Thank you to Netgalley for the free ebook to review!

I tried this book a few months ago when I first requested it and couldn’t get into so I put it aside to try later. The second time around I got about 40% in before saying nope. This book started out ok with a murder mystery (which I love) but started with all of these overly wordy and unnecessary descriptions of people. Then Nick Cross started to really annoy me because nobody is really like that in person.

I think if I had read the first two I may have enjoyed this one. I think if you like murder mysteries that focus more on the police procedural part then this one might be for you.

I think, again, I was disappointed with this book.  I think I get where the author was trying to go but it did not make it there for me.  I have not read the other two books in this series.  Detective Nick Cross is not a bad character and I loved that this book was a mystery but for me something happened with this book.  I wanted to love it but I did not love it as much as I thought I would.  There were a few good twists in this book so that is why I will go with 3.  *This book was given to me for free at my request from Netgalley and I provided this voluntary review.*

Fast-paced. Riveting. Emotional. Suspenseful. This book brings it ALL! It was an artful melding of heart-pounding thrills and nail-biting suspense.

#Charade #NetGalley

If you are a mystery lover, then this third book in the Nick Cross mystery series is a must read for you. Once you begin reading, it is hard to put this book down. There so many twists and turns that lead everywhere and nowhere at the same time, that you find yourself lost in a maze of details, trying desperately to determine who is the guilty party. So many clues. So many possibilities for the killer…or killers, but as is the case most times, all is not as it seems or appears to be. The details bring the story to life and will keep you guessing up to the very end. One of my favorite moments was when all the pieces clicked for Nick and it figured out who did it. Once the mystery was solved, I reviewed the clues throughout to determine what did I miss and why my guess was not the correct one. The relationship between Nick and his wife is a bonus and lends an air of fragility and reality to the story, showing that everyone needs someone to lean on. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book. I will go back and read the prior books in this series.

This is a police procedural, and we all know police procedures can be very long and boring. That's why an author needs to cut something out, and even make things more interesting, not adding stories of a perfectly normal personal life.
The storytelling and the characters are great, but it's just a very boring book.

A big thank you to Netgalley and Ruth Bainbridge for this ARC!
Shocking, gruesome and filled with secrets, this book definitely got my attention. I will be seeking more work from Ruth Bainbridge in the future and can't wait to read more!
This review is a hard one to write... I find myself starting to type and then pulling back when I've realized I've written a little too much and could spoil the book if I'm not careful.
So, I leave it you with this...if you're looking to dive into a book and only come up for air when you've turned the last page, this is the book for you!