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

Audiobook

Not to toot my own horn, but TOOT! I figured out the ending as soon as Kelly said what she did to escape. Also, the SPOILER!! [ George] haunting is just strange. 

And last but not least my prognostication radar has went off and I'll share what I think the next book will show, which I've thought since book one SPOILER!!! [Rick has a bad buy from the beginning and he's part of this new outbreak]. I may be wrong though.

Deadline by Jennifer Blackstream is book 1 in the Blood Trials Series. I personally thought it was a great start for a series and cannot wait for book 2. This series has a lot of great potential to be one of my new favorite series. I really liked the main character Shade Renard. I love how she does not always have all the answers, and that all though she is a strong person she is not a strong witch. I love how she learns as she goes. All of the characters in the book were written very well, even the villains. This books was one of those I had a very hard time putting down.

In the book Shade is a village witch, kind of like a healer so to speak as well as taking care of problems in her village. Along with her Familiar a Pixie named Peasblossom they take on the village problems. But Shade also has a dream of being a PI.

An FBI Contact asks her to consult on a case of a possible haunting which includes a missing woman. Shade jumps at the chance. Then Crime Lord Anton Winters, AKA the Prince Kirill of Dacia, and also a Vampire shows up at Shades door to hire her to help find a his stolen black book, she gets her first real case, and can hopefully prove herself as a PI.

Dealing with stronger Otherworld creatures she will have to first survive the case, before she can solve it.

I was given my copy of this book by the Author and Enchantress Design and Promo as part of a book tour. My thoughts on this book are my own.

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Henry James's classic ghost story The Turn of the Screwhas been enthralling readers for over a century and shows no sign of losing popularity as new generations continue to discover this chilling masterpiece.
The novella's anonymous narrator is a young woman, a parson’s daughter, who is engaged as governess to two seemingly innocent children at a remote English country house. What initially seems a idyllic soon turns nightmarish, as she becomes convinced that the children are consorting with a pair of malevolent spirits. These are the ghosts of former employees at Bly: a valet and a previous governess. In life, scandalously, the two of them had been discharged as illicit lovers, and their spectral visitations with the children hint at Satanism and possible sexual abuse. The book amply fulfills its pledge, laid down in the first few pages, that nothing can touch it in terms of sheer “dreadful—dreadfulness.”

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