Some days can turn into a real nightmare, especially when your neighbor is dismembered more or less under your eyes.  Of course, it's difficult to sort things out when you talk with your dead husband, have way too many cats, and a hoarding problem.

Helen Taylor is Det. Jake Madison's closest thing to a witness, but hardly a reliable one.  She exists mostly in a dream world.  Bebe, the victim, was extraordinary too - a whore past her prime, gardener, whose new profession provided phone sex.

Pat Henderson, Helen's sister, drives up from Phoenix with teenaged sons in tow to care for Helen and help the police.  A complicated history and family life already have Pat at DefCon 3; Helen's disappearances and reappearances, almost put her over the edge. An urban cowboy detective, a swap meet business, flashy gay hairdressers, and another horrific murder move the story along.  

If you like good characters, an interesting mystery, and the loyalty and conflicts of siblings, you'll enjoy A Justified Bitch.  The title is accurate but does not indicate language issues for readers who don't enjoy coarse language.  Recommended.

Review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

This is a fascinating murder mystery and is sold with the tag line that is the first in the Las Vegas Mystery series which pleases me no end. 
We start off a little awkwardly by viewing the world through the eyes of Helen, named after Helen of Troy. It is so confusing at the start until you understand that the person she is having a conversation with is her dead husband Bobby. Then we are confronted with a pet dropping a gift of love at Helens feet – a severed finger complete with French manicure. Turns out that Bebe, her next door neighbour / prostitute has been brutally murdered and Helen appears to be the only witness. Helens sister Pat (named Cleopatra after another renowned beauty in history) arrives in Las Vegas via Arizona to try and help the police to get Helen to talk. Which proves to be a challenge as Helen is living in a world of her own. 
The course of the book takes place over several days. Helen is a filthy recluse and a hoarder and has actual conversations with her husband which tends to throw people for a loop. Pat is the sister who feels that she abandoned her sister when things really started to go badly for her. She couldn’t cope with her sister’s mental breakdown and feels a great deal of guilt for it and wants to do the right thing by her. But the underlying question is, despite her mental instability, is Helen a murderer? There are other players in this story, such as Pat’s two teenage sons who get up to their fair share of mischief in the city of sin and the smart detective who manages to keep all the strings to this mystery in hand as they untangle and it ends with a satisfying crescendo. 
I loved the pacing of this book. There were no dead pockets of story that felt like filler. The characters are relatable and sympathetic and personally likable although at the start when Helen is at her sickest she is not so visibly attractive. The story unravels until the end all and the time I was wondering the significance of the title which reveals itself at the very end – and it’s worth waiting for.
A great cosy thriller. It’s a wonderful way to spend a day.

The title makes you expect a certain kind of story, at least, I did.  It wasn't what I expected at all but it was an interesting read.  I thought it was a little silly and unbelievable at times.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Imbrifex books for an ARC of "A Justified Bitch" by H.G. McKinnis for my honest review.
The genres of this book are Mystery and Thriller,Suspense, and  General Adult Fiction.
H.G. McKinnis does an excellent job in describing the devastating effects of mental illness on a family.
The story starts when Helen Taylor, finds herself holding a finger and sitting near by her house, where a body has been found murdered next door. Helen lives in a delusional world with her cats and hoarding, and is very comfortable having conversations with her dead husband. When the police question her, she can't explain what she saw. The police take her to jail as a material witness hoping to get information. Helen hasn't showered and her hair is matted.  While in jail, she becomes friends with two "jail mates" who own a beauty shop.  
   The police call Helen's sister Pat(Cleo), and ask her to come and try to get Helen to disclose anything pertinent to the case. Helen has not spoken to Pat for over ten years. Pat arrives with her two teen aged boys. She has the key to Helen's house, and when she opens the door she is horrified to see the  hoarding conditions that Helen and her cats have been living in.  Helen has  a  place where she goes and sells some of the things that she hoards.
   Pat goes to buy clothes for her sister and get her out of jail. When she arrives at the jail house, a detective convinces Pat to bring her sister to meet with a Psychiatrist. The Psychiatrist convinces Pat that Helen should stay for at least six weeks and be on medication and counselling .
 Pat and her two sons are staying at a hotel, and finds that her sons are finding ways to get into trouble. Pat is also trying to get Helen's house in order.
 Helen finds a way to go AWOL, to get back to her job. While Helen is away from the  health center there is another  dead body found. 
  The author describes dsyfunctional, complex and complicated characters. Some of the teenage adventures are funny. The interactions with Pat and her sons is humorous at times.
  Who is the killer? Is Helen involved? This is an intriguing,  and enjoyable read with lots of action and adventure. I would recommend this entertaining book.

This is a witty funny book.  The characters are lovable and you laugh at loud with some of their antics.

A good book with a very interesting title.   . I really enjoyed reading this book.

Great story. Helen, who is a bit ditzy, actually a whole lot crazy, neighbor is killed in a very violent way. The police who fear she is the only witness want her to get some medical help and to keep her safe. To the rescue comes sister cleo and her two boys and you have to wonder who will be sane by the end of the book. A fun read and very recommendable.
A looking forard to the next by this author book.

A great story line based in Las Vegas. Well written. Keeps you guessing right till the end.

While I enjoyed the book, it is not appropriate for classroom work

When a severed finger turns up on Helen Taylor’s doorstep, the police must try to find out if she saw what happened to her recently deceased (and dismembered) neighbour. But Helen has trouble remembering things, and her dead husband, Bobby, talking over her shoulder isn’t helping. So the police call in her sister, Pat, to see if she can make any sense of what Helen says. 
Pat hasn’t seen her sister in years and is shocked at how bad her life has become. Since Bobby’s death ten years before, she has become a hoarder of what she refers to as her ‘inventory’ for her swap-meet stall, and Pat knows she has to stay to help Helen sort herself out. 
But as the police delve deeper into the murder, they start to wonder if the reason Helen isn’t saying anything is because, not only did she see what happened, but she was involved.
There’s a few great characters in this book. Helen and Bobby are funny, although I wish we could have found out more about their life before Bobby’s death. But Bobby’s jealousy when he thinks the policeman is flirting with Helen is hilarious.
Jordan, Pat’s son, is nowhere near as likeable. He doesn’t seem to understand that his aunt is mentally unwell and thinks it’s okay for her to wander around Las Vegas after breaking out of a mental institute. It baffles me that he knows she has full-on conversations with her dead husband and doesn’t bat an eyelid. Pat is the only one who sees that Helen needs help, and yet she’s constantly made to feel guilty about it. 
The title, A Justified Bitch, was confusing to me as well. I assume it’s referring to Helen, but I’m not sure what she’s supposed to be justified for, and why she’s a bitch, but maybe I missed something in the book. 
Despite all of this, I enjoyed the story. Reading it was kind of like watching an episode of CSI. It was fun, inoffensive, with a relatively satisfying ending. If you’re looking for an easy read with a bit of a mystery at its core, then this is the book for you.

Novel story line and great characters, but the author's writing style dampened the intrigue and made it 'meh'.

A must read! the mystery was great and I am not a fan for these books!

This book was entertaining the whole way through! I read it in 3 nights. Keeps you turning the pages, and great ending.

This book has everything  I like about a book ... mystery, insanity, murder, and clever dialogue. Helen sees things but she is not stupid. Helen forgets things but not important things. Helen's infamous hooker neighbor was dismembered and the detective on the case wants to know if she and her deceased husband Bobby saw anything. I loved Helen and her quirky friends and family. I thought the characters all had a great dynamic and likeability to them. The mystery aspect made the story fun, although it was not a thriller page-turner it had an element of surprise and the characters won me over so efficiently I had an incredibly hard time putting the book down. I would gladly read more books by H.G McKinnis
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this wonderful book.

This book is a wonderful look into the mind of the mentally ill, and the tension it can bring to family members.  McKinnis delves into the confusion, fear, and apathy of a schizophrenic without overcomplicating the relationships between patient, family, law, and healthcare.  The book has a surprisingly light tone, but does justice to the struggles of its characters.

This was a fantastic read involving mental health, love, acceptance and compassion.  Really enjoyed this book on many different levels, and recommend it to those liking mysteries and warm endings.

With the title 'A Justified Bitch' I did not know what to expect! Finishing the first chapter where you get to meet Helen sitting on her porch viewing the world, I thought 'this is going to be a weird one'. And it was delightfully so.  I became completely absorb in the mystery of who killed Helen's neighbour. The charachters were so alive and personable - I felt Helen's confusion and sorrow; Pat's frustration and Marc's sadness! This is a truly brillaint murder mystery; well written that will keep you spellbound until the end.

Loved it! The characters gave the story so much life. I absolutely loved them all. Sarcasm was sprinkled over everything. I found myself having to stop because I was laughing uncontrollably at times. I think this book was more of a comedy than a mystery. But nonetheless, it delivered. Would recommend for anyone who appreciates what being different is all about.

This was a good story with lots of interesting characters. The dialogue writing could be a little silly at times though.  I think the writing was good, but the dialogue was at times awkward and kind of unrealistic. I think it distracted from the otherwise good writing in the book. It just didn't sound real.

Helen Taylor is not your run of the mill Las Vegas resident. She is eccentric and a hoarder and witness to her next door neighbors murder. This is a nice change from everyday mystery.  It's funny at times and can be a little sad also. Helen has a dead husband that she talks to and who talks back to her. Her sister and nephews come to try and help her after she is carted off to jail for protective custody. I don't want to get too give to much away.
 I liked this book, it has a cast of interesting characters that seem to keep the book flowing. The ending was a little to perfect for me but that being said I just had to suspend reality a little. I look forward to reading more books by this author. I hope it becomes a series. Thank you Net Galley for the book.