First of all, a warning: This is the third book in the series and CAN NOT be read as a stand-alone. This story is the culmination (or so I hope) of the “secondary” suspense which begun in the first installment. So better not start here.
Anyway, the first two installments have been fabulous. It is worth reading them.

That said, I'm afraid this story has lost steam along the way.
The prose is still so good. It is written in first person, a tricky form of narrative, but that this author manages with absolute mastery. The suspense, as always, is exciting and addictive. It keeps you glued to the story with brutal intensity. The action is abundant and fast-paced and it seems that the pages fly by while you read.
But (and for me it's a big but) this story has two of my most feared pet-peeves:
A love triangle
And situations that have gotten (a bit) out of hand, in other words, OTT.


They are the only faults I found in this story, and they are personal mania, I can not stand them, they made me disconnect from the story so I didn´t enjoyed it as much as the previous ones. What I want to say with this is that if you have no problem with the two things I indicated above, this story is just as good as its predecessors. Unfortunately, it has not been like that for me.

On this occasion, the “personal melodrama” had too much weight in the story. The suspense is not so smooth, not so efficient. The heroine has lost part of her charisma and ”rubs” dangerously some clichés of the genre. There are lots of action but less common sense. Part of her sagacity, that attracted me so much in the previous books, here is replaced by good luck and coincidences. It is not a very suggestive mix.

The story has gone from having a tiny bit of romance to have a love triangle. It has disappointed me. It has been cloying, superficial, predictable and above all, totally unnecessary. Even the author dares to recognize through her characters that everything was being rather corny. And Sidney and corny can not go in the same sentence. Definitely, the story lost me at this point.
It would have been much more interesting to see how Sidney deals with her current relationship (which the author continually develops off page) that all the melodrama that I had to go through.

In spite of everything, I want to think that this instalment has been a point of inflection, and that from here, the melodrama of the past will be left behind for good and we will continue seeing the best Sidney Rose Parnell in action. Together with her awesome partners.
I´m looking forward to it!

***

Antes que nada, una advertencia: Este es el tercer libro de la serie y NO se puede leer como un stand-alone. Esta historia es la culminación (o eso espero) del suspense “secundario” que veníamos arrastrando desde la primera entrega. Así que mejor no empezar por aquí.
De todas formas, las dos primeras entregas han sido fabulosas. Merece la pena leerlas.

Dicho esto, me temo que esta historia ha perdido fuelle a lo largo del camino.
La prosa sigue siendo muy buena. Buenísima. Está escrita en primera persona, un tipo de narración muy peligroso, pero que esta autora maneja con auténtica maestría. El suspense sigue siendo muy emocionante. Te mantiene atrapada a la trama con una intensidad brutal. La acción es abundante y trepidante y parece que las páginas vuelan mientras lees.
Pero (y para mí es un gran pero) esta historia tiene mis dos grandes fobias:
Un triángulo amoroso
Y situaciones que se le han ido de las manos, o lo que es lo mismo, OTT.


Son las únicas pegas que le pongo a la historia, y son manías personales, no puedo con ellas, me han hecho desconectar de la historia y no la he disfrutado como las anteriores. Lo que quiero decir con esto es que, si no tienes problema alguno con los puntos que he señalado anteriormente, esta historia es igual de buena que sus predecesoras. Por desgracia, para mí no ha sido así.

En esta ocasión, la historia se sustenta demasiado en melodramas personales. El suspense no es tan “limpio”. La protagonista ha perdido parte de su carisma y roza peligrosamente algunos clichés del género. Mucha acción y poco sentido común. Parte de esa sagacidad que tiene el personaje y que tanto me atrajo en los libros anteriores aquí es sustituida por buena suerte y coincidencias. No es una mezcla muy sugerente.

Hemos pasado de no tener apenas romance a tener un triángulo amoroso. Me ha decepcionado. Ha sido empalagoso, superficial, previsible y sobre todo, totalmente innecesario. Reconozco que me ha descolgado completamente de la historia. Incluso la autora se atreve a reconocer a través de sus personajes que todo estaba siendo más bien cursi. Y Sidney y cursi no pueden ir en la misma frase.
Hubiese sido muchísimo más interesante ver cómo Sidney lidia con su actual relación (que la autora continuamente desarrolla fuera de escena) que todo el melodrama que me he tenido que tragar.

A pesar de todo, quiero pensar que este capítulo ha sido un punto de inflexión, y que, a partir de aquí, el melodrama del pasado quedará enterrado y podremos seguir viendo a la mejor Sidney Rose Parnell en acción. Junto con sus maravillosos compañeros.
¡Lo estoy deseando!

I love, love, love this series. Each book keeps getting better and better and this one is the best yet.

Sydney Parnell is a character I can't help but identify with. She is determined, stubborn, brave and vulnerable all rolled into one. Together she and her K-9 partner Clyde make a formidable duo and they will need each other to solve this mystery that has links to Sydney's time in Iraq and the loss of the love of her life. Or do ghosts have a tendency to return to the land of the living?

A on-the-edge of your seat ending and I can't wait for the next one. Highly recommended!

I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. It is my first book read by this author. I hope to read more books by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this arc. I had marked my calendar with it's publication date and it was a special thrill to read the arc for me.

Sydney is one tough Marine (former) and up to her armpits in trouble. This was an intense read for me. This was the 3rd book in the series and they really should be read in order. And I have read them in order, but am tempted to re-read all 3 of them again on a good "binge" weekend. An excellent police procedural / global conspiracy / study in moral philosophy and family values. The pace was breakneck, the characters all well defined (the good, the bad, and the ugly). While there was some techno speak, I understood it well enough that I didn't have to interrupt my reading to "Google" it.

Clyde rules!!

My only regret is that this felt like the final book. I would love to keep reading about these characters, but then they'd be different. Hopefully Ms. Nickless continues writing, if not these characters, then others as this series is excellent.