@Archaeolibrary, @debbiereadsbook, @KessMcKinley,
Special Agent Jefferson Haines puts the ‘order’ in law and order. Meal kits. Gray suits. Consistent reps at the gym. But all his routines are thrown into chaos when he’s called in to catch a serial killer whose M.O. is the stuff of urban legend: the Smiley Face Killer.
Dripping paint. Wicked slashes for eyes. The taunting curl of a smiling mouth. After years evading capture, the serial killer is back again. As Jefferson races to stop the next attack, the investigation leads to the one man he thought he’d never see again, Fred ‘Finny’ Ashley.
Finny has his own theories about the killer. And they’re pretty good. Maybe too good. Now, with his career on the line, Jefferson has to figure out if his one-time best friend is the culprit or the next victim.
4 out of 5 (very good)
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
First time author, peeps, and I think it’s rather good!
Jefferson is an FBI agent tasked with catching The Smiley Face killer, Mr Smiley (I have no idea why, but that tickled me no end!) Coming face to face with his college room-mate after 8 years, and then Finny getting attacked by Mr Smiley, puts Jefferson in a difficult position. But Jefferson can’t stay away from Finny, not now.
So, couple points.
First, though, well done Ms McKinley, on a job well done. I did NOT see the whodunnit coming at me, at all! And the WHY! Loved being kept on my toes.
It did take me a little while to get into it, and it was touch and go whether I would dump this or not, but I am glad I kept going, I really did enjoy it!
I did feel, though, that I might have enjoyed this more, had there not been any smexy stuff, I really do. I felt the scene before the gala dinner was kinda thrown in, like it NEEDED some smexy, but I really don’t think it did. So, clean, here, might have worked better for ME.
And of course, I wanted to hear from Finny too! Why they fell out, all those years ago was playing on my mind, and what I had was not how it went down. But I needed Finny to tell me why, not Jefferson. Finny had his heart broken when Jefferson went nuts, and I needed Finny to tell me how he dealt with it all, in much more detail than when he is talking to Jefferson. And we don’t get him, we just get Jefferson. Just me, being greedy!
A well thought out plot line, well written, and well delivered.
4 GREAT stars
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Debut book, Nothing But Good, coming May 18 from Blind Eye Books! Writer and avid reader of romantic suspense. Here for slow burn and pining.