Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

Final Fix by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson
Rachel Ryder #8

Intense, tightly woven, intricately plotted story that grabbed me on page one and kept me reading till the wee hours of the morning…literally. I started reading around 10pm thinking that I would read till midnight and turn the light off BUT couldn’t stop reading then or even when the electricity was cut at 2am…kept reading till I finished a bit after 3am then had a bit of trouble getting to sleep. This is a wonderful addition to the series!

What I liked:
* Rachel: widow, detective, team player, determined, dedicated, intelligent, does what it takes, has a bit of a temper, in a relationship with DEA agent Kyle, takes this case personally
* Bishop: Detective, Rachel’s work partner, mature, professional, a good balance for Rachel’s personality, on a health regime and, in a relationship with Cathy unless she messes things up
* Kyle: Rachel’s significant other and has moved in with her, DEA agent, recovering from gunshot, assists with this case, really like him with and for Katie
* The team: Bubba (tech), Nikki (CSI), Michels & Levy (detectives), Jimmy (police chief), Dr. Barron (coroner) – all do their jobs professionally and work together well
* Tony Garcia: Ex-detective from Chicago now a PI, left his job due to corrupt cops, works undercover on this case, might show up again as he and Levy have some chemistry they are acting on
* The police procedural aspects of the story
* The plot, pacing, writing, twists, and turns
* That all of the threads of case were tied together by the end of the story and the bad guys caught
* Knowing that there will be another book to look forward to

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Knowing that there are evil people in the world as bad as or worse than the ones in this book – people who consider people and animals easily expendable.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Definitely

Thank you to the BookSirens, NetGalley, and Severn River Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars… (altro)

Book two in the Rachel Ryder series is a little muddled, jam-packed as it is with bad guys and crossing investigational lines. Either Rachel's paranoid and reading too much into the skull necklaces at crime scenes, or her crooked Chicago nemesis is actually out to get her. This seems like it could have easily been two books, just to flesh out the Chicago back story some and to help sell that Rachel was being tracked by revenge-seekers. Not as strong as the first book, but it did set up a new avenue that I'm interested to see play out in future books.

Thanks to Severn River Publishing for access to a digital ARC via NetGalley.… (altro)

Starting a new job is always tough, but even more so when you're a tough Chicago detective hired to fulfill a quota in a rich "crime-free" Atlanta suburb. Rachel Ryder is a seasoned murder cop who moved south after her husband was killed and she took down the corrupt politician who arranged for the hit, but is frustrated by her boss's manipulation of crime stats and decision to sweep a potential homicide under the rug. This is the first book in the Rachel Ryder series and is a fast-moving police procedural. You have to root for Rachel as she navigates the Southern culture with her tough Yankee ways, and tries to honor her promises to her dead husband.… (altro)

Book two in the Rachel Ryder series is a little muddled, jam-packed as it is with bad guys and crossing investigational lines. Either Rachel's paranoid and reading too much into the skull necklaces at crime scenes, or her crooked Chicago nemesis is actually out to get her. This seems like it could have easily been two books, just to flesh out the Chicago back story some and to help sell that Rachel was being tracked by revenge-seekers. Not as strong as the first book, but it did set up a new avenue that I'm interested to see play out in future books.

Thanks to Severn River Publishing for access to a digital ARC via NetGalley.… (altro)