Lethal Lifestyles

by LynDee Walker
Book 6 of A Nichelle Clarke Crime Thriller

I'm having a hard time deciding how to feel about this book.  On the one hand, this was an exciting, fast-paced read where the action just keeps the story moving forward.  On the other hand, you once again get Nichelle spending a lot of her time racing against the clock, the upper administration, her rivals, and now other mysterious higher powers, to find the truth in a murder mystery.  And once again, law enforcement is conveniently absent with no power to do any true investigating.

While I love that Nichelle is such a strong, resourceful heroine, I'm also exhausted after reading this book (and not only because I kept at it when I probably should have been sleeping).  There was SO MUCH going on in this book, and so much going on in Nichelle's life already, that I'm frankly kind of getting tired of the constant upward battle that she's facing off with with her weasel-y publisher.  And while I understand that the rivalries are fierce and probably necessary between her and other ambitious reporters, sometimes the battles get a little too catty for my liking... and maybe too repetitive.

BUT, on the other hand, I really DID enjoy the mystery in this book; sans all the office drama, I think I would have really loved all the action, the investigation, and all the strange twists that were thrown in.  I also loved that Nichelle and Kyle could team up and investigate the case together without romance or hurt feelings getting in the way--they DO make a pretty good team.

Unfortunately, speaking of the romance, I'm STILL not feeling Joey, the mysterious mafia love interest, now serious significant other.  I just don't see enough of him and don't know enough of him to care about this love story.  It's been six books into the series, and Joey is really taking the tall, dark, mysterious, and handsome love interest trope to a new level.  At some point, I feel like we need to start getting to know Joey more if I'm to believe that Nichelle and Joey are having a serious relationship outside of physical attraction.  And because of that, I'm actually warming up to Kyle a little bit more... even if I still like Nichelle's co-worker Grant Parker more.

At least we get to see Kyle on a more personal level and we're getting to know him better with each book.  His cockiness is also starting to grow on me, even if his over-protective streak is a bit tiring.

Apparently I'm hard to please.

As far as the series itself goes, I'm still very much enjoying it, so I'll definitely continue reading, even if I'm not planning on jumping into the very next book right away.


***

Booklikes-opoly 2019

Roll #20:
Square: The Stay-cation 6 | Read a book set in your home town, state, or country, or that you checked out of your local library, or that has been on your (physical) bookshelves since last summer.

How it fits:  This book takes place in my home country (U.S.A.)
Page Count: 372
Cash: $3

Cover Shot

by LynDee Walker
Book 5 of A Nichelle Clarke Crime Thriller

Cover Shot was another enjoyable installment of the Nichelle Clarke series, with more convoluted twists to Nichelle's investigation, and a sort of personal touch involving some emotional back story on Nichelle's part, even if only touched upon briefly.  This particular book was also a bit more subdued on the dark and gritty than the previous book was--you don't even get to see the first murder victim, and the entire "hush-hush" on the investigation thing almost made me forget that there'd been a murder victim in the first place from page one.

There isn't a whole lot to say, as Nichelle is as spunky, resourceful, and persistent, as usual... except I DO wish she would stop trying to get herself killed while proclaiming that she has no desire to get herself killed.  As an investigative crime reporter, TSTL seems to be one of her traits that I've learned to live with, and meeting unknown sources in back alleys is probably one of the few ways she depends upon for information.

Meanwhile, I absolutely enjoyed focusing more on the multiple lines of investigation going on, with two crimes occurring that verge together in the end to make sense.  Gone are the 'Mean Girl' cat claws and hissing between Nichelle and Shelby, and even Charlie seems more subdued after her first sarcastic insult at Nichelle.  Unfortunately, without those, the book seems to fade the two rivals out, as if their only purpose was to be rude and antagonistic to Nichelle.  But whatever, at least we can skip all of that, because Nichelle had more worries on her mind to deal with in the first place.

We've also set the romance on the back burner, as Nichelle had officially made her choice previously, so we got to kiss the love triangle good-bye... even IF I still don't see the chemistry between her and Joey, and even IF the male posturing still continues on.  In fact, the mystery mafia man still doesn't strike me as all that appealing, and it seems that aside from a mutual attraction, food, and sex, the two don't really have a whole lot in common.  And since Joey remains so shrouded in shadows, you don't get to know him well enough, and neither does Nichelle, to understand why he's the better choice.  Although in the long run, I suppose Nichelle's feelings on the matter are truly all that matter.

On the flip side, Kyle has grown a bit petty.

Anyway, another strong, solid entry into the series that I'm still enjoying!


***

Booklikes-opoly 2019

Roll #17:
Square: The Stay-cation 9 | Read a book that includes a visit to a museum, a concert, a library, or a park, or that the author's name begins with one of the letters in R-E-L-A-X.

How it fits:  Author's name begins with the letter 'L.'
Page Count:  360
Cash:  $3

Devil in the Deadline

by LynDee Walker
Book 4 of A Nichelle Clarke Crime Thriller

Another solid entry into the Nichelle Clarke Crime Thriller series by LynDee Walker that drew me right into the book.  The murder mystery itself is a bit gruesome in this one, and the subject matter was as dark and gritty as in previous books.  The truth is, this series feels less cozy mystery and more crime thriller, which makes it all the more intriguing.

I appreciate that our heroine, Nichelle is a level-headed, resourceful, smart, and tough main character.  None of that weird accident-prone traits for the sake of a few laughs that I've seen in other cozy mysteries.  Nichelle knows what's she's doing with herself and doesn't draw attention if she doesn't need to, and you can count on her to do her job properly.  She still has her moments of stepping into situations that she knows damn well are dangerous... but as an investigative crime reporter, I suppose I'll have to accept that it's all part of the job.

The murder mystery itself was quite twisty, and there were a lot of possibilities for the whodunnit.

As much as I enjoyed reading this book, there were a few quibbles that didn't work for me.

The murder mystery, while outlined rather well, ended up also including a lot of side tangents that felt a bit chaotic.  I didn't expect that some of Nichelle's personal history would be touched upon, and I'm glad that it happened, concerning her absent father and a brief mention of the tension between her and her mother and her grandparents... but the introduction of that felt a bit sudden.  Maybe we'll expand on that in the next book?

Meanwhile, I'm still not feeling the love triangle, if only because I'm still not feeling any chemistry between Nichelle and either of her two potential love interests.  And also, the truth is, I don't really care for love triangles, so I'm doubly not feeling this continued dragging out of the love triangle.  And even though we can clearly see that Nichelle is leaning more towards one man over the other... it's still not quite working for me.

On the other hand, when Nichelle and Kyle are bantering as friends, I'm quite enjoying, probably because the two have a history.  But when the romance swings around, it's hard to take it seriously if only because even Nichelle herself isn't feeling that spark with Kyle.  On the other hand, I'm personally not feeling the spark with Joey...  I was still holding out hope for Grant Parker... but he barely makes an appearance in this book, so no go on that one, and also he's got a serious girlfriend already, so boo... because I'd be loathe to make Nichelle an "other woman" character.

And so I'm glad that this book is more than just romance, and that the murder mystery as well as Nichelle's work as a reporter are the main focus.

I'm also extremely happy that we've finally got a satisfying conclusion to the newsroom "Mean Girls" stuff going on with Shelby.  Truth is, great female relationships are hard enough to find in a lot of books without purposefully including one as toxic as the one between Shelby and Nichelle.  From book one, I've felt that this particular part of the character interactions were unnecessary.  It's already been hard enough that there are upper administration, outside reporters, and lots of other influences threatening Nichelle's ability to do her job.  We didn't need a Mean Girl Shelby, and we didn't need the slut-shaming.  So I'm glad that Shelby and Nichelle have finally called a truce and have stopped sniping at each other.

Otherwise, like I'd already mentioned, the murder mystery and the writing and the book itself, is extremely solid, and enjoyable, and very exciting.


***

Booklikes-opoly 2019

Roll #16d:
Square: Who? (3) | Read a mystery or detective story, or a book with the word "who" in the title.

How it fits:  This book is a cozy mystery.
Page Count:  282
Cash:  $3

Well.  That was something.  

This series used to be called Headline in Heels, which was never a good choice as it gave the wrong impression.  When Walker and Henery Press parted ways, Severn River picked the series up and gave it a spiffy, but darker, look and thankfully renamed the series to just the very dignified "Nichelle Clarke" series.

Deadly Politics is the first new entry in the series under the new publisher and I was both curious and reticent to find out how that would effect the series' tone.  It's always been so much meatier and edgier than the original series name and covers led readers to believe, but these new covers feel like shades of Patterson, or Grisham and I'm not a fan of Patterson and Grisham (except Pelican Brief); they're do deadly earnest and take themselves so seriously.  Would the new story conform to the new look and lose the breath of lightness and humor previous books have had?

Thankfully, not.  Even the MC's affinity for expensive shoes remains (in the form of odd exclamations).  But this is definitely a darker story and it's definitely a thriller.  This combination of breeziness and intrigue turned out to be catnip for me - thrillers and I grew apart and went our seperate ways back in the 90's, but Deadly Politics sucked me right back in and kept me glued to the pages, snarling at anyone who attempted to interrupt me.  

(As I finished this last night, the look on my face must have said it all, as MT quietly walked up, counted the pages I had remaining (without disturbing my reading - kudos to that man!), and softly whispered:  "I'll hold dinner until you're done."  Dear Reader, I married him.  And now you know why.)

Now, in the cold light of a new day and firmly planted back in reality, I still feel like this was an unbelievably gripping story.  Was the premise over the top, maybe a little?  Yes.  Please god, let it have been over the top.  But in the moment I didn't care if it was or not - I just had to find out what was going to happen next.  The action started in the first chapter and never let up; things never stopped happening, and the story never stopped becoming more intricately complex.  By the end, Nichelle herself summed up the story perfectly:

"Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me."

This wasn't the perfect story; it's amazingly written, but there were a couple of errors in continuity.  A reference to an early-story character named Jerry is referred to later as Jake, which had me scrambling through the pages trying to figure out who this new person was, and as the story got really tense the writing became a little too staccato, making me unsure of who was doing what, or saying something at times.  These moment probably didn't make up more than 1% of the text though, and I consider them to fall into the normal margin of error.

I didn't go the full 5 stars for two reasons.  While I definitely enjoyed the heart stopping ride, Walker sacrificed a certain amount of believability to achieve it.  I respect this is a judgement call, and it's not as if it didn't work - it's just that the story line might have packed a different, far more confronting punch had she gone a different direction.

This story ends on a slightly bittersweet note, the kind of note that authors generally use as a setup for "character development" of the kind that usually involves screwing with the MC's love life.  LynDee Walker has not historically gone the predictable route with this character, and I'm going to remain optimistic that she continues to buck the trends; I like Nichelle and Joey and I don't need their relationship to be fraught with romantic complications to make their story interesting.

Either way, I cannot wait to find out what happens next.

Small Town Spin

by LynDee Walker
Book 3 of A Nichelle Clarke Crime Thriller

Small Town Spin is another solid story in this well-written cozy series that I'm happy to have been recommended.  As per usual, I love Nichelle's thought process whenever she starts investigating each case, and I love that she's so resourceful and confident.  I also appreciate the fact that Nichelle has kind of learned from her previous experiences and indeed DOES try not to be the TSTL.  As she mentions, she's not exactly looking to get herself killed or anything.  She just wants her story.

Unfortunately, danger just seems to keep popping up because she's so determined to get to the truth of each story.

Of all the books so far, I kind of feel like this is one with a meatier plot than the rest.  It's quite thought-provoking, even if the entire detailed outline of the murder mystery was quite convoluted.  Maybe Nichelle was following too many trails, I don't know.

Still, this was highly enjoyable!

On a side note:  the love triangle is quite prominent in this particular book than it had been in the previous.  I suppose I understand Nichelle's need to play the field a little bit.  But something about triangles just really ruffle me up.

On another side note:  I was chatting with my BFF about this series, wanting to introduce her to it if she were in the mood for a new cozy.  The topic of the love triangle came up, and then I suddenly admitted that I was really hoping that Nichelle and fellow reporter, sports persona Grant Parker would end up together.  I'm sure that's not going to happen, because the two have already friend-zoned each other; AND Parker is in a committed relationship.  Also, a lot of other readers seem to be rooting for the mafia boss...

But anyway, I just felt like Parker and Nichelle just clicked really well, especially after they finally started communicating more properly at the end of the first book.  Now the two are sort of partners in crime as he had helped her out, both in the previous book and this one.  And they seem to really understand each other.

While love interests, Joey and Kyle, will just tell Nichelle she needs to stop getting herself into trouble, Parker will offer his services to aid her investigative efforts.  I think I like that he doesn't immediately try to coddle her... then again, he's also not playing the role of over-protective potential boyfriend.

Anyway, another entertaining installment to the Nichelle Clarke series, and three more to go!

Halloween Bingo 2018