Mia Quinn has had to adjust to a major event in her life, her husband was killed in a car accident and she is attempting to get her life back in order and trying to support her kids as much as she can. This first meant she went back to work in the prosecutors office. While on the phone with her friend and fellow prosecutor Colleen hears the most horrific event, her friend being shot and killed in her own home. Now Mia is not only struggling to keep her home life together, she is tasked with finding Colleen's killer, a case with leads that are drying up the longer the case stay open. It is going to take everything Mia can to solve this case and make sure that her kids don't burn the house down.
The opening chapter of this book will drive it's hooks into as Wiehl is able to start out strong, but the book does kind of flounder a bit and never hits the high it has in that opening scene. I do not think that this is the fast paced thriller that it is made out to be, this book is more of a who-done-it mystery. This is the second book I have read this year where they try to make it out into something that it is not. I like who-done-it murder mysteries, I still think that there is a market for them, I do not think that every book on the shelf has to use the word thriller and mystery in it, they are two separate things but the words seem to have become interchangeable. I do not think that it is detrimental to a book just to be a mystery book, I love a great mystery book, I just don't like being mislead as to what I am picking up to read (okay enough of my ranting).
I like Mia as a main character and her struggle to have a work life balance, especially after her husband recent death in a car accident. You really feel for Mia throughout the book as she struggles to be a good mom but also wanting to find out who murdered her friend, and at times you realize that she is making mistakes on both fronts, but that is what happens in real life. I found that Mia was an intelligent character who is willing to help the underdog out and knows the power that she wields and wants to use it to make things right. I was also impressed that while Wiehl introduced male characters in this novel that both could have been love interest for Mia and while Mia does notice them (her husband died about a year ago) she does not actively pursue either of them. I'm glad that Wiehl did not fall into the need for sex in the novel book-club.
It was interesting that Wiehl decided to have Mia pursue two very different cases throughout the novel. I liked watching Mia attempt to go back and fourth between the cases, both of which she deems are important and she really does seem to dedicate a lot of her time to the case of internet bullying, even though people around her think she should focus solely on Coleen's murder.
There were times I did not mind the format that Wiehl decided to write the book in with each chapter being dedicated to a different character, however, it was mainly from the point of view of either Mia or her son. But other times I did not understand her choice as it did not add anything to the plot as the narrative jumps back and fourth between characters that I didn't think needed to have something told from their point of view. At times there was even some overlap as to what each character saw but what they saw and how the explained what was happening was basically the same, so it didn't add anything to to story. Wiehl could have had the book just go between Mia and her son and still achieve the same affect and have the reader's continued interest in the book.
I would read the next book in this series as I really enjoyed Mia as a character and Wiehl's use of multiple cases within the book. This book is an easy who-done-it mystery read that I think will appeal to the masses, but not so much to the people who are looking for a thriller novel. The writing is well done and I enjoyed the mystery aspect as well.
Enjoy!!!
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