Annie Fitch, a former police detective, struggles to make ends meet as a private investigator in the sleepy town of Leesburg, Virginia. On partial disability because of gunshot injuries, she’s relegated to doing surveillance gigs and background checks. But things are looking up, since her on-again, off-again relationship is back on and might stay that way.When Annie is hired by Laura Carlton to … Carlton to follow her husband to get evidence of cheating, Annie is certain the case won’t take long. Nick Carlton grew up with money and privilege and has a sex addiction dating back to his high school days. But things go sideways when Annie finds her target dead in an alley just a few blocks from her own home.
Working with her former partner, Gunnar Jansson, Annie digs deeper into Carlton’s background, slowly excavating his past to reveal the multiple suspects and motives. The list includes his many lunch-hour-tryst partners, a local shop owner, and his business partner, among others. Layer by layer, Annie uncovers a truth that runs much deeper than anyone expected.
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4.5
Book source ~ ARC. My review is voluntary and honest.
Annie Fitch, police detective, was shot on the job and due to residual disabilities is no longer a cop. Starting her own business as a private investigator has taken as much hard work and dedication as her rehab, but since she can’t be a cop anymore she’s determined to make her new life work. Her past life and current life crash together when one of her surveillance jobs crosses path with a murder investigation. Working with her former partner to solve the case is like old times, but Annie struggles to put her past to bed and embrace her new reality.
Told entirely from Annie’s POV this murder mystery is a tricky one. Annie kind of reminds me of Jessica Jones without the super powers. Annie is a great character. She has flaws and is struggling, but keeps going. The writing is awesome and the characters are great. The mystery is a cop’s nightmare. The murder victim is a sex addict so there are literally hundreds of suspects. It wasn’t until about 75% that I thought I had the guilty party pegged, but I wasn’t sure enough to declare it so. The author moves Annie’s story along at a steady clip without getting bogged down in unnecessary detail. This is a story that, once picked up, is impossible to put down until the last page is turned.
Any book that keeps you engaged from beginning to end deserves a 5 star, and this one certainly does. Marie has a unique voice in her writing style, that’s easy to get sucked into and I fell in love with the characters. Annie Fitch is a bad ass P.I. who also has her tender side and you can’t help but care for her. The author herself is a P.I., so it’s no surprise how accurate her explanation of procedures and methods are. The author built a world and an atmosphere that’s perfect for a murder mystery, and I love how this story was grounded in reality. It’s not loaded with unrealistic action. There’s no fantastic heroics. It all unravels and comes together like I think it would in real life. I’m also really good at figuring out who done it, but I was pleasantly surprised with this one. A refreshing read. Nice job!
I enjoyed reading this book, it kept you wondering what would happen next.
Annie Fitch is a PI. So when she’s hired to follow Nick Carlton for a week, it’s simple. Gathering evidence takes no time at all, but Nick’s wife insists she continues following him. So she does. Then he turns up dead.
The list of suspects is endless and so is the suspense in this book. Nearly everyone could’ve done Nick in, especially his wife. A great whodunit that will keep you reading. Each of the characters were established in a way that made them realistic, especially Annie. After being injured as a detective and unable to return to her work, it was easy to sympathize with her, especially when she found Nick’s body.
The scenery is well-written. I’ve never actually stopped in Virginia, but I’ve driven through parts, and the author managed to capture the imagery perfectly.
Hope there’s a sequel in the works!
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
After being seriously injured when she was a police detective, Annie Fitch left the police force and became a Private Investigator. The work was very different for her now that she did background checks and surveillance. So when Laura Carlton hired Annie to get evidence that her husband was cheating, it was the same old thing of following the spouse. It turned out Nick Carlton had a sex addiction so he spent most lunch hours having sex with different women. This made it easy for Annie to get evidence for her client. But when Nick was found dead, there were so many possible suspects, it kept Annie and her old partner, Gunnar Jansson, busy investigating.
Exposed Fury was an interesting mystery. I enjoyed the detailed descriptions about the old houses in the little town and the trials and benefits of living in a small community where everybody knew everybody else’s business. I liked getting to know Annie. She definitely had not had it easy over the past couple of years. Even her boyfriend, Ford, was away almost more than he was home. But when Annie was working with Gunnar again, he was jealous of the man. I chuckled when Ford was trying to look like he was “the man” in front of Gunnar and Annie said she hoped he wouldn’t start peeing to mark his territory.
I was quite surprised to find out who the killer was. If you like mysteries I recommend this book.
I was given a complimentary copy of Exposed Fury which I am voluntarily reviewing.
Exposed Fury is an aptly named novel. I really enjoyed the watching this case slowly come together while the clues were unearthed.
I really hope that Exposed Fury is the start of a series, because the case was solved and wrapped, but Annie’s love life is one thing I would like to dig a little deeper into. She has a long term on again off again boyfriend, that I honestly don’t know that I like for her. He’s super protective of her since she was shot prior to the start of Exposed Fury.
We also, have Annie’s former partner on the force that we know has an interest in Annie and his love life is currently in shambles and I would love to see where things go for her as for as her love life goes.
Back to the case and the main focus of the book. It was such an interesting case, because the man found murdered was actually who Annie was watching for infidelity the previous week. At that point we knew that he had been with 5 women, which actually turned out that number had been in the hundreds! Can we say sex addict?
The deeper we dove into the case the more convoluted it became. I was shocked by the outcome and who the killer was!! If you are in the mood for a suspense read with a side of romance you should definitely pick up Exposed Fury!
Life changes create a whole new set of problems for this very bright P.I. whose mindset will never be anything but her life as a detective. This was a good read with a nice descriptive type of writing that brings smalltown Virginia to life. Will definitely read this author again.
Former police detective Annie Fitch is trying to start a new life as a private investigator after being injured on the job which left her temporarily maimed and no longer fit for active duty. She has been hired by a new client that would like her husband followed. The client believes her husband is cheating on her and wants all the evidence she can get to divorce him. Annie somehow stumbles across a dead body in the alley and soon discovers it is her client’s cheating husband.
Annie and her former police partner Gunnar find themselves working the case together and it is not an easy one. Apparently the deceased was not your average cheating husband, instead he had a sex addiction that goes back all the way to high school. This means more suspects and tons of reasons why anyone would want to see him dead.
This well written book is filled with lots of layers and suspense. Just as you think you know who killed Nick and why another clue is uncovered. This new discovery leads Annie and Gunnar into yet another direction with lots of twists and turns. What I enjoyed most about this book is that not only is the writer great at creating a compelling and suspenseful mystery, but she has a great grasp and understanding of her multidimensional characters. I sure hope this turns into a series!
Life has evened out for former detective Annie Fitch after she lost her job after suffering three gun-shot wounds. Now, working as a private investigator, her life is back on track. While walking her dog, Chester, she finds a body in one of the town alleys. After following the husband of her latest client, she has delivered photos that should be enough evidence for the client’s divorce. While at the client’s home, the police arrive and she learns that the body she found is the husband that she had been following. A weird set of circumstances that will continue to draw Annie into the investigation. Her lover, Ford is concerned and encourages Annie to leave the private investigation business, but she needs a job and she is still a good and smart detective. I enjoyed the characters and mystery as the clues and evidence continued to wind down an interesting path. Annie is a survivor and continues to balance her life with Ford, her family and friends. There is a very unique yet satisfying ending to this mystery. I don’t know if there will be a sequel, but I can see where there could be more to Annie and Ford’s story. I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to give an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)