Item: Third Party
Rating: 4.00
Author: bookanonjeff

by Brandi Reeds

Is it murder? Is someone playing mind games? Or is it both? The chilling answers are in this twisting novel of psychological suspense by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of Trespassing.

The apparent suicide of a beautiful aspiring law student unites two strangers, connected only by their tangled suspicions: that nothing about Margaux Stritch’s tragic end is what it looks like.

Firefighter Jessica Blythe is courageously making her mark in the male-dominated Chicago Fire Department while navigating a complicated relationship with a detective. A first responder to the crime scene, Jessica has a professional duty to Margaux. Then there’s Kirsten Holloway, a wife and mother pulling herself together after an emotional breakdown. But her husband’s infidelity has left her in a place full of mistrust and fear. Her dreaded curiosity about Margaux’s death has become very personal.

Two women are about to converge on a trail of blackmail, secrets, troubled pasts, and hidden shadows, where violence and desire entwine, unchecked. And they’re not the only ones stepping into the dark. Someone else is following. But is it to warn Jessica and Kirsten? Or to usher them into a nightmare?

Intriguing Until The End. This book had a LOT going for it - the opening hooks the reader into the central mystery pretty quickly, the various perspectives reveal some things not overly common, the mystery is tantalizing and features some points rarely if ever seen, etc. And all of these elements work *very* well, through 85% or so of the book. But in the book's final act, instead of continuing the less traveled path the author instead swerves to the ordinary, safe play. I'm still planning to read future books from this author, and on the whole this book is still recommended, the ending is just a tad disappointing.

Third Party

by Brandi Reeds

Reviewed by Jeff Sexton on Sep 3, 2019

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