Reaper And Ruin by Elle Thorpe

February 12, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Reaper And Ruin by Elle Thorpe
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, LGBTQ, Action/Adventure, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

An explosion shatters the night. The three men I love are thrown from the bluff into the raging sea below.

And one of them can’t swim.

But the fall isn’t the only thing trying to kill us.

Every step we take, danger stalks closer.
Every breath we steal, the killer waits in the shadows.

When he rips someone I love away from me, the fragile family I’ve fought to build begins to unravel.

The killer has to be unmasked.
The ruin has to end.

Because this time, losing means more than death.

It means giving up the only people I can’t live without.

Violet and her three lovers are determined to find out who the killer tormenting them is. With all their lives in danger – as well as those around them who they each love – these killers are determined to go back to what they know. To being the predator and not the prey.

Readers should be aware that this book continues on immediately from the explosive ending of book 2. I would strongly recommend these three books are read in order (X’s and O’s – book 1 and then Whips and Chains – book 2). This is a complete trilogy and I don’t feel they can be easily read out of order. This book picks up exactly where the previous one ended on a cliff hanger and for that I was grateful.

I believe that this trilogy stands by itself quite well. There are absolutely hooks/links and characters that I’ve since learned are from Elle Thorpe’s other trilogy’s. This is the first (and currently only) set of her books that I’ve read and I’ve enjoyed them. I do feel that you don’t need to have read any other of the books set in this world because while a number of the characters cross over I don’t feel the other trilogy’s/group stories are necessary to thoroughly enjoy this set.

Readers should be aware of that one of the strong secondary characters in this book has absolutely been set up as a lure/hook into what I feel is likely the next trilogy. The final chapter of this book absolutely is a lure into the next series I feel. Readers who dislike final chapters/epilogues that lead into the next series might want to be cautious before reading the final chapter here.

I was very pleased with the way this series wrapped up. I feel it’s completed enough that most romance readers should be satisfied. The main mystery plot that arcs through all three of these books was very well wrapped up and I was quite happy with the mystery/killer aspect to the plotline. I thought there was also a very good balance between the spicy plotline of the foursome’s relationship and the mystery plotline. I thought the author did a good job with both these sides of the series and this book in particular.

I do also have a strong suspicion that (like with the throwbacks to other groups in this book) Violet, Levi, Whip and X might very well likely have some input in the next and other series so readers can get a glimpse of how things are progressing. For the most part I feel like their story, however, is quite well rounded out and left in a good place. I don’t feel there’s much to complain about here in that respect.

Readers should be aware there is a fair bit of spice in this book. I didn’t feel this book was very dark at all – certainly it didn’t feel as dark to me as the first book did and to a lesser extend the second book. This book felt a bit more like a very spicy mystery/romance and not so much a dark romance. This absolutely isn’t for the faint of heart nor the non-spicy reader, but I did feel some of the darker themes in the first book wasn’t as heavy or pronounced in this book. I absolutely think this is a good trilogy for readers who are new to dark romances and darker themes to dip a toe in and see if this genre is really for them or not.

With some seriously spicy sex and a good dose of darker mystery plot this was a trilogy I enjoyed. As my first foray into “Dark Romance” I found it was a good read for me and the new-to-me genre is a bit of a hit.

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Smoldering Lies by LT Ryan

February 11, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Smoldering Lies by LT Ryan
Publisher: Liquid Mind Media
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

In the ashes of the past, a mystery burns.
In the gripping world of Maddie Castle, every fire ignites a deeper mystery. When community developer Brandon Adams faces a series of arson attacks, he enlists Maddie’s help, unaware that the flames are just the beginning of a much larger intrigue.

As Maddie delves into the case, she uncovers a web of environmental activism, strained family ties, and hidden agendas. But the closer Maddie gets to the truth, the more dangerous her path becomes.

Caught in a maze of betrayal and corruption, Maddie must navigate through this perilous journey, where every clue leads to more questions.

Will she uncover the arsonist’s identity, or will the flames of truth consume everything she holds dear? Join Maddie and Tempest in this thrilling tale of mystery, family secrets, and a quest for justice that will leave you on the edge of your seat.

Maddie Castle continues to work on the disappearance of her partner’s young sister-in-law, but bills need to be paid so when a rich local businessman hires her to look into a series of arson attacks against his properties the money on offer is simply too good for Maddie to turn down. Can she juggle the two important cases and still meet the challenges that keep popping up?

I have been really enjoying this series. While there is a lot happening in Maddie’s personal life – which I find is a really good contrast to the equally crazy but highly different stress related to her job – this book seems to really focus on the two main cases. Maddie continues to chip away at finding the missing young Daisy. This plot has been arching over a number of books and readers should be aware that while progress is made, this mystery is not completed in this book.

The arson attacks, however, are unique to this book and are solved in what I found was a very satisfying manner. Maddie has a slightly different outlook to the normal PI or ex police officer and that’s part of what makes me feel this series is both refreshing but also realistic. The world is made up on grey, things usually aren’t starkly black and white. Maddie both sees and embraces these realities, and I enjoy reading about it.

Readers should be aware this book is well into the Maddie Castle series and while I strongly feel this book can be picked up and enjoyed by itself there is a lot of linking and history with the other books. I feel readers will experience a deeper connection and better emotional satisfaction if they’ve read at least a few of the previous books. That said the author did a really good job explaining everything so I don’t feel readers will be lost or miss out if they pick this book up by itself.

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The Chilling by Riley James

February 10, 2026 By Leave a Comment


The Chilling by Riley James
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Keen to flee the wreckage of her marriage, Australian scientist Kit Bitterfeld accepts a coveted winter research position at Macpherson Station in Antarctica. On the way there, Kit and her fellow researchers field a distress call from a nearby ship. By the time they reach the vessel it is on fire and the crew has vanished. A lone survivor is found, but he can’t remember who he is or what has happened.

They bring the survivor, eventually identified as geophysicist Nick Coltheart, to Macpherson but it’s clear that something is wrong. More and more of Kit’s colleagues are acting strangely. And she can’t shake the suspicion that Nick knows more than he’s letting on. With the winter darkness setting in, Kit must figure out the truth before they are completely cut off from the outside world. But is the danger lurking out on the ice, or is it closer than she thinks?

Kit Bitterfield is at the end of a rather long and bitter divorce. An Australian Scientist, she’s eager for a fresh start preferably somewhere far away. So when an opportunity comes for her to take on a coveted winter research position at Macpherson Station down in Antarctica, she jumps at the chance. Only her and the teams arrival is delayed when a nearby distress signal from another ship comes in, and by the time they reach the signal there is no sign of the other crew and only the charred remains of a burnt out ship. They find one lone survivor, but he has no memory of anything including himself and soon Kit is doubting everything around her, including her colleagues and her own safety.

I am always a total sucker for a book revolving around adventure or scientific research around Antarctica so I happily grabbed this even though I’ve never heard of the author before. I quickly found myself sympathetic to Kit, finding her an enjoyable and relatable character and when she joined the crew heading into the cold I was absolutely hooked. I did feel at times, especially towards the middle of the book, that Kit was a little paranoid – I never really grasped 100% why she felt so suspicious of Nick and his amnesia. The best rationale I could make was she’d been burned badly by her ex-husband and her near paranoia was linked to that, but I did feel it jarring me out of the book a few times.

Overall though I really enjoyed the mystery, eager to discover what happened on the other ship and hoping Nick would be able to recover his memories and help the crew work out what happened. It was clear there were at least a few sub-plots swirling in the mists with this book and quite a few undercurrents that kept me eagerly turning the pages.

Readers who are hoping for an action packed or fast paced novel might not find this quite fits the bill for them. I found this to be a slower burn of a story – plenty of characters and plots intertwining and everyone with their own agenda and perspective. So I really feel there is loads crammed into this story and I definitely thought it all was woven together very well, but in the deadly cold and with ships being a big part of the transportation this is not a Bond style of action adventure filled with adrenaline and chases. There were a number of solid plotlines – some which I guessed and others that were a delightful surprise as they unfurled throughout the book.

I will be certain to keep an eye out for any future books coming from this author.

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Whips And Chains by Elle Thorpe

February 9, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Whips And Chains by Elle Thorpe
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, LGBTQ, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Three…Two…One… The game has just begun.

Shadows crawl across the walls of an abandoned warehouse.
A knife waits on the table. A clock bleeds away the seconds.
Someone isn’t leaving alive.

My only chance of survival lies with the three men searching for me in the dark.

I let my guard down with X, the funny psychopath who has been following me for weeks, claiming I’m his future wife…Until he put his fingers around my throat and the laughter died away. Now he’s convinced he’s going to kill me and I’m not entirely sure he’s wrong.

Whip is the sin I paid for. He was supposed to be a transaction—one night only. Instead, he took my firsts and left me craving seconds neither of us should want.

And Levi… the ex-prisoner who wrote me letters that stole my heart. But love doesn’t protect us from a killer who knows all our secrets.

As sins are exposed and lies unravel, one thing becomes apparent.

The game isn’t over.
And the rules are written in blood.

Violet had been lured into a warehouse where a crazed killer is determined she and the others captured within won’t leave alive. With her three lovers searching for her Violet is understandably terrified. Can her life ever return back to normal?

Readers should be aware that this book continues on immediately from the ending of the previous book (X’s and O’s – book 1) and this book should be read only after the first. A reader picking this up without the previous one might not easily understand what’s going on. That said since the previous book ended on a cliff hanger, it was a relief that the author immediately jumped back into the main events.

I also enjoyed that there was quite a bit of character progression in this middle story. The three main male characters as well as Violet (as the main female character) all had a lot on their plate and seeing them grow and handle it was really good. There was also a lot of development in their foursome relationship – and of course a ton of steamy sex as well. The author had a good balance here between romantic progression and movement in the mystery plot, but the level of spice might not suit everyone’s taste. Also, similar to the first book, I did find some of the conflict a little frustrating due to poor communication and characters getting annoyed or frustrated with each other and acting on impulse instead of sitting and thinking – or talking things through. Violet and the male main characters appear to me to have a tendency to read between the lines and get upset – instead of clearly communicating or discussing stuff they find hurtful. While the conflict this produces and plot movement is understandable it rather annoyed me as a reader.

Readers should be aware that the M/M aspects between Levi and Whip absolutely progress and while there’s still some tension and conflict between them, their arc – along with the foursome arc and Violet’s individual relationship with X, Levi and Whip all have some solid movement for this second book. I greatly enjoyed the same humorous tone this book had – similar to book 1 – and while it wasn’t as front and center as the first book, I did appreciate how the more humorous moments really helped make some of the darker themes more palatable and less heavy. I really enjoyed this. The mystery/killer plotline ramped up in this book and so this wasn’t as lighthearted as the first book, but for a “dark, spicy romance”, this wasn’t bleak or too negative.

There is absolutely a mystery part to the plot and while it definitely takes a back seat to the Whip/Levi/X/Violet relationship, it was well written and strong enough to really help carry the story. I was pleased the plot helped keep the book feeling like it was moving forward and not being clogged up with the foursome relationship. Readers should know that the three male characters tend to fight with each other. I do find this mostly understandable – particularly with the foursome not fully formed and with there still being questions as they all settle into the relationship, but I’m not sure I’ll be as open to the ongoing feuding, arguments and frustrations in the third and final book. I’m kinda hoping this gets sorted out pretty quickly – but they’re absolutely not there yet which is a little disappointing. Also – exactly the same as the first book this one also finishes on a massive cliff hanger and while I was mostly expecting this given the first book’s ending, I was annoyed by this – but fully prepared and had already purchased the third and final book. So, I could move immediately on to it the second I finished the final page of this book. I strongly recommend readers who hate cliff hangers treat this trilogy as one book split into three sections and only begin the first when they’re prepared to binge all three.

This is a well-written and mostly humorous polyamorous spicy romance novel. There are definitely dark themes but with the lighter tone and banter between the characters, this an enjoyable book within this trilogy.

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The Killing Place by Kate Ellis

February 5, 2026 By Leave a Comment


The Killing Place by Kate Ellis
Publisher: Piatkus
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

November. With the tourist season over in South Devon, Detective Inspector Wesley Peterson is looking forward to a quieter month in the CID. But when a man is shot dead on Bonfire Night, he finds he has a complex murder case on his hands.

The body of Patrick North was found in woodland connected to Nesbaraton Hall, a grand estate dating back to the eighteenth century. The Smithson family, who own the estate, are away on holiday. However, when an anonymous letter threatening to abduct the Smithson son is uncovered, Wesley fears North’s death might have been collateral damage in a sinister kidnap plot.

Meanwhile, archaeologist Dr Neil Watson discovers a hidden grotto in a developer’s field – land that was once part of the Nesbaraton estate. Evidence of past rituals and the discovery of a skeleton buried next to the grotto raise questions about strange occurrences, past and present, on the estate.

Then, just when Wesley’s team seem to be making progress in their investigation, a resident of the nearby village is killed in a near identical shooting. A race is on to find a ruthless killer, before they strike again . . .

DI Wesley Peterson and his team are called in to investigate when the body of a local boy’s tutor is found in woodland connected to the estate he was living at. With conflicting tales from the locals and the family away and incommunicado on a holiday it takes Wesley some time to begin to piece everything together. But when another body is found soon afterwards it quickly becomes apparent that there’s a lot more to this than they first suspected.

I have enjoyed this series and in particular the way in which so often the past is merged into the present-day murder mystery. With Wesley and his old college friend both interested in Archaeology the old and new is often sewn together. I found this story was a little lighter with the past and with more sub-plots related to the present day, yet I really didn’t feel the story lacked too much for this. Neil was still present – albeit far more in the background than usual – and with a small grotto playing a fairly pivotal role I personally wasn’t upset by the heavier hand this book gives the present day.

I thought the author did a good job keeping a few different plot threads ticking along nicely – and I was even surprised by a few of the twists towards the end. While I do think readers might find that some of the storyline is a little easy to guess, there were definitely a few aspects that slipped my notice, so I enjoyed the fact there were still some surprises for me.

This is a solidly written British police procedural style of mystery, and a series as a whole I have really enjoyed from the beginning. While much of the secondary cast – the police team and Wesley’s family in particular – might resonate stronger with readers who have enjoyed at least some of the previous books in this series, I absolutely feel the mystery is very well encapsulated in this story and can easily be read just by picking this book up alone. Readers shouldn’t be shy about picking this up and if you do enjoy the prose and style then there’s a huge backlog that you can read and enjoy as well.

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The Murder Book by Mark Billingham

January 29, 2026 By Leave a Comment


The Murder Book by Mark Billingham
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Tom Thorne finally has it all.

In Nicola Tanner and Phil Hendricks, Thorne has good friends by his side. His love life is newly reformed by a promising relationship and he is happy in the job he has devoted his life to.

As he sets off hunting the woman responsible for a series of grisly murders, Thorne has no way of knowing that he will be plunged into a nightmare from which he may never wake. A nightmare that has a name. Thorne’s past threatens to catch up with him and a ruinous secret is about to be revealed. If he wants to save himself and his friends, he will have to do the unthinkable.

Tom Thorne finally has a lot to lose.

DI Tom Thorne and Nicola Tanner are drawn into a strange case involving a female serial killer who leaves particularly gruesome scenes behind her. With his private life finally seeming settled and two solid, close friends Thorne has no idea that this case is going to draw them all into the darkness they manage to avoid every day. What price will Tom have to pay to keep his life intact?

I found this to be an interesting and excellent addition to this long running series. The ongoing feud between Thorne and the true villain in this series has been bubbling away quietly in the background of the previous few books. I was pretty excited therefore when I found this one brought that conflict back onto center stage once again.

I thought the author did a really good job of balancing out the plot and wove a few different threads together slowly building the tension and the obvious conflict that would mark the apex of this case. Thorne – having been comprehensively thwarted during their last exchange – this time had a lot of pent-up anger and fear but equally held a good amount of sense and caution which I thought showed remarkable growth and maturity. Characteristics which Thorne doesn’t always portray very well.

There were a few solid twists in the plot – some of which were a delightful surprise and some I was proud that I guessed before they were unveiled. I absolutely feel this is a well written and solidly plotted British police procedural mystery novel. While there is a fair chunk of history between the villain and most of the main characters everything is quite briefly – and very clearly – explained so I do feel readers can pick this book up as a standalone. That said this is a really well written series and I do believe the emotional connection I felt was at least in part because I had read the previous books in this series and knew just how high the stakes were for everyone involved.

I was particularly pleased that Thorne reached out to Dave Holland. While I love Hendricks and Nicola Tanner, I have missed Dave and I really hope we see more of him now Thorne and he have reconnected once again.

An interesting and well plotted mystery, I found this to be a good addition to the series.

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From The Ashes by Damien Boyd

January 26, 2026 By Leave a Comment


From The Ashes by Damien Boyd
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Long lives are being cut short in this thriller from the bestselling DI Nick Dixon crime series.

A retired teacher is found dead in her Somerset home on a cold January night. At first glance, it is a routine unexplained death and a simple referral to the coroner, until a neighbour reports an unscheduled visit from an occupational therapist an hour before the body was discovered.

Detective Chief Inspector Nick Dixon is convinced the elderly woman has been strangled—a cause of death confirmed by the pathologist—and a murder investigation is launched.

More victims are soon found—a second retired teacher who died in eerily similar circumstances in Devon. Then a possible third victim is exhumed in Dorset.

Leading a regional task force, Dixon must find the connection between the victims. As the coincidences mount, he begins to fear he has stumbled on something premeditated and deeply sinister—a serial killer targeting the elderly in their own homes.

When a sharp-eyed rural police officer notices similarities between the seemingly sudden death of an elderly lady with a similarly sudden death recently of an elderly man, DI Nick Dixon is called in to review the crime scene. The similarities are striking – and soon the forensic details also match in ways that are unlikely to be faked. DI Dixon and his team soon uncover a much larger issue and the case grows even more complicated.

I have found this to be a really good and reliable series. I strongly feel this new addition is an excellent book – one of the best recently in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed how the plot slowly grew both more intense and more complicated. By half way through the book is was a far deeper and more complicated case than a few elderly people dying in their sleep could ever have appeared. I also really enjoyed the methodical way the facts came together without too many red herrings or lost time.

I have high hopes for the newly minted officer who first spotted the similarities – I hope we see her character again more in future books. I also really enjoyed the personal and relationship progress between Jane and Nick and find their interactions really grounding and satisfying to read. It adds a good reality to the story, and I think the books are better for it.

I found this book good and am enjoying this interesting and well written British police procedural mystery series.

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Their Little Secret by Mark Billingham

January 21, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Their Little Secret by Mark Billingham
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

When DI Tom Thorne is called to the site of a suicide, he expects to be in and out in no time. But when he arrives at the Underground station where a woman named Philippa Goodwin threw herself in front of a train, he inexplicably senses something awry and feels compelled to dig deeper. He soon discovers that she was the victim of a callous con man who preys on vulnerable women—and whose deception plunged Philippa to her end.

Thorne enlists DI Nicola Tanner to help him track down the swindler and bring him to justice. But the detective duo gets more than they bargained for when a young man’s bludgeoned body turns up on the shore of a nearby seaside town and the two cases come together in a way that neither of the detectives could have foreseen . . .

Tom Thorne is called out to an apparent suicide and while he’s fairly sure that this is what it seems – the reason behind the suicide is something he struggles to let go of. When eventually he and his partner Nicola Tanner do hand the case to the fraud squad no one is more surprised than Thorne when he’s contacted by another division – the DNA sample turning up in a recent murder case. Suddenly his interest doubles and the case once again becomes theirs. Can Thorne and Tanner sort out what’s going on?

I found this to be an enjoyable British police procedural murder mystery book. Both Thorne and Tanner have worked a few cases before, so they seem to have found a good rhythm together now which I really enjoyed. While there are some developments in each of their respective personal lives, I was pleased this didn’t take too much time away from the main plot.

I really enjoyed how this case grew and almost spiraled as the main characters wove together and the case grew as the villain’s relationship did too. While I definitely found parts of the plot easy to guess and foresee, there were still enough twists to keep me guessing and surprised. I feel this book should absolutely appeal to mystery readers of all kinds. I particularly liked how while the villains were clearly villains, they both had quite different issues and in many respects, they worked wonderfully together it was equally clear they were also going to cause serious issues for one another. I thought their relationship – both growing and disintegrating – was an extremely complicated and intriguing dynamic and I feel this really made the plot as gripping as it was. I can’t recall reading a story like this previously and to some extent the two villains even outshone Tanner and Thorne for me- which is a highly unusual position for me as a reader to find myself in.

With a steadily growing plot and plenty of realism I found this to be a good read and a nice addition to a great series.

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The Killing Habit by Mark Billingham

January 19, 2026 By Leave a Comment


The Killing Habit by Mark Billingham
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

While Tanner investigates the deadly spread of a dangerous new drug, Thorne is handed a case that he doesn’t take too seriously—until a spate of animal killings points to the work of a serial murderer. When the two cases come together unexpectedly, both Thorne and Tanner must risk everything to catch two very different killers.

DI Tom Thorne and Nicola Tanner both return in this book and I feel readers are in for quite a ride with this. While this is a good number of books into the series I was pleased to find it quite fresh and still able to grip me by the throat.

I enjoyed the fact that this book – unlike most of the others in this series – had a few different moving parts to the plot. And while I was fairly sure from the beginning that they were all linked somehow it wasn’t clear at the start how they were linked – or even if they were connected at all. That kept a lot of my attention on the book in a different way that I’m used to with this series. I also thought the way things came together in the end (both linked and not) shows exceptional writing on the authors behalf and I have to admit there were a number of points I wasn’t even close to guessing correctly.

I was pleased Nicola Tanner was back, while her character is fairly new, I enjoy her strong presence, and I feel she adds a good counterpart to Thorne. I definitely feel these two work well together and I’m glad the author has continued along these lines. I also really enjoy how while these two characters are vastly different, there are a few key aspects to which they are really quite eerily the same when push comes to shove. I am very eager to read more of these two continuing to work together.

While I usually find the plots quite uneasy and uncomfortable reading I feel a few of the above points helped me with this book. And while Thorne is initially hunting an animal killer, which is obviously not lighthearted or fun as a major plot line, I did feel this book remained gritty but not the same level of discomfort I usually associate with a DI Thorne novel. I had to pause at numerous times to breath and regroup – there are still quite a few fairly hard aspects to these plots, but overall, this book was well worth the effort and was a strongly plotted and well written read.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Ruff Justice by Tara Choate

January 16, 2026 By 1 Comment


Ruff Justice by Tara Choate
A Canine Accounting Caper
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Irene Lisner was not expecting a request to mediate her sister’s marriage. Or to drop her own list of cases to help a coworker. Or a new dog to come into her life. Or a date. A talented principal and a rigid business manager have squared off over accusations of false enrollment, improper purchasing, and state curriculum violations. As Irene investigates the charges, she finds hidden agendas and ulterior motives that make her wonder if she can restore justice to the hardworking school. And, of course, Irene’s irrepressible best friend has something to say on everything, especially the new dog.

There are many different ways to learn the same lesson.

My review of the first book in this series, Paw Prints in the Ledger, mentioned a few pacing problems I noticed with the storyline. While of course I can’t say for sure whether or not Ms. Choate took that into account while writing the sequel, I was quite pleased with the pacing this time around. Irene steadily discovered new clues about what was truly going on, and there was never a good stopping point when I needed to take a break from reading. That reluctant feeling of tearing my eyes away from the page is something I love to experience as it means that there will be even more wonderful passages to read once I can return to the plot!

It would have been helpful to have a little more time dedicated to developing the mystery elements of this tale, especially when it came to the conclusion. I was a bit surprised by how quickly things were wrapped up given how complicated they seemed earlier on and how many of the early clues either didn’t pan out or could be interpreted in more than one way. This was the only thing holding me back from selecting a full five-star rating.

The subplots were well written and added depth to Irene’s character and life. One of my personal favorites involved a romantic arc that I thought blended in beautifully with the protagonist’s already busy life. It was something I’d love to see more of if or when this series continues as it did such a nice job of showcasing the softer side of a character who must always remain professional and practical at work.

Ruff Justice was thought provoking.

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