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A review by alindeman
Trick Roller by Cordelia Kingsbridge
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I love this book series! I definitely wish there was more of the seven of spades tho. 80% of the book is totally unrelated. But I don’t really care bc I love Dominic & Levi’s developing relationship SO MUCH! I think they both need therapy but they’re so good together.
Plot summary
Levi is investigating the death of a doctor who was in town for a conference. They suspect a prostitute he saw the night of his death bc of how convenient the timing was. Except she has no motive. And then the concierge of the hotel he was staying at is found dead. They realize he was blackmailing rich people who stayed at the hotel. They suspect he knew who killed the doctor and was blackmailing them and the murderer killed him. The prostitute is arrested bc the cause of death was an OD of roofies and they found some in her bathroom but she says it isn’t hers. The only ppl with access to her house is her shitty bf, her babysitter, and her babysitters shitty bf.
Meanwhile Dominic is internishhp at a PI firm to become a PI. He is following a man accused of cheating and photographs him with a woman. When Levi sees the photos he recognizes her as the babysitter of the woman they arrested. The vial of roofies was hers. She trick rolls men (drugging and robbing) and it was a bad coincidence the cops searched the house after she stashed it there. So that frees the original prostitute that was arrested but doesn’t bring them closer to the killer. In bringing her in Levi gets into a nasty fight with her drugged up bf and beats the shit out of him.
Meanwhile Levi is secretly investigating the seven of spades when he’s explicitly been ordered not to by his superior.
He confides in Dominic and while Dominic is concerned about the obsession, he believes him and offers to him rather than shaming him. So Dominic goes to a fake Dr appt with Keith’s doctor, the one who had him on all those drugs and ignored his terrible side effects. They basically wanted to rule them out. He talks extensively about his gambling and while it’s supposed to be a fake appt it quickly becomes way too real and the doctor has some seriously spot on insight about Dominic. (Namely- that he is using 0 resources to help him succeed and is white knuckling his way thru recovery). Then the doc gives him a script and dominic realizes the doctor is getting kickbacks from the drug company. His mismanagement of Keith is unrelated to the seven of spades.
Unfortunately Levi’s superior revived an “anonymous” (it’s the seven of spades) tip about dominic seeing the doctor and Levi investigating the case again. He’s suspended.
Cute stuff happens like Levi meeting Jasmine’s family, Carlos proposing to Jasmine, Levi going to Sunday family lunch, and Levi arranging the fostering of that girl Adriana to jasmines parents.
The dead doctors wife is then arrested for his murder bc they discover she was actually in town the day before she said she was and she was being blackmailed by the concierge over it. But she says she did all this just to catch him cheating so she would have grounds for a divorce.
Then Levi gets a call from their original suspect, the prostitute, and she’s saying she remembers seeing someone else arrive when she left that night. But then there’s a commotion and the call drops. Him and Dominic hurry to her house and find her half dead on the ground having been strangled. Dominic does CPR and saves her life.
They identify the doctors colleague as the murderer. The dude he murdered sucked and had basically ruined his career. The case is airtight and he will take a plea deal and go to jail.
At the very end- Dominic and Levi are testifying in drew Barton’s case. The man who in the previous book murdered his wife, tried to frame the seven of spades, and attacked Levi when Levi called him out on it. His defense attorney is slimy and paints Levi as aggressive and corrupt. But Dominic’s testimony saves the day bc he’s so damn likeable. Outside after the trial Drew’s lawyer is speaking to the press when a sniper kills drew and announces the return of the seven of spades. Levi was right all along.
Plot summary
Levi is investigating the death of a doctor who was in town for a conference. They suspect a prostitute he saw the night of his death bc of how convenient the timing was. Except she has no motive. And then the concierge of the hotel he was staying at is found dead. They realize he was blackmailing rich people who stayed at the hotel. They suspect he knew who killed the doctor and was blackmailing them and the murderer killed him. The prostitute is arrested bc the cause of death was an OD of roofies and they found some in her bathroom but she says it isn’t hers. The only ppl with access to her house is her shitty bf, her babysitter, and her babysitters shitty bf.
Meanwhile Dominic is internishhp at a PI firm to become a PI. He is following a man accused of cheating and photographs him with a woman. When Levi sees the photos he recognizes her as the babysitter of the woman they arrested. The vial of roofies was hers. She trick rolls men (drugging and robbing) and it was a bad coincidence the cops searched the house after she stashed it there. So that frees the original prostitute that was arrested but doesn’t bring them closer to the killer. In bringing her in Levi gets into a nasty fight with her drugged up bf and beats the shit out of him.
Meanwhile Levi is secretly investigating the seven of spades when he’s explicitly been ordered not to by his superior.
He confides in Dominic and while Dominic is concerned about the obsession, he believes him and offers to him rather than shaming him. So Dominic goes to a fake Dr appt with Keith’s doctor, the one who had him on all those drugs and ignored his terrible side effects. They basically wanted to rule them out. He talks extensively about his gambling and while it’s supposed to be a fake appt it quickly becomes way too real and the doctor has some seriously spot on insight about Dominic. (Namely- that he is using 0 resources to help him succeed and is white knuckling his way thru recovery). Then the doc gives him a script and dominic realizes the doctor is getting kickbacks from the drug company. His mismanagement of Keith is unrelated to the seven of spades.
Unfortunately Levi’s superior revived an “anonymous” (it’s the seven of spades) tip about dominic seeing the doctor and Levi investigating the case again. He’s suspended.
Cute stuff happens like Levi meeting Jasmine’s family, Carlos proposing to Jasmine, Levi going to Sunday family lunch, and Levi arranging the fostering of that girl Adriana to jasmines parents.
The dead doctors wife is then arrested for his murder bc they discover she was actually in town the day before she said she was and she was being blackmailed by the concierge over it. But she says she did all this just to catch him cheating so she would have grounds for a divorce.
Then Levi gets a call from their original suspect, the prostitute, and she’s saying she remembers seeing someone else arrive when she left that night. But then there’s a commotion and the call drops. Him and Dominic hurry to her house and find her half dead on the ground having been strangled. Dominic does CPR and saves her life.
They identify the doctors colleague as the murderer. The dude he murdered sucked and had basically ruined his career. The case is airtight and he will take a plea deal and go to jail.
At the very end- Dominic and Levi are testifying in drew Barton’s case. The man who in the previous book murdered his wife, tried to frame the seven of spades, and attacked Levi when Levi called him out on it. His defense attorney is slimy and paints Levi as aggressive and corrupt. But Dominic’s testimony saves the day bc he’s so damn likeable. Outside after the trial Drew’s lawyer is speaking to the press when a sniper kills drew and announces the return of the seven of spades. Levi was right all along.