Love Me to Death (Lucy Kincaid #1) by Allison Brennan

Due diligence for work! I didn’t like this quite as much as I enjoyed the Max Revere books I’ve read so far, most likely because there is So Much Backstory alluded to here that it doesn’t feel like the start of a series but the continuation of some other book I can’t quite figure out. Also, it was absolutely maddening how everyone was all “protect Lucy!”… except for the moment she was kidnapped. And that thing at the florist? Ayfkm?! A name isn’t a positive ID, ffs. That was some really shoddy detecting and everyone involved should be thoroughly ashamed.

That said, I’m only really critical because dang can Allison Brennan write a thriller, and I guess I just expect her characters here to be as smart as the characters of the Max Revere books (tho what’s up with Ms Brennan’s thing for half-Cuban ex-boyfriends?) I did very much like Lucy’s perspective not only on survival but also on trust and vigilantism. I kinda want to force the writers of Arrow to read this book for those latter two topics alone. But I digress. The love scenes were terrific! And another stellar thing about this book is the fact that it’s set in DC and actually knows what it’s talking about. I really hate when books are set in my area by an author who has no idea what he or she is doing.

Anyway, an enjoyable thriller and I’m glad to finally make the acquaintance of Ms Brennan’s work. Good, solid stuff. She’s now on my Read This list.