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A review by elvang
Duplicity by Jane Haseldine
3.0
Julia Gooden is back, this time reporting on the trial of a local Detroit crime lord, Nick Rossi, who has been caught bribing officials to cover up his criminal empire focused on drug trafficking and gambling in the greater Detroit area. She is hampered by a possible conflict of interest in that her estranged husband, David Tanner is the ADA trying the prosecution’s case again Rossi. Gooden and Tanner are working on renewing their relationship but Julia is moving slowly on a possible reconciliation. When a bomb blows up on the steps of the courthouse killing David’s best witness and injuring David, Julia is pulled off the story by her newspaper. There are many underworld elements at play and Julia, with the help of Detective Ray Navarro attempts to track down who is responsible for the bombing and prove that the slippery Rossi is guilty of the crimes for which he has been charged. She knows she is getting close to finding answers when it becomes clear that her investigation is endangering her husband, herself and her children.
This story takes a while to get going. Once Julia begins to sniff around the right bad guys and use her many unnamed sources to stay ahead of the police investigation there is lots of action, some generated by Julia herself. My biggest beef with the book is manufactured danger thanks to the risk taking actions of our cub reporter. I recognize that thrillers, to be successful need to ooze tension. Tension created because the heroine repeatedly puts herself in harm’s way only to be rescued at the last moment loses its intended punch. There were times when I wished she didn’t have children knowing how reckless and single focused she was at obtaining the truth. She was busy unmasking the duplicitous nature of those she thought she knew, racing off to prove her suspicions while her kids were left at home with a caregiver. At the hospital, even though she sees some shifty character in the hallway outside her husband’s room she worries about his safety for a millisecond and then abandons him to track down another clue. It’s hard to buy in to a story when the main character is someone you struggle to admire.
Duplicity has lots of action, layers of intrigue and unexpected twists that keep you interested in who did what to whom. It is unfortunate that the star of the series appears to be oblivious to those around her and the potential consequences of her actions.
eARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley for review.
This story takes a while to get going. Once Julia begins to sniff around the right bad guys and use her many unnamed sources to stay ahead of the police investigation there is lots of action, some generated by Julia herself. My biggest beef with the book is manufactured danger thanks to the risk taking actions of our cub reporter. I recognize that thrillers, to be successful need to ooze tension. Tension created because the heroine repeatedly puts herself in harm’s way only to be rescued at the last moment loses its intended punch. There were times when I wished she didn’t have children knowing how reckless and single focused she was at obtaining the truth. She was busy unmasking the duplicitous nature of those she thought she knew, racing off to prove her suspicions while her kids were left at home with a caregiver. At the hospital, even though she sees some shifty character in the hallway outside her husband’s room she worries about his safety for a millisecond and then abandons him to track down another clue. It’s hard to buy in to a story when the main character is someone you struggle to admire.
Duplicity has lots of action, layers of intrigue and unexpected twists that keep you interested in who did what to whom. It is unfortunate that the star of the series appears to be oblivious to those around her and the potential consequences of her actions.
eARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley for review.