Stevie‘s review of Still Life (Randi Lassiter, Book 1) by DB Kennison
Contemporary Romantic Suspense published by Samhain 11 Aug 15
Picking up a romantic suspense novel can be a somewhat risky proposition as far as I’m concerned, particularly when the author is someone whose work I haven’t read before. In my experience, a lot of books in the genre sacrifice the heroine’s common sense and innate self-sufficiency in order to make the hero look good. This seems to be especially pronounced in novels where the hero starts from a not particularly good point in his life. On the other hand, the premise of this book’s plot sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a go.
Randi Lassiter is a fairly successful small-town real estate broker, who moonlights as a private investigator to make up for the way she felt when her ex turned out to have been cheating on her. From what we see of Randi and her eccentric assistant in the opening scenes, she really doesn’t want to give up her day job any time soon. Humour’s a funny thing; I’m sure some readers would have found the antics of the two women hilarious, but they just left me feeling let down that once again we don’t get to see a romantic suspense heroine who’s competent from the get-go.
Detective Jon Bricksen, meanwhile, has just moved to town in search of a less stressful life after breaking up with his ex. So he’s none too chuffed to find that he’s immediately called in to head up the town’s first murder investigation in twenty years (I’ll make an assumption here, based on rural UK crime reporting, and guess that murders have occurred over that time, but the killer has been obvious – domestic killings, neighbourhood disputes and the like – otherwise this series will rapidly turn into Midsommer Murders USA Edition) and even less chuffed to find that Randi and his friend have not only compromised crime scene evidence, but Randi is determined to investigate the case herself. Not to mention the fact that Jon’s high-flying ex is convinced that the dead woman is linked to the serial killer case she’s investigating.
The murder plot itself is pretty well thought out and executed, and I like some of the secondary characters, although others strike me as heading a little too far into attempts at comic relief that again fell flat where my sense of humour is concerned. I particularly like what we see of Jon’s ex and would like her to get a series of her own rather than us seeing more of Randi and Jon.
Overall, not the worst debut novel and nowhere near the worst romantic suspense I’ve read lately, so while I won’t be following this series again, I shall be looking out for other, unrelated, books by this author.
Grade: C
Summary:
Good art is subjective. Bad art can be positively deadly.
Randi Lassiter is twenty-nine, divorced, and remarkably content with her nonexistent social life. Mainly because she moonlights for an attorney, nabbing adulterers—like her ex—with her camera.
When she stumbles across a mutilated body, it takes fast talking to convince the arrogant detective she’s not a suspect. One look at him, and she pegs him as a guy who uses his sexy smirk to separate women from their panties.
When Detective Jon Bricksen is named the lead investigator of the first murder this microscopic town has seen in forty years, he questions his decision to leave the death and violence of Milwaukee behind. Randi’s cleavage—and her questionable sleuthing skills—aren’t making his job any easier.
Theirs is a partnership of aggravation until her small-town network results in critical progress. Forced into an uneasy alliance, they battle a growing attraction—and a killer who’s out to make them the stars of his next piece of deadly performance art.
Warning: Prepare for a thrill ride of disturbing plot twists, profanity, dirty thoughts, and filthy behavior. Who knew small-town life could be this exciting?
Read an excerpt.
