Dead Point started off great & I loved Maggie Blackthorne & her quirky little town in eastern Oregon. I liked every aspect about this book but the premise - the mystery & the case. After all the story buildup in the previous chapters, I really hoped I was heading into a captivating & twisted ending to solve who killed the Nodine brothers but that sadly was not the case. Unlike the starting of this book, the ending was neither surprising nor exciting for me and hence was a bit of a letdown. However, this book gives you a lot of insight into Maggie's past, and how it affects her present. It definitely seems like a book you want to read in order to get the full picture & follow this promising series. The characters were great in this book - loved every single one of them. While initially I found myself getting overwhelmed with the number of characters introduced,I quickly got used to it . The best part of this book are the picturesque descriptions of Oregon & the eccentric group of characters living or working this small town.

Thank you NetGalley, Severn River Publishing & LaVonne Griffin-Valade for this arc!

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I really enjoyed this one the plot kept me interested until the end which is not easy, and the characters were engaging and believable. I highly recommend this book.

I found myself another author who I will surely read again, especially considering this is her debut novel. I really liked the MC, Maggie Blackthorne, who goes back to her hometown to run from some family issues and make herself a new life. She is the new sergeant in the small Oregon town, so she expects the typical small town crimes; however, she "stumbles" across the murder of twin boys and thus begins the crux of this book. Add Trooper Hollis Jones and it becomes even more interesting. As their investigation ensues, they find that many (if not most) of the people won't talk to them about it so that made me wonder why not because Maggie is no stranger to the townspeople.

I liked Maggie a lot because she is a strong female character and speaks her mind. She's come from a past that could make her very vulnerable and susceptible to certain character types but she's not fooled by others. I liked most of the other characters as well because they felt very realistic and not contrived.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Severn River Publishing for an e-ARC of this book for my opinion and honest review.

There is something endlessly compelling about a slow burn neo-western thriller.

I read this almost immediately after watching Mare of Easttown and I've got to say I'm a fan of these small town crime stories.

After twenty years away, Maggie Blackthorne has come home, accepting a job as an Oregan State Sergeant. She's anticipating the usual small city crimes: drugs, drunks and deer poaching. When she responds to a call about two men skinning a deer it starts a domino effect involving stolen cars, grisly murders, missing cattle, and a string of dangerous suspects. Full of interesting characters, this was a super fun book.

3.5 Stars rounded up. Thank you to NetGalley and Severn River Publishing for an ARC of this title. I'll definitely keep this series in mind.

Finally, I read the first in a new series instead of bouncing in at some point into it!

This is the first Maggie Blackthorne novel, and a terrific story it is. Sgt. Maggie Blackthorne finds a pair of ne'er do well brothers poaching a deer. She's unable to bring them in,and intends to turn it over to the Fish & Game officer who shares the Sheriff's Office space in the sparsely populated and large county that is their jurisdiction. Before she can do that, however, she receives a panicked call from one of the brothers that ends abruptly with a gunshot.

Blackthorne finally finds the location from which the brothers have called only o find both them and their dog murdered. Thus begins a rather engaging mystery, with a female main character who doesn't feel the need to pretend to be younger than she is, or waste time looking in a mirror every chapter and fretting she looks any differently than she does. It's rather refreshing, really.

She does have an abusive ass of an ex-husband who is also now her boss. He turns up a couple of times,but he works in another city and fortunately, we don't have to see much of him. In the course of her investigation, it turns out a new man - someone she's known for practically forever - has some romantic interest in her,and refreshingly, it isn't a jump into bed on the first date sort of thing. Instalove just isn't for me except in certain genres where it's expected.

The investigation itself winds on, putting Blackthorne and her squad into contact with quite a number of possibly suspects, including some oddball man and his sons (and a couple of tough guys), who want to raise cattle naturally, an incapacitated patriarch, as well as a couple more dead bodies.

Blackthorne is dogged and intelligent, and the book finishes up well enough for me to look for the sequel.

A solid four out of five stars.

Thanks to Severn River Publishing and NetGalley for the reading copy.

Thanks to #netgalley and Severn River Publishing for the eARC (Opinions are my own).

Police Sergeant Maggie Blackthorne gets a phone call from a criminal she’s looking for, he’s scared and wants to meet her but the call soon drops. When she arrives at the meeting spot the caller and his twin brother are both dead.

I really hate to say it but the writing style did not work for me. It is really cut and dry; this happened and then I went here and this happened etc. We don’t have a clue what is going on in Maggie’s head or any of her (or anyone else’s) back story so she feels like a stranger. This is a series so maybe that will change in the next installment. The investigation did start to pick up at about the 50% mark but still if I hadn’t been reading this as an ARC I wouldn’d have finished it.

If you’re looking for a no frills police procedural this might work for you. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Quite enjoyed this book. A solid debut.
Full review on Murder in Common:

https://murderincommon.com/2021/07/18/lavonne-griffin-valade-dead-point/

This is the first in the Maggie Blackthorne series. This dark gritty mystery starts off with Maggie finding two boys cutting up a deer and the author doesn't leave out the graphic scenes in front of her character.
The story has many different characters inducing Maggie Working with her ex husband.
The story is intense and doesn't have light moments of the darkness that will consume the story. The story could use a list of characters at the beginning to keep tract of the endless characters that come and go though the story. Lastly I am not a prude but there was a lot of swearing. I do not understand the reason for this because the talent of the author ability to tell a story is spot of and yet she uses endless amounts of swearing that just wasn't needed.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of Dead Point.

Maggie, a Police Sergeant, initially tries to write up brothers for illegal hunting, but discovers these brothers were caught up in something dangerous, which ultimately costs them their lives. This leaves Maggie to undertake her first homicide investigation, trying to get to the bottom of this twisted mess.

I didn't realise (until now, when writing this review) that this was a debut novel! I never would have known. The plot was intense, but intriguing and well written, and the main characters were complex but interesting. I hope there'll be more in this series, I would love to keep following Maggie on her journey.

Reminiscent of old westerns mixed with a murder mystery, this book was full of twists and turns, and has a complicated plot that kept me thinking. The characters are well developed, with a small time town and all that entails. The writing was detailed, yet not plodding, and as a bonus all the loose ends were tied up. I can't wait to read the next novel from this author.

After 20 years away, Maggie moves back to her hometown in Oregon as a State Police Sergeant. With two marriages behind her, Maggie just wanted to lose herself in her work, which is hard to do when one of your ex's is your superior officer. When a simple poaching for food leads to three homicides, Maggie and her partner Hollis Jones, a new father who should be on family leave, find themselves thrust into an investigation that neither one is fully prepared for.

I love to find a new author and main character, especially when that character is a female officer. Sergeant Maggie Blackthorne is an interesting combination of intelligence and strength. She has returned to her rural hometown after twenty years expecting to deal with minor crimes, but that doesn’t happen. She receives a phone call that has Maggie and her partner, Trooper Hollis Jones, thrown into the murder investigation of twin brothers. They soon find that most people aren’t willing to talk to police, even those who have known her since she was a child. As they search for evidence, the theft from a local store as well as missing cattle become part of the investigation. When the danger to her escalates, will she survive? I love the way the author has developed the main characters revealing their integrity as well as their imperfections. Maggie’s possible romantic involvement, after two divorces, was especially enjoyable. I look forward to the next book in this series! I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me via NetGalley. I really enjoyed this book. It was really well written and it just had you trying to solve the mystery. I look forward to seeing what’s next from this author.

An engrossing read. So many issues to work through and mysteries to solve. It's got a lot of depth to the story and I hope to read more about the characters.

A gripping debut novel with a strong and interesting female protagonist. I liked the gritty mood and that it takes place in the dry Oregon desert. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Severn River Publisher for the opportunity to read this book and share my honest opinion.

After twenty years of police work Maggie Blackthorne returns to her home town as a sergeant with the local police force. Dead Point is the first book in a brand new series from LaVonne Griffin-Valde. The community isn't very prosperous and there are a lot of cut backs and bad times all over. Not to mention Maggies dark history. Two brothers with no apparent income or home is found shot to death next to their 50000 $ pick up truck, but is it theirs?
I love small town mysteries and this is a great one. Dark, funny and with some thrills thrown in. The setting and characters are very well put together and the struggles to investigate crime over large distances with few resources and far between officers makes for an interesting story. I can't wait for the next book in this new series.
As usual I must thank @netgalley @severnriverpublishing for making this wonderful book available to me.

Just the type of book I wanted to read! I devoured this one!
Its such an awesome mystery! Had me wanting more and not wanting to adult at all! LoL
Good book!

This was an engaging mystery with an intriguing lead. The story flowed well and kept me reading. Lookimg forward to reading more.

Maggie Blackthorne returns to her hometown in Oregon after twenty years, hoping to piece together her wrecked life. She has no significant ambitions beyond that. She expects her job as sergeant to fill her time with drunk drivers, deer poachers, and overall petty crimes. Gladly, life had a different idea. After spending the first searching a pair of deer poachers, she discovers their bodies and is plunged into a murder investigation.

The Characters

The story is told from Maggie’s perspective. The author did a great job at creating this character. She has a strong voice, consistent throughout the book. While I appreciate the author’s skill in creating the character, it doesn’t mean I liked Maggie. I didn’t.

Everyone, even herself, says that she’s very intelligent and good at her job, but I’ve seen no evidence of that. She had almost no involvement in obtaining the clues. Either people decided to come forward with information out of the blue, other characters pointed out she missed important clues, or one of her troopers discovered important information.

The Best Part of “Dead Point”

The book is full of relatable, fleshed-out characters. I loved Trooper Jones. He was smart, dedicated, and indispensable. I liked Maggie’s love interest, although I wish the character went in a different direction. Most characters behaved like real people. As I was reading, I could easily imagine real people saying those things in real life.
I enjoyed the fact that even though the story had a romance component, it didn’t focus on it too much.

The mystery part had me guessing until the end. But…

And Now the Bad News

…I was disappointed when the guilty party came to light. There are many ways the ending could’ve been much more impactful. I was under the impression that the author grew too attached to the characters and picked the one she disliked most to be the killer.

Who Would Enjoy Reading “Dead Point?”

Fans of mystery who don’t mind bad language.
Readers who enjoy a strong female lead.
Readers who don’t want to have their hearts broken.

I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next one. Maggie is a strong women with a gut wrenching past that she is trying to move past. She is also in the beginning of a romance that should help balance out her life.
This book has a few strong characters and with some quick wit thrown in that will have a reader wanting more. I'd like to thank .Severn River Publishing for the advance copy.

This debut novel felt more like an established series than an introduction to a new one. Maggie Blackthorn is a veteran cop, an sergeant with the Oregon State Police, that has returned to her hometown to protect and serve. An orphan--both parents died during her adolescence--and twice-divorced, it's interesting that she's drawn back to the small town where she grew up.

Maggie doesn't want to be a detective, but gets pulled into a murder investigation when two brothers show up dead in her jurisdiction. With the state police spread thin, Maggie is thrust into leading the inquiry on her home turf, and must deal with a complicated roster of suspects.

I enjoyed this book for its strong female lead, the supporting cast of characters, and the overall ambience. Highly recommended, and I'm waiting eagerly for the next book!

Thanks to Severn River Publishing for access to a digital ARC on NetGalley.