Georgia leave the police force and become a private investigator?” Georgia’s story is bittersweet. As the story opens she is young, determined, idealistic and tough, but maybe not tough up to stand up against all the Chicago crime and politics and Matt’s sudden interest in the Jewish daughter of a real estate mogul show more connected to the murders. We witness some of the pain she endured and it helps us to understand how she became the woman she is.

The story opens with a death, so right away you know what is happening, but not who is doing it. And it’s not easy to figure out who it could be. There are a lot of suspects for the murders and many reasons – money, power, greed, love, hate . . . . It’s a complex mystery. Children are sick and dying. Bodies are showing up in landfills and dumpsters. Even though people are doing very bad things, they didn’t always start out as very bad people. So many lives are touched and changed forever.

Libby Fischer Hellman has written another outstanding thriller. It’s fast-paced and keeps you guessing. She captures the look and feel of Chicago as perfectly as ever as well as the impact of current political and environmental issues. The look into Georgia’s struggles explains a lot and makes her a more real, complete character to us.

I received a copy of ToxiCity from the author. Although fast-paced and complex, the plot and characters are well developed and believable and make for an easy to follow, exciting story. I highly recommend ToxiCity and anything else Libby Fischer Hellman writes. show less

Note: While this is labeled as Book #3 of the series, it really is set before Book #1 and can be read as a stand alone novel.

This is a clever serial killer mystery. The Feldman development site seems to be central to the story, but us readers know a little more than the detectives. The story has flashbacks to when houses were just going up on the Feldman site, showing us how families put their dreams into being home owners. At first the bodies don’t seem to be connected, but as Georgia and Detective Matt Singer dig into each one, similarities become apparent.

Singer and his partner Detective Sargent John Stone make a good team. But Matt has some personal issues. First, he’s in a relationship with Georgia, which is against department show more regulations. That double standard rears it’s ugly head and Georgia pays the price. Then he’s helping out a potential victim of the serial killer, Vicky Feldman (daughter of the Feldman who created the housing complex).

While I really enjoyed the plot, the characters fell a little flat for me. Matt is a wishwashy guy who can’t decide what he wants in a relationship. Georgia is drowning in self-pity and alcohol. Stone is interesting but we get so little of him. Ricky starts off as a capable business woman but later huffs off in anger, putting several people in danger.

The ending is full of suspense and action. The story revealed the motivations of the killer in such a way that I did sympathize with them in many ways. It was an excellent wrap up of the murder mystery. I did want a bit more from Georgia, showing us clearly how she went from being that drunken sorry sot to the competent PI we know and love. 4/5 stars

The Narration: Beth Richmond and Derek Shetterly tag team this book. I’ve gotten used to Richmond narrating the first 2 books solo, so I feel she could have pulled this entire book off. Again, I like her voice for Georgia. She also tackles several Jewish words with ease. Shetterly was OK. I often had trouble differentiating his voice for Stone and his voice for Singer, so I sometimes lost track of what each guy was doing. Over all, the pacing was good and there were no tech issues with the recording. 4/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Libby Fischer Hellmann. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it. show less

Toxicity by Libby Fischer Hellmann, the prequel to her Georgia Davis series, was good, but not as good as the first book in the series, Easy Innocence. Georgia's role is relatively minor in this one - most of the book is told from Matt's perspective - but that's ok, as I didn't like Georgia's character much at all here. Not sure I would have read on in a series about her if I had started here. But the mystery itself was good.

A AudioBook Review
Story – 5
Narration - 4
Overall 5

In what she calls the prequel to her Georgia Davis mysteries, Hellmann again leads us through a chilling mystery that is grounded in past and present, impeccably researched and characters that are well defined and wholly human.

This story centers on a series of puzzling murders, toxic waste sites, cancer clusters and revenge. With a good dose of homegrown separatist groups and the paranoia that is their genesis, detailing of the frustrations inherent in police work and several clues that are detailed for the reader, the masses of information are provided in simple pieces that don’t feel overwhelming.

Relationships are all prominently on display here as well, both current and in show more flashback: from a rather one-sided romance between Georgia and Singer, the overload of guilt that Singer is subjected to as his family cannot embrace Georgia fully since she is not Jewish, to Singer’s undeniable “grass is greener” attraction to Riki, the interpersonal details and inclusions are spectacular. Their inclusion helps to flush out the story and provide needed background information that enhances your understanding of the characters and fixes them in your brain.

My only complaint with the audiobook version was in the narration. Sadly, Robin Rowan worked to make distinct voices and accents for each character, that were often more distracting than had she simply made minor changes in pitch and pace. The inclusion of varying accents, which were then detailed in the character’s words, provided a dissonance that was noticeable and occasionally broke the flow of what was being said.

I should, at this point make note that when I had agreed to review this AudioBook, I did not realize that I had purchased a kindle copy of this particular title nearly six months ago. A fortuitous discovery, as I was also able to test out the “whispersync” feature. Whispersync allows you to purchase the audio book at a discounted price if you have the kindle version, and you can use this handy and clever application to alternate between reading and listening, with both versions integrating seamlessly.

I did receive the AudioBook version of this book from the author for purpose of honest review for the Heard Word promotion at I am, Indeed. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility. show less

Very interesting Libby Fisher Hellmann did a good job of keeping your interest, which always makes mystery better reading. Once in awhile it was difficult to keep up with the characters, but other than that it was very good, kept my interest pretty much through out the book.