Crimson Lake Road is another entertaining crime thriller. The characters from The Killers Wife return investigating two murders that are connected by a series of grotesque paintings.
The culprit is soon arrested but I’d already decided who was involved in this crime, but there was a good twist that surprised me. The court scenes as usual with this author are excellent, great legal arguments with prosecuting and defence attorneys doing a great job, their arguments, cross examination, cut and thrust and humour were sublime.
One small moan, I kept being confused by the use of the characters surname being used then changing to their first names, make up your mind please, use one or the other, just couldn’t understand the point of this.
That said a really good read, flows beautifully and a good cast of characters, I hope to see more of Dylan the defence lawyer in the future.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

All in all, I enjoyed this story, and plowed through it quickly. Though I guessed the culprit of these crimes from the character’s first appearance (and in fact thought our protagonist, Jess, seemed like a bit of an idiot for her lack of awareness), the twist at the end made for a satisfying surprise. I like Jess, Cason and Tara, as well as Dylan and Lily (in fact, for much of the book, Dylan was more of a hero and a much more dynamic character than Jess), so I’m inclined to keep reading this series. I do agree with other reviewers who noted that the author’s use of last names for characters is cumbersome. For me, the story would have flowed better using their first names....but that’s a quibble.

Enjoyable courtroom scenes with irascible judges, but I could not get over the lead character's maddeningly poor judgment and lack of insight. Yardley (aka Jess and Jessica, which gets confusing) repeatedly fails to see the threat right in front of her. The identity of at least one of the culprits was obvious early on, which made the protracted blind alleys and red herrings annoying, not suspenseful.

The defense attorney's shenanigans before the federal grand jury seemed like implausible wish fulfillment for the author. The detailed grand jury description and jurisdictional battle didn't really make a difference to the plot.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book! It started out great, then faded a bit. .I was confused with the names - first and last names and nick names were used interchangeably. So who was who? Yardley or Jessica, or Jess? River or Angie, or Angela? So there were more people to remember. SO annoying. I figured out what was going on, then thought I was wrong, then thought I was right again. I was right, but never expected the ending. Fix the names and this would be a 5 star book.

Crimson Lake Road by Victor Methos. Second in the Desert Plains series featuring Jessica Yardley. The story did not have the same level of intensity as the first book in the series. Yardley seemed to be floating through all of the action/drama. Couldn't see how Yardley would have connected so quickly to River as a friend/soul mate. Tara evolved into being secretive and scheming with psychopathic tendencies (Daddy's influence?). Not sure where the next book of the series is going, it looks to be quite interesting. Lots of secrets to uncover.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

This is one of those times it really hurts that we can't give half stars. I liked this book more than an avg 3 star book but can't rank it on the same 4 stars as others, including the first book in this series. The beginning & the end were strong and kept me hooked & wanting to know what happened. The middle I found to be a little tedious. I will say the other reasons I rounded down instead of up were: 1) the fact it was pretty obvious that River would be the killer or at least involved in the killings. This distracted me during the whole novel. It was handed to us on a platter. 2) Seriously? We all love Yardley and think she's great but how can I reconcile that with the fact that all the people she's drawn to & closest to are murderers?? Her 2 loves & her only friend? 3) The decision to let River go at the end was a little too off brand for me with how Yardley is portrayed. However, I still definitely enjoyed the book and would not hesitate to keep reading the series as well as additional books from the author. Just in book 3 please don't have Yardley be emotionally invested in a serial killer!! Please expand on the tease of Cal getting out of jail!

Had to read the first book A killer's wife to be able to follow. The first book reminded me of stillhouse lake by Rachel Caine, the big difference here is the legal match of wits inside the court walls. Intense, dark and graphic fast paced.
loved it.