*I received a free copy of [title] from [publisher] via Netgalley. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *Shattered Fear started out pretty strong, but as the story went on, I found Janie to be a rather weak female character. For a seasoned police officer, she acted more like a damsel in distress than someone who could take control and catch a killer.
Story:
The mystery is pretty strong in Shattered Fear, and I enjoyed how one character remained unknown until the end. Only alluded to as 'The Gentleman' the brain behind missing women and murdered dancers never showed his face. Not even to the readers. Apart from the mystery, though, I was left with wanting more. I wanted more character development. More interactions between the protagonists. More of the actual police work.
Characters:
Janie was working as an undercover police officer in a bar / gentlemen's club from where several women had been kidnapped. She was very easily distracted by Brent, though. And while their chemistry was good, I couldn't really get into that because Janie didn't really act like an experienced investigator.
Brent is a rich man, used to having things go his way. And that's about all I got to know about him.
Writing style :
Third person point of view, past tense with some good dialogues, and Shattered Fear should have blown me away. Sadly, it didn't. I am very curious about 'the Gentleman', though, and I will continue reading this series.
Feels :
I was mostly a bit frustrated. I wanted Janie to be more assertive. In charge, of herself and the situation, instead, she immediately went on to lean on Brent and let him take care of things for her.
He was classically handsome in the guy-next-door look. Of course, she had no idea where that phrase came from; none of her neighbors had ever been half as good-looking.