Shattered (Max Revere, #4) in 2-3-4 Challenge

Nov 05, 2021 Jonetta rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: nc-br-digital-library, 2021-audiobook-challenge, 5000-2021, 2021-beat-the-backlist-challenge, mystery-suspense-thriller, 2021-library-love, group-read, 2021-in-2021

Investigative reporter Maxine (Max) Revere is asked by John Caldwell, her college ex-boyfriend, to help with his wife’s case. Blair Caldwell is accused of having killed their eight-year old son but John has discovered similar unsolved murders and believes Peter was killed by this same person. Max researches these three prior cases and sees a definite pattern. One of the murders was Justin Stanton, the seven-year old son of Andrew and Nelia Stanton and the nephew of FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid. When c Investigative reporter Maxine (Max) Revere is asked by John Caldwell, her college ex-boyfriend, to help with his wife’s case. Blair Caldwell is accused of having killed their eight-year old son but John has discovered similar unsolved murders and believes Peter was killed by this same person. Max researches these three prior cases and sees a definite pattern. One of the murders was Justin Stanton, the seven-year old son of Andrew and Nelia Stanton and the nephew of FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid. When contacted, Andrew reluctantly agrees to meet with her only if Lucy is involved.

I’ve waited for this story since beginning the Lucy Kincaid series and the earlier connected trilogies. Though Justin was Lucy’s nephew, they were the same age at the time of his abduction and best friends. His death altered the dynamics of the family, her life and the lives her siblings. Pairing Max and Lucy was a stroke of genius as both are extraordinarily talented with two distinctly different personalities. Both share a common passion for justice and are extremely good at what they do. Max struggles to maintain control of the investigation but Lucy, in her typical manner, quietly shifts into that role by simply doing what she does best…profiling and proving the case theories.

Everything about these investigations was explosive, especially the opening of emotional wounds in the Kincaid family that threatened to fracture Lucy’s relationship with them. Watching Lucy in action was the highlight of the story as she methodically worked the case, bringing light to the who, what and why. She and Max were a great team and the ending couldn’t have been more exciting, emotional and riveting. It delivered all that I had hoped for, especially in the teaming of Max and Lucy, as well as answers to who had killed Justin. I couldn’t put this book down and am so glad I chose to listen to the story. The narrator has always done a great job in capturing Max but to also do the same for Lucy was just more than I’d anticipated. She made this story live, every moment of it. I’m so primed to now return to the Lucy Kincaid series. This one was special.

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Nov 07, 2021 Robin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2021, suspense

Investigative reporter Maxine Revere is asked by an old friend to help is wife who is currently on trial for their eight-year-old son's murder. He tells Max that he has found three similar cold cases that are eerily similar to this case. Max delves into the case of Justin Stanton which is nearly twenty years old. Justin's father, D.A. Andrew Stanton, will cooperate with Max if she partners with Justin's Aunt, FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid. Max is not happy about this, but it is the only way she will ge ...more

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Nov 07, 2021 Anita rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-libby-city, audio, mystery

I have no idea why this book is in the Max Revere Series. It is The Lucy Show all the way. She is the star and the driving force. Strong willed Max is just along for the ride. One of the events that shaped young Lucy's life was the murder of her nephew when they were both seven. In fact that event affected all the Kincaid siblings and it was great to finally have that mystery resolved.

When Maxine Revere get a call from her college boyfriend needing her help, Max almost doesn't take his call. Max ...more

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Oct 29, 2017 Charlene rated it it was amazing

Shelves: series-by-author, law-enforcement, adult-themes, follow-this-series, mystery, parenting, investigative-journalism, public-library, legal-justice-trial, rated-not-reviewed

Review from 2017:

I'm not sure whether I've read any previous Lucy Kincaid or Max Revere books by this author; some of the Kincaid characters seem familiar, but I haven't recorded here that I've read about them. This book has both series in view, and it is fairly easy to get into, except for the names of all the Kincaid family members!

The crimes investigated here are particularly heinous. Young boys suffocated and buried near their homes, one approximately every five years for the past twenty yea ...more

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Dec 01, 2021 Melissa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Investigative reporter Maxine Revere gets a call from an old friend whose wife is on trial for murdering their son. He has done research and found 3 other boys have been killed in the same manner over the last 20 years. One of those boys is FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid’s nephew, Justin. Max and Lucy team up to catch a killer and close some cold cases.

This was an excellent example of the right way to bring 2 different series together. Max and Lucy were an amazing team and worked very well with each oth ...more

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Aug 09, 2018 Christina T rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller, 4-stars, library-find, 2018-book-challenge, 4-in-series

This series just gets better and better.

The Good: With this book Allison Brennan brought in the star of her Lucy Kincaid series into Max's world. I have not read any of the Lucy Kincaid books and now I really want to. Max doesn't really work well with others and to see her have to work with an FBI agent was a great way to move Max's character forward. Lucy is a mystery to Max and Max doesn't do well with mysteries. She needs answers and with Lucy she can't get those answers. This is where you s This series just gets better and better.

The Good: With this book Allison Brennan brought in the star of her Lucy Kincaid series into Max's world. I have not read any of the Lucy Kincaid books and now I really want to. Max doesn't really work well with others and to see her have to work with an FBI agent was a great way to move Max's character forward. Lucy is a mystery to Max and Max doesn't do well with mysteries. She needs answers and with Lucy she can't get those answers. This is where you see Max really maturing even more than in the last few books. She lives with it. I liked seeing Max realizing she wanted more from her life as well.

The plot was pretty straight forward but kind of took a little back seat to the characters of Lucy and Max. I'm so character driven so I didn't hate this and if there were slow parts or flaws in the plot I never noticed. The actual story of boys being murdered was pretty intense and I really liked it a lot. Even though we know who the killer was through a large portion of the book the investigation was still riveting.

The Bad: There was quite a bit of repetition in regards to Lucy's background that was an irritant. Since I had not read any of the Lucy Kincaid books this was new information to me but it is told and told again and if you didn't get it the first dozen times it is told again. All of this was strictly for the reader as Max had no knowledge of Lucy's traumatic past and the book ended with her still in the dark about it. Had I gone into this book having read the Lucy books this repetition would have been even worse.

Another thing some people would find as a negative in this book would be the lack of romance. Sure Lucy and her husband, Sean, have an amazing relationship but Max's romance was completely lacking in this book. There is no sex and barely even any communication between Max and the man she has been dating since the end of book 1.

In a Nutshell: I love this series and can't wait for the next book to come out. Until I can get my hands on the next book once it's published I'm happy to be able to read more about Lucy Kincaid. I'd recommend people who like Romantic Suspense to read these Max Revere books but don't let her abrasive personality in the first book stop you from continuing on. This series is good. ...more

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