Ooh I love a strong female lead and Detective Emily Hunter is exactly that. I love Emily!

Emily is investigating a violent murder; and the victim is friends with the mayor. Who is also on the investigation scene. The victim is the man who ran the mayor’s re-election campaign. The mayor inserts himself into the investigation and blocks Emily’s efforts. Ugh.

This book started off intriguing and maintained my interest throughout. I could totally relate to Emily and was cheering for her the whole way. Love this this also included her personal life and her dealings with her aging mother.

Thank you NetGallery for a complimentary copy on exhange for an honest review.

Lots of twists and turns. Character development is great. Good interaction between the two main detectives. I hope there are many more books to come. Good read and I recommend it.

I had never read anything by this author before this book. I also don't usually love police procedurals because I work in a police department. That being said, I enjoyed this book.

It was faced paced, so it kept me going and wanting to know where the turns were taking us.

I liked the characters and Emily and Javier's characters worked well together. I also enjoyed that there were multiple plotlines going at the same time, so it kept me on my toes.

I will keep an eye out for this author in the future.

A well -structured book with a solid plot and relatable characters.
I have to be honest, it didn't 'wow' me but as a police procedural thriller it does chug along nicely and mad for an excellent Sunday-on-the-sofa read.

While I have read a couple of L'Etiole's novels, this is the first one featuring Detective Emily Hunter. I really like her feisty nature. She continues to pursue a murder investigation even when powerful city politicians want her to stop. It seems corruption might be the reason for her being shut down. I like her character because she comes across as a real person too. She has issues with the care of her mother, something many readers can relate to.

This is a good police procedural where persistence in the face of opposition pays off. There is a good deal of action and the pace is consistent and kept me reading. I hope we'll see more of Emily Hunter.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Emily Hunter and Javier Medina are detectives and partners investigating the home invasion and murder of Roger Townsend. Amidst this, Emily has to balance her personal and work life, she has a mom who has onset of Alzheimer's who needs care 24/7. It starts with one murder and as Emily and her partner continue to investigate, they find there is more to it than initially thought.

This is my first book from the author. I liked the female lead Emily who is very spontaneous and keen on her job. I also liked the way the story was told. It was like watching a crime/cop tv series in my head the whole time i read. and when you think you are done with the climax, there is another plot keeping you on the edge. The partnership between Emily and Javier was amazing, would love to see more of it coming if the author wishes to write a sequel.

Overall, the book was a page turner. I completed it in 1.5 days.

Face of Greed is a police procedural featuring detective Emily Hunter and her partner Javier Medina. They are called to the scene of the murder of a prominent business man. The Mayor and Chief of Police want this case wrapped up quickly, but Emily is determined to solve the case no matter where it leads.

I thought this was a really enjoyable mystery. There were a of of twists and turns. I had one of the suspects pegged from the start, but the rest of the story was a surprise. I read this in one sitting. I really liked Emily's character. She was a great detective because she was smart and took her job seriously. What I loved the most about the book was Emily's relationship with her partner Javier. Their banter was effortless and just really fun. I would definitely want to read more about this duo in future cases. I hope if there is a next book, we get to see more of Emily and Brian. That seems like it would be a cute relationship. I definitely recommend this one.

Thank you to James L'Etoile, Oceanview Publishing, NetGalley, and Edelweiss for providing me with an ebook copy of Face of Greed for me to read and review. What an intriguing start to what I hope will prove to be a long running detective mystery series! The main character immediately spoke to me with her authentic, real-life struggles, and no-nonsense attitude. I can't wait to hopefully read more about her. The main character's detective partner was also a gem of a character with a traumatic backstory and a sassy sense of humour. The plot was full of twists and turns and puzzle pieces that didn't quite seem to fit and drew me in as a reader constantly questioning what had truly happened and who was really the "bad guy". I cannot wait to read more by L'Etoile.

Sacramento Police Detectives Emily Hunter and Javier Medina are assigned to investigate a home invasion. Roger, the husband is murdered during the invasion. The investigation leads the detectives through political and criminal powers determined to stop the detectives. The story reads like a police procedural with plot twists, action and suspense. Strong female characters written authentically kick the story up a notch. I especially liked the balance of their home and work lives. I found the ending to be very satisfying. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy of Face Of Greed in exchange for my honest review.

An excellent police procedural novel with a strong female protagonist. Emily Hunter is a confident, sarcastic, tenacious police detective with the Sacramento police department. I hope this is the start of a new series because I love the characters, the fast paced plot, and the myriad of twists along the way to the dramatic conclusion. The characters are all fully developed and the plot is propelled along at a nice clip. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for an advanced reader copy.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I’ve had the chance to see him at book conferences recently and I love crime fiction so I was excited to dive into this book. The book opens right up with the crime scene so you jump right into it. I really hope this book is the first in a series because I found the lead detective, Emily Hunter, to be a great character and I want to read more about her. I’m really glad the author wrote this book and opened my eyes to his writings.

Where to begin. This book was going so fast in so many directions I feel like I have whiplash. Fast read since you want to find out what is happening next. Great law and order style book (a bit more edgy though).

4.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 5

This was a really good police procedural, and I really enjoyed reading it.  It was fast-paced and had me completely invested in the story.

Detective Emily Hunter and her partner, Javier Medina of the Sacramento Police Department, are called to a crime scene involving a prominent businessman.  He's found dead, and his wife has been injured.  At first look, it appears to be a brutal home invasion, but as they dig deeper, they find there is more to the story.  High-powered city officials want this case closed quickly and discreetly.  What is everyone trying to hide?  As Emily pursues leads, she's being dragged into gang related violence and a world of greed and corruption.  How far will Emily go to find answers?  Will she become the next victim?  Meanwhile, at home, Emily is trying to deal with her mother’s early onset Alzheimer's.  Can she find the balance between her job and her personal life?

This was my 1st book by the author, but I will definitely be reading more.  It was very well written and kept me turning pages. Not to mention the fact that one of the characters drove a Porsche 911 GT3RS (one of my very favorite cars!)  Emily Hunter was a strong female MC, and the other characters definitely made the book interesting.  The story was full of mystery and was action-packed.  It was extremely entertaining and I would highly recommend it.

The Face of Greed by James L’Etoile is exciting on many levels. The police are smart and determined but nearly every direction their inquiries take them is blocked by a politician worried about his funding. The prime suspect taunts the detectives. Every piece of evidence points to the person they can’t touch. As the detectives uncover more crimes that link back to the same suspect they risk their jobs and lives to dig deep enough to find the truth. This is hard to read without shouting “What?” and “no way!” Enjoy.

I did not finish this book. As an oncology nurse, I found that the description of the chemotherapy treatment for pancreatic cancer through a chest tube as described to be woefully inaccurate. The author took the time to research police procedures, but could not research the accurate treatment for pancreatic cancer?! A take home infusion through a small pump is a common treatment, but it is connected to a central venous catheter such as a port or PICC line, not through a chest tube. I understand that this is a work of fiction, but when everything else is researched to give accuracy, I do not enjoy reading this which is easy to research.

Last week, Aubrey Nye Hamilton reviewed Face of Greed: A Detective Emily Hunter Mystery by James L’Etoile. If you have read her review, you know she liked it a lot. After setting up her review, I went looking for it at my local library with no luck. I went looking at NetGalley where I remembered it recently seeing it offered. Oceanview Publishing still had it listed and so I requested it. Thankfully, it was instantaneously available with no gatekeeper delay and I was soon hooked.

Detective Emily Hunter and Detective Javier Medina are working in Sacramento, California. In recent years she has been assigned to the Detective Bureau of the Sacramento Police Department. She is on call one evening when Lieutenant Ford, Watch Commander, calls her with an assignment. One is dead, one is injured, at what according to the initial report, is some sort of home invasion gone very wrong.

If that was not enough, both the Mayor and Chief of Police are already on scene. That means politics, powerful people, and probably pressure to get results quickly and quietly from on high. It is a cold evening this night in April and the neighborhood is clearly upscale where a murder just does not happen. But, it did this night, and Rodger Townsend is very much dead.

The deceased was fairly wealthy and had donated a considerable sum of money to Mayor Stone’s last campaign. Not only that, but Ridger Townsend was also the campaign manager. Those facts at least partially explain why the Mayor is involved. The Mayor makes it clear from the start he expects how the investigation is to be done and that includes leaving the widow, Lori Richardson, alone.

Something Detective Hunter is not willing to do as she follows the evidence and believes that Lori is involved all the way up to her beautiful face and then some. That puts her and her partner on a repeated collision course with the Mayor and her own internal police chain of command. She enjoys poking the bear with people of power and intends to do it regardless of how much it could cost her professionally or how it reflects on her partner.

At the same time, she is dealing with a serious issue at home as her elderly mother has dementia. Connie Hunter is 74 and slowly getting worse. How Emily Hunt will help her mother and whether she can or not she can is a major secondary storyline in the book.

An entertaining read, Face of Greed: A Detective Emily Hunter Mystery by James L’Etoile is a good police procedural. As Aubrey pointed out in hew review, it relies significantly on the trope of a smart good cop beset by incompetent supervisors. A hallmark of police procedurals and one that is long familiar to readers.

Despite that issue, the overall read is fast moving and highly entertaining. According to the note in the beginning of the digital ARC, there is a second one coming in the pipeline. I very much look forward to the read.

As noted in the review, my reading copy came from the publisher, OceanView Publishing, by way of a NetGalley ARC.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023

I have not read prior books by this author but I will look for the catalogue. I read that he used to be a corrections officer and it clearly shows in his expert writing. The plot was exciting, though a little violent (not good pre-bedtime reading). Emily and Javier are both strong characters and the author does a wonderful job of creating suspense and intrigue. I will definitely look for more of his books.

My thanks to Oceanview Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC.

This is my first book by this author, but it won’t be my last. I really enjoyed Emily as a main character. The mystery plot was twisty enough to keep me engaged until the very end.

This well-written police procedural introduces two detectives, Emily and Javier, who complement each other well as they investigate what at first appears to be a home invasion. But Emily has her doubts. Her instincts are spot on and despite the opposition of highers-up, she won’t let go as she digs deeper into the life of the deceased and those connected to him. Surprising twists abound as the story progresses, tensions mount, and the killer is ultimately exposed. A nicely paced, interesting read.

The author’s description of the criminal justice system and the pressures applied on the investigators by powerful politicians to influence their findings or get them to back off entirely rang true. The book also highlighted the trials and tribulations of caring for the elderly, particularly those who suffer from memory issues, dementia, or Alzheimers – an issue faced by many in our aging population.

Face of Greed is the first novel that I have read from author James L’Etoile and it certainly won’t be my last. And according to the forward from the publisher, Face of Greed is also the first novel in a new series — the Emily Hunter Detective series.

The novel is a police procedural that follows a whodunit as well as a whydunit trope. But it not so straightforward since there are a number of different, but interconnected plots. There are at least six different tangential stories going on at the same time so it got a little confusing. However, all of the stories coalesce toward the end for a satisfying finale.

There are a number of characters, and it did get a little overwhelming at times. But the main characters of Emily Hunter and Javier Medina, the primary detectives in the novel, really kept everything together. I loved spending time with them in the field. And it was such fun to observe their banter and witness the snarkiness of Emily. I would venture to say that Detectives Hunter and Medina are my new favorite characters next to Detectives Danny Reagan and Maria Baez.

The pacing for me was just right. There’s more than enough action and suspense that kept me engaged until the end. I can’t wait to read the second novel in the series. Four solid stars.

I received a DRC from Oceanview Publishing through NetGalley and Edelweiss+. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.