From the Bookshelf of J.D. Robb …

No Bad Deed

Heather Chavez

Start date: March 1, 2020

Finish date: May 31, 2020

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Mar 28, 2020 Jonetta rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, publisher-review-request, 5000-2020, 2020-in-2020, mystery-suspense-thriller, 2020-audiobook-challenge

Cassie Larkin is a veterinarian on her way home after a long day at the clinic. It’s foul weather with gray skies and drizzle but clear enough for her to see a man and a woman fighting on the roadside. She calls 911 but then does something the operator begged her not to do: leaves her car and confronts the knife-wielding man before he delivers the killing strike to his female victim. When he hears the approaching sirens, he takes off but not before uttering some strange statements to Cassie and Cassie Larkin is a veterinarian on her way home after a long day at the clinic. It’s foul weather with gray skies and drizzle but clear enough for her to see a man and a woman fighting on the roadside. She calls 911 but then does something the operator begged her not to do: leaves her car and confronts the knife-wielding man before he delivers the killing strike to his female victim. When he hears the approaching sirens, he takes off but not before uttering some strange statements to Cassie and then absconds with her car, keys and purse. The next night is Halloween and Cassie’s husband Sam takes their 6-year old daughter Audrey out for treats. When they don’t return, she goes out searching for them and finds her daughter with strangers and no sign of her husband. From this point forward, Cassie’s life and her family’s are changed forever.

From the moment Cassie got out of that car, nothing in this story was predictable, including the decisions she makes along the way. She’s thrown curves at every juncture and most of the time she moves in expected directions and at others she makes choices that I found curious. Cassie’s entire life is turned upside down, including her marriage, relationship with her children and her job. She’s suddenly in a situation where she’s forced to be an amateur detective and protect herself and family. It’s difficult to know who to trust and to foresee what’s around the next corner. As a reader, I was as off balance as Cassie as I tried to navigate the whiplash turns.

It’s tough to believe that this is a debut novel but after researching the author, it’s clear that her early writing ventures benefited her culminating in this story. While I had some eye-rolling moments requiring some serious suspension of beliefs, for the most part this book was well plotted and characterized. The pace was really fast and I whipped through the story. The narrator seem to really get Cassie as a character, almost as if she was truly feeling what she was experiencing emotionally throughout. I liked that she didn’t try to come up with false sounding male voices, just a little lower pitch or dialect. It was a solid, well executed performance. And, I’ll definitely be reading whatever the author chooses to write next.

Posted on Blue Mood Café

(Thank you to HarperAudio for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.) ...more

62 likes · Like · see review

Mar 30, 2020 Kris (My Novelesque Life) rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, america, suspense, elibrary, arc-edelweiss, mystery, audiobook, domestic-suspense, contemporary

RATING: 4 STARS
2020; William Morrow/Harper Collins

I need to start this review with warning you that this book will take up your whole day as soon as you start reading it. I started it on audio, hoping to just listen to a couple chapters, and then move on to an eBook I just started. Yeah, that didn't happen. I needed to keep listen till I literally fell asleep, 90% in (I thought I could finish before I fell asleep, so didn't put a timer on, and had to go back to where I last bookmarked).

Cassie i RATING: 4 STARS
2020; William Morrow/Harper Collins

I need to start this review with warning you that this book will take up your whole day as soon as you start reading it. I started it on audio, hoping to just listen to a couple chapters, and then move on to an eBook I just started. Yeah, that didn't happen. I needed to keep listen till I literally fell asleep, 90% in (I thought I could finish before I fell asleep, so didn't put a timer on, and had to go back to where I last bookmarked).

Cassie is on her way home from another late night at the office (as a veterinarian) when she comes across a man assaulting a woman. After she calls 911, she has to make a decision on whether to help the woman further, by putting herself in danger. Thinking of her own children, she cannot let this woman be hurt further. "When Cassie physically tries to stop him, he suddenly turns on her and spits out an ominous threat: 'Let her die, and I’ll let you live.'" The man flees in her minivan, with her address and name on the insurance papers. Cassie still feels un easy after the police assure her the man will not get near her and her home. On Halloween, her husband takes their youngest for trick-or-treating and suddenly disappears leaving the young child with another parent. As Cassie calls around to find her husband she learns that she may not really know her husband. Did he leave her, or does the man have her husband? Cassie cannot trust her own feelings, but has to protect her family.

Ahhhhh!!! I needed to know what was going to happen next. Chavez knows how to write a suspense novel. Seeing the comparisons to Harlan Coben, I decided to request this novel to review, but did not go in with high expectations. No Bad Deed is Heather Chavez's debut novel, and with all the "twisty" suspense books, I wasn't going to add on that pressure. But, holy smokes, the suspense reminded me of Greg Iles 24 Hours where I was on the edge of my seat, not being able to put it down. Chavez also does a wonderful job in unraveling the mystery. She does not set it up as a twist coming so you just enjoy as you try to figure it out. When I started catching on, I didn't even bother thinking too deep, and just enjoyed the story unfolding. Even if you don't like the ending (I did mostly like it), it is still worth the ride. There was one aspect that bugged me a bit and kept me from rating this book higher, but that's more of my "I need more" voice causing a fuss. This is a perfect book for right now, as it let's you escape for a several hours and you have the time to take this crazy ride.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.*** ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

May 31, 2021 Robin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2021, suspense, library-book

Cassie Larkin is on her way home from work when she sees a man and a woman fighting beside the road. After calling 911, Cassie does exactly what the 911 operator told her not to do. Cassie got out of her car and confronted the man holding a knife. As the sirens are getting closer, the man utters a threat to Cassie and steals her car. When she tells the police that the guy now has her house keys and address, they aren't concerned, believing that he will not be sticking around the area. The next d ...more

5 likes · Like · see review