This is was a fun detective thriller. Book 2 to Maggie Giles' first book, Twisted. This story is definitely not a stand alone. I didn't read Twisted and I was fairly lost in the back story:

The setting is Ottowa and the characters are pretty much the same with an addition of a few new ones. I really enjoyed Maggie's writing style and quick wit. I enjoy detective stories so this was right up my alley. I will definitely go back and read book one now!

After loving Twisted, I went into Wicked with high hopes—and while it had some interesting moments, this one didn’t cast quite the same spell. The premise had potential, but the pacing lagged and the plot just didn’t grip me the way I’d hoped. Think “slow burn,” but with less burn and more… simmering in place.

The characters didn’t pull me in like they did in Twisted, and the tension never quite reached that juicy, page-turning level. It’s not a bad book by any means—it’s just more lukewarm intrigue than white-knuckle suspense. If you’re a die-hard Maggie Giles fan, it’s worth checking out, but maybe don’t expect to be bewitched. A solid “meh, it was fine” read.

This book was such a suspenseful read and it had me completely gripped, especially with its twists and complex characters.

This is book #2 in a series and if you haven’t read the first book (Twisted) you may find it confusing. This book takes off where that one left off. I did struggle to get into the book but it did get better. This book does have some interesting twists to spice things up.

I enjoyed this book; it felt like good closure from the first book. The story did get confusing with the alters all surfacing. I'm curious to read more and learn more about Boone's next adventure. The premise of Big Pharma lying and producing a dangerous medication was fascinating from a nurse's standpoint. The character relationships were great and well-developed.
Thank you, NetGalley, Rising Action Publishing Co., and Maggie Giles for the ARC.

This is the sequel to Twisted and I do recommend you do not read this one before book 1, you will be lost.

Detective Ryan Boone solved the mystery behind the robbery and murders in Twisted but there are still a lot of questions left unanswered.

Now onto Ottawa where the conspiracy hints that what happened in Toronto has nationwide and horrific implications. Former Detective Cora Porter is now working forensics and she’s got a strange case of murder, a runaway and a case of mistaken identity that links in with Boone’s investigation.

Wicked picks up where Twisted left off! 💊

I loved the cover of this book and I was curious to see what happened after Twisted but I had a hard time getting into the book. There’s a lot going on and after putting the book down it took a minute to get reoriented when I picked it back up.

Once I got into the last half of the book flowed much easier for me. This is a multi POV read and there’s a backstory as to why everyone is involved. The premise of the book was a definite hook for me!

There is room for a third installment but at this time I’m not sure I would dive right in but I would make that determination when/if another is published. As always, I do recommend you make your own decision on whether to read this book or not.

Thank you to the author, Maggie Giles, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. I received an epub and am leaving my review voluntarily.

This is a sequel to Twisted and I would recommend reading that book first as it will help a lot with this one.

If you like Twisted then you'll love Wicked, again it is packed full with lively characters, plenty of trauma and action. The story has mystery and twists and turns to keep you engaged, but I do find you have to be fully engaged to keep up with the multiple points of view in these books.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Much like its prequel, Twisted, Wicked is packed full of characters, twists, and a traumatic storyline. I read Twisted a while back and didn’t remember much when I receive a gifted copy of Wicked. You definitely need the foundation of the first book to get you through this one, as many topics are touched without giving background information. It took me a while to catch up due to the extended time between finishing book one and starting book 2, but I got there.

I enjoyed the plot of Wicked and while the pacing was a little slow to start and fast to end, it was still thoughtfully written. The basis of the book was deep and kept me needing to finish so I’d have all the answers- only to be left with questions in the end. I highly anticipate a 3rd installment to this series and will look forward to reading it!

Thank you NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing Co for the digital ARC, and thank you Maggie Giles for the physical copy!

Wicked by Maggie Giles is the second novel in her Twisted Truth series. It is *not* a standalone.

Detective Ryan Boone can’t shake a lingering thread from a past case, leading him to Ottawa in pursuit of a chilling national conspiracy. Meanwhile, former detective Cora Porter, now in forensics, gets pulled into a complex case that strikes close to home and partners with Ryan when their paths cross. Together, they chase Blaine Roche, a fugitive with his own motives for exposing the truth, even if it means risking everything.

I thought Twisted was pretty decent but Wicked left me wanting more from it. The writing/plot felt kind of flat to me and I found myself not caring very much about what would happen to any of the characters. Unfortunately I wouldn't continue the series if there is going to be a third one.

Thank you Rising Action Publishing Co. and NetGalley for the ARC.

Canadian author Maggie Giles’s Wicked (2025) is the second novel featuring Detective Ryan Boone. Travelling to Ottawa to investigate a murder lead, Detective Boone approaches Cora Porter, a former detective and now forensic team member, to assist, as the case has nationwide implications. Narrated by three different characters, the crime mystery has elements of medical side effects, conspiracy coverup and other twists. It's important to realise this is the second book of the Twisted Truths series and is one of those rare occasions where knowledge of prior events, is critical to fully understanding all the story’s intrigues. Overall, an enjoyable read given the above limitations, making it a three star rating. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given. With thanks to Rising Action Publishing Company and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing Co for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is the second installment in the Twisted Truths series. It picks up and follows several characters in the same timeline as they try to unravel the mysteries surrounding the effects of a pharmaceutical drug.

The story is told from multiple points of view, and there are a lot of characters to keep track of. I did find the story engaging and twisty and the suspense definitely starts to pick up after the half way mark. Its a fast paced, relatable read!

I really struggled to finish this book, it’s typically a book I would stop reading before finishing but the first book was great so I pushed on through. I found this quite hard to follow and disjointed and that’s with me having already read the first book in the series (if I hadn’t read the first book I would be completely lost). The writing style was fine, but most of the scenes and characters were lacking detailed descriptions to engage the reader and the dialogue between characters was both boring and cringe. Wouldn’t recommend to others.

Thanks to #NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy of #WickedBook in exchange for an honest review.

"Wicked" by Maggie Giles is a gripping thriller that picks up where "Twisted" left off, deepening the conspiracy surrounding a rogue pharmaceutical company.

I had a hard time finishing this book. The characters and story felt kind of off to me.. and it just felt like it was dragging on. I encourage everyone to read for themselves to determine if a story is for you or not.

Title: Wicked
Series: Twisted Truths Book #2
Author: Maggie Giles
Publisher: Rising Action Publishing Co. /Rising Action
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: April 22, 2025
My Rating: 2. Stars
Pages: 344

This story is the second in the ‘Twisted Truth’ series. First book was [book: Twisted] which dealt with the cover-up of a new powerful anti-anxiety drug that turned out to have life-altering side effects. Detective Ryan Boone was active on that case.

In this story Det. Boone convinces his superiors to let him travel to Ottawa to follow a suspect connected to the secrets that still surrounds the “magic pill’ - Solydexran.

Have to admit I was drawn to this story by the cover!
You know what they say about covers.....
Unfortunately the story was only okay - I did find myself taking notes and thinking I needed to make a Venn diagram showing the connection of the characters.


Want to thank NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing Co. for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 22, 2025.

Wicked follows Detective Ryan Boone as he travels to Ottawa in hopes of closing one of his recent cases. Cora left being a detective and joined the forensics team so that she could have a more stable life for her daughter, but when Ryan Boone shows up at her precinct for assistance with a very weird case, she can’t help being drawn to both him and the case. With tons of twists & turns, will they be able to solve everything or will they just create more questions??

This was one of those books where I completely missed the part that it was a sequel, and as such, the case Ryan is working on has an extensive background that I knew nothing about. However, even without having read Twisted, I was able to keep up with the story line and not feel totally and completely lost. There was a definitely a moment in the middle where I probably could’ve benefited from both knowing there was a book one and having read said book, but overall I didn’t feel like that gave me a handicap.

The story is told from three different POVs - Cora, Blaine Roche & Noah Baker - which on occasion caused the flow of the story to feel a little disjointed to me but for the most part worked out. Although, I do feel like one of the POVs that could’ve benefited the story would be Ryan’s seeing how he was in the first book but I’m sure the author has her reasons for not doing his POV as well.

Without giving anything away, one of the main aspects of the storyline was Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) which Giles was able to capture quite well. She was able to capture both the struggles of the person afflicted by DID and the struggles of those supporting them without romanticizing the illness.

While there were some parts of the story that were predictable, there were just as many twists that you didn’t see coming. For the most part it was a fast paced story where you found yourself playing the guessing game quite frequently trying to figure out what was going to happen next, while also realizing certain things right away without any guesswork. Overall, 3.5 ⭐️s

Thank you #NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing for providing me with an ARC of #Wicked for my honest review

.

This book is part of a series so go ahead and read twisted first because when this book comes out you will be ready! The scenes are described as if you could see them right in front of you. You will want to read this book in one day because I did. Very few books keep my attention that long. Wicked is a book about the good and bad of the pharmaceutical industry and how the division becomes blurred. Go ahead to your tbr.

This thriller/mystery novel is told from multiple POV with clearly labeled chapters. While this is Book 2 of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone, however I sometimes felt like the number of characters was overwhelming to keep track of as I was reading.

The roles of some of the characters is clear from the beginning and for others the reader has to wait to uncover the truth. The chapters are short and quick to read, so I felt that the pace of the novel really fit with the thriller genre. Some of the twists and turns I didn't guess and it made for a captivate plot.

This is the second book in this series, and it starts with an exciting bang. There’s action throughout, and the storyline is engaging and keeps you hooked the entire time.

I read this book in one sitting, because I HAD to know what was going on and who was who.

This story is a mystery/thriller concerning robberies and murders, a conspiracy for a drug that should never have been released, a need for revenge, a need for answers, a need for things to end. Detective Boone can’t let this case go. Boone, through another detective, meets Cora. She used to be a detective, but now works in forensics, she is a ‘single’ mother raising her child with her ex-husband who has addiction issues. Despite Cora not being a detective any longer, Boone is willing to work with her to locate his suspect, Blaine Roche. Blaine has been an enigma and Boone believes he is a key to the whole conspiracy.

My one criticism for this book was I didn’t understand the introduction of a romantic relationship between two characters. I thought it was unnecessary. I don’t know if it is a setup for a future story or something, but in this book I could have done without it because I don’t think it added anything to the story.

To some this story will feel unfinished. There seems to be a lot of loose ends which potentially are left for a future book, but still, when you get to the end it’s like real life: these characters go off to do this, those characters are going to do that, these ones are probably going to go on as has already been said and because of that, I think some might feel like it’s open-ended. This wasn’t an issue for me. I enjoyed the ending.

Given the reason for the drug, there are a lot of ‘characters’. I had no problem keeping track, but I think a few people might have issues, or claim to have gotten lost.

I know some readers found this difficult to read because they hadn’t read the first one. I didn’t have an issue with this. I think enough backstory was provided for me to be able to follow along and understand people’s motives.

The short chapters kept the pace moving and the twists and turns kept me turning the pages wanting to get to the bottom of things.