Ride the Lightning (Sinister in Savannah, #1)

by Aimee Nicole Walker

I seem to be failing to do my research lately. Although the first in this series, the book features many characters and references from the author's other series; Zero Hour. While it does stand alone and I didn't feel lost as such, I feel it would have been more enjoyable to have read the other books first. Unfortunately for me this is the second series that this has happened to me with lately. Anyway.

I really enjoyed this book. Ride the Lightening was a great procedural type mystery with a sweet romance. I like Jonah and the colourful cast of characters he surrounded himself with. I loved Marla. His friendship with Marla was fantastic and I really enjoyed that to honour her he remade his crime fighting computer Stella 2.0 into Marla the Magnificent. (It's now pink.) Jonah was incredibly kind and generous and a really good human being. I loved how he looked out for Mr and Mrs Ling and his kindness to Hank (the homeless guy).

I loved Avery. Jonah's relationship with Avery was adorable. It cracked me up when Avery climbs through his window. But I felt cheated because Avery features in the Zero Hour series and I feel like I missed out on a lot of backstory that would've made it more enjoyable. I mean, it was explained and all, but I think it would've been better reading it first. Still the romance between them was great - there was low angst and friendship and they were flirty and steamy and it was just great. I loved that they really supported one another.

The mystery was intriguing. I loved how they worked through the cold case, gathering leads and tracking down witnesses. I was disappointed the podcast aspect wasn't really explored more. I recently read I Hope You're Listening by Tom Ryan which had podcast excerpts and I would've liked to see something like that be used. Instead, the podcast is barely mentioned beyond saying they're making a podcast. But the mystery itself was still interesting and I liked how it unfolded. The killer wasn't particularly surprising but I liked how they got there.

I thought the balance between the romance and the mystery was really good. But that said, it won't be for everyone. I tend to like it best when the mystery is the focus and romance is more a secondary plot. There were lots of funny lines and moments and some great lines about life and making the most of things.

I'll definitely be picking up the rest of the series. And reading the first series, Zero Hour. Overall a good mystery with a sweet romance and a fantastic cast of hilarious characters. 3.5 stars, rounded to 4 stars.