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stone_cold_kat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
marilynw's review against another edition
4.0
Lost Hills (Eve Ronin #1)
by Lee Goldberg, Nicol Zanzarella (Narrator)
Lost Hills, the first book in the Eve Ronin series, is not a long book. It's mostly to the point, with Eve being extremely dedicated to her job, so much so that she seems to have no life outside of it. She does have to fend off her mom, who has forever been looking to be discovered by Hollywood and thinks that Eve should welcome a TV series about her rising fame. The fact that her mom has been on the set of cop shows, somewhere in the background as another nobody part of the scenery, makes her mom think that she is an expert on all aspects of Eve's job.
Eve is where she is now, the youngest female homicide detective in the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department's history, thanks to sudden internet fame. A video of Eve punching a popular Hollywood star went viral and Eve was able to parlay that fame into obtaining her homicide detective job, jumping over all the folks who should have been ahead of her for the job. This is a coup that could have taken her ten years to acquire, if ever. Eve's passed over co-workers have legitimate reasons to resent her but Eve is unapologetic for her luck in snagging a job she didn't have to earn.
Eve is not very likable, especially when I see that she gets on her righteous high horse and expects others to jump on her band wagon or else. My favorite character is her donut loving partner Duncan aka Duncan Donuts. If she would only listen to him, he has the years and experience to make her a great homicide detective. But Eve is going to do things her way, unwilling to stop and listen to thoughts of others who could teach her a thing or two. I have this horrible feeling, as Duncan counts down the days to his retirement, that his countdown is foreshadowing more than "just" his days to his retirement. Eve doesn't seem to have the forethought to make sure she doesn't destroy others on her march to do what she thinks is right.
The crime is a shocker and it's hard to figure out what is going on. No worries, Eve's going to save the day, it's like she a one woman battering ram, breaking through any barriers, whether it's jealous co-workers undermining her or real roadblocks that keep everyone but her from getting through. She's going to be the super hero who shows everyone how it's done. I might be too hard on Eve but I'm not sure her ability to just bulldoze her way to what she wants would be very realistic. Still, I want to see where this all goes and I'm already on to the next book.
Pub Jan 1, 2020
This is a Kindle Unlimited selection.
by Lee Goldberg, Nicol Zanzarella (Narrator)
Lost Hills, the first book in the Eve Ronin series, is not a long book. It's mostly to the point, with Eve being extremely dedicated to her job, so much so that she seems to have no life outside of it. She does have to fend off her mom, who has forever been looking to be discovered by Hollywood and thinks that Eve should welcome a TV series about her rising fame. The fact that her mom has been on the set of cop shows, somewhere in the background as another nobody part of the scenery, makes her mom think that she is an expert on all aspects of Eve's job.
Eve is where she is now, the youngest female homicide detective in the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department's history, thanks to sudden internet fame. A video of Eve punching a popular Hollywood star went viral and Eve was able to parlay that fame into obtaining her homicide detective job, jumping over all the folks who should have been ahead of her for the job. This is a coup that could have taken her ten years to acquire, if ever. Eve's passed over co-workers have legitimate reasons to resent her but Eve is unapologetic for her luck in snagging a job she didn't have to earn.
Eve is not very likable, especially when I see that she gets on her righteous high horse and expects others to jump on her band wagon or else. My favorite character is her donut loving partner Duncan aka Duncan Donuts. If she would only listen to him, he has the years and experience to make her a great homicide detective. But Eve is going to do things her way, unwilling to stop and listen to thoughts of others who could teach her a thing or two. I have this horrible feeling, as Duncan counts down the days to his retirement, that his countdown is foreshadowing more than "just" his days to his retirement. Eve doesn't seem to have the forethought to make sure she doesn't destroy others on her march to do what she thinks is right.
The crime is a shocker and it's hard to figure out what is going on. No worries, Eve's going to save the day, it's like she a one woman battering ram, breaking through any barriers, whether it's jealous co-workers undermining her or real roadblocks that keep everyone but her from getting through. She's going to be the super hero who shows everyone how it's done. I might be too hard on Eve but I'm not sure her ability to just bulldoze her way to what she wants would be very realistic. Still, I want to see where this all goes and I'm already on to the next book.
Pub Jan 1, 2020
This is a Kindle Unlimited selection.
themaritimereader14's review against another edition
3.0
This book was exactly what I needed at the time I read and listened to it - fast-paced, excellent and exciting police procedural with high stakes. It was a bit more gory and gruesome than I might prefer, but I adored Eve Ronin and I will probably pick up the next in the series sometime. The ending was also very exciting and nerve-wracking and my interest was held throughout. This short book is worth a try for sure if you enjoy this genre!!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
kategci's review against another edition
3.0
I was looking for a mystery and had read great things about this series. Eve Ronin gets promoted into the Los Angeles Sheriff Department's Robbery and Homicide squad after a viral video of her arresting a celebrity. None of her colleagues want her there or want to be a partner; she winds up with Duncan who is retiring in ~ 160 days. Her first case is a triple homicide without any bodies. Eve knows what she doesn't know and finds her way to a solution with the help of her new colleagues. Onto book 2!
jervonyc's review against another edition
2.0
This is my first Lee Goldberg novel - I guess the algorithms decided I was due, because I was force-fed advertising for it for the last month. It will also probably be the last. This is a relatively run-of-the-mill hacky detective procedural, following a young female detective whose first real case turns out to be a horrendously savage triple-murder. It's predictable, it's hokey, the stuff with the detective's mom is completely superfluous and distracting and stupid and THANK GOD she only shows up twice. I read it through to the end - that's the best I can say for it. There's so much better detective fiction out there than this.
clare__emm's review against another edition
2.0
Well plotted and interesting mystery that was told in prose that was absolute drivel. Pacing, dialogue and protagonists interior life were all horrifically wooden, and for all it had a female protagonist she reads like a stock photo for how much personality she was given. Lord save us.
pillywiggin's review against another edition
3.0
To start, I will give the disclaimer that I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. There were things that I really liked, including the setting and the fast pace. There were things that I disliked, such as the mention of a gang of white supremacist sheriff's deputies that beat prisoners at the jail. I thought Eve Ronin's feminist credentials were emphasized a little too much. I enjoyed the mystery, but felt like it was a book written for California insiders, and that as a non-California reader I wasn't part of the inside clique for whom the book was written. It was a good, quick read, but it was not a mystery of depth like Ann Cleves or Qiu Xiaolong would write. Ifor you are looking for a quick, easy mystery read, you will enjoy this book.
mnboyer's review against another edition
3.0
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is all over the media for all of the wrong reasons--cover ups, bad officers, sex scandals, you know... all of the stuff they shouldn't be in the news for--when Eve Ronin busts an abusive Hollywood star. She's off duty, but everyone at the scene gets their phone out to record this new superhero of Los Angeles. Since she's "good publicity" she gets promoted to detective (making her the youngest detective ever, and she's a woman!) at a time when the office needs more press.
The downside: she gets saddled with a partner who has lost his spark and has one foot out the retirement door; every dick wagging male is upset that she got promoted so quickly and they are complete assholes to her; did I mention all the dudes are dicks to her? I get it, I really do. Obviously, you don't want the Sheriff's Department promoting people that haven't worked for it. Yet, once that happens, let's not just be dicks because we can. It makes for a lot of scenes throughout the novel where I'm rolling my eyes because, I get it, they hate her. I get it.
She's assigned a case where a woman and her two children are missing, presumed dead, but of course there are no bodies to be found. What is Eve Ronin going to do with this....? Save the day, obviously, while earning the respect of the department bros that hate her.
A fun read, but overdone in certain areas. Also, just because a detective is a female doesn't give her some instant maternal instict that can help her track down children...
The downside: she gets saddled with a partner who has lost his spark and has one foot out the retirement door; every dick wagging male is upset that she got promoted so quickly and they are complete assholes to her; did I mention all the dudes are dicks to her? I get it, I really do. Obviously, you don't want the Sheriff's Department promoting people that haven't worked for it. Yet, once that happens, let's not just be dicks because we can. It makes for a lot of scenes throughout the novel where I'm rolling my eyes because, I get it, they hate her. I get it.
She's assigned a case where a woman and her two children are missing, presumed dead, but of course there are no bodies to be found. What is Eve Ronin going to do with this....? Save the day, obviously, while earning the respect of the department bros that hate her.
A fun read, but overdone in certain areas. Also, just because a detective is a female doesn't give her some instant maternal instict that can help her track down children...
themaritimereader14's review
3.0
This book was exactly what I needed at the time I read and listened to it - fast-paced, excellent and exciting police procedural with high stakes. It was a bit more gory and gruesome than I might prefer, but I adored Eve Ronin and I will probably pick up the next in the series sometime. The ending was also very exciting and nerve-wracking and my interest was held throughout. This short book is worth a try for sure if you enjoy this genre!!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.