In a taut, brilliantly twisted new thriller from bestselling author Lisa Black, forensics expert Maggie Gardiner and Cleveland detective Jack Renner investigate the bizarre murder of a senator with secrets to hide… Three days before a key election, U.S. Senator Diane Cragin is electrocuted on her own doorstep—a shocking twist in an already brutal political race. Cragin’s chief of staff is … political race. Cragin’s chief of staff is quick to blame rival Joey Green, a city development director who’s had his hand in every till in town for over twenty years.
Maggie and Jack have their own theories, especially after discovering a fortune in cash in the senator’s safe. But as they follow the money through the treacherous landscape of Cleveland politics, they find many more millions in play—and more suspects.
As Jack says, “Anyone can be dangerous, when they have what they think is a good reason.” He should know. Now a Herald reporter is perilously close to discovering the truth about Jack’s penchant for acting as both detective and executioner. With each passing hour, the stresses of the impending election expose new fractures and corruption at the city’s highest levels. And as one murder leads to another, and another, Maggie and Jack’s only hope of stopping a killer is an alliance that’s growing ever more fragile.
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Let Justice Descend is a very good police procedural with definite twists and those twists start at the very beginning with the manner of death of the victim. It’s not often you hear of someone being electrocuted on their doorstep!! This is the 5th book in the series and even though it is the first one I have read, I didn’t feel at a disadvantage. Of course, there were incidents from previous books that were mentioned but not to the extent that it either disrupted my enjoyment of this book or left me feeling lost.
Ms. Black knows her forensics (she should since that’s her day job) and it shows in her writing. All of the little details are there that add up to a concise whole and nothing rang false at all. Her characters are believable and for the most part realistic. (I’d hate to believe there is actually a serial killer cop out there somewhere, but I guess nothing is impossible.) The twist at the end was unexpected but made perfect sense. While I didn’t have difficulty putting this book down, I was always ready to get back to it to see what else Ms. Black had in store. I will be sure to check out other books in the Gardiner and Renner series and definitely recommend them.
I received an advance review copy from Book Sirens and this is my honest opinion. I would like to thank them and the author for the opportunity to read it.
I received an ARC of this book and am grateful for the opportunity to leave this review. Lisa Black did a wonderful job of creating believable characters with wildly different personalities and moral compasses which is what makes this the engaging read it is. I have not read the previous books in this series and am definitely adding them to my TBR list. The only difficulty I had with this work was the sometimes drawn out explanations of the political machines and how they operate. Those sections sometimes a bit dry but inevitably those passages led to more tense and suspenseful reading. That is the only reason for the 4 star rating, I was surprised beyond compare with the ending of this book. It was definitely worth the slower sections to get to the finale…POW..OMG…it blindsided me in a adrenaline filled jump.
None of the ordinary terms describe this text. It is a police procedural; it is about the strategies of political organizations; it is also a story that includes a hard-core detective who has a heart, but do not read the end of this text first. Read this novel from beginning to end and be ready to sit back and say, “Oh Wow!”
This is a book you live not read, it goes in-depth into many issues we see today giving it a new view.
Election time is three days away!! Diane
Cragin is Cleveland, Ohio incumbent
Senator. She is running against Joseph
Green. This story will present issues of
bribery, corruption, secret negotiations,
murder, distresses, frustrations plus
several murders.
The book starts off with a BANG and keeps
up with a fast paced plot within a plot with
some mind blowing twists and turns.
An array of complex, well created, three
dimensional characters that will keep the
tension high from beginning to the very end.
The story is so well written that the reader
will feel as if they are right there in the
midst of the action.
A Highly Recommended Read.
I volunteered to read Let Justice Defend.
Thanks to the author and publisher via
Book Sirens for the opportunity. My opinion
is voluntary and my own.
Liked the characters a lot and the story is easy to follow. Didn’t like all the politics in the book and that made it a little bit of a challenge to keep reading.
The story with Gardiner and Renner is filled with a lot of politics. I am not a fan of that, it actually drove me nuts. But I kept reading because with every story that Lisa Black there is always a big twist that you will never figure out. Same for this story. That was the saving grace for the book as far as I was concerned. I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of this book from Book Sirens.
When a woman is found on her own doorstep, dead by electrocution, Detectives Jack Renner and his partner Detective Riley are called to the scene, meeting up with Maggie Gardiner, forensics expert working for the police department.
Surprised as they were with how the murder was committed, they are more surprised to learn who the victim is. Diane Gragin was a sitting US Senator just days away from a key election.
Investigation begins immediately, with the detectives looking for motive ..and hopefully a killer. The more they question people in the political arena, the more they discover that Cragin was not well liked … corrupt, even. Finding a huge amount of cash hidden in her house makes it look more suspect that this was a political killing.
There are lots of suspects …. Cragin’s competitor is top of the list, her chief of staff, and any number of organizations that she has promoted over the years.
Jack and Maggie have their own thoughts …. but Jack has a secret that could put him away forever. Maggie is the only person who knows his secret … but she also has secrets that would not withstand the light of day. And now there’s an investigative reporter who is very close to discovering what those secrets are.
While I really enjoyed the characters and how they relate to each other, I found the complex political background somewhat long winded and boring. I found myself skipping large segments. Although fifth in this series, it is easily read as a stand alone. I do recommend starting at the beginning mostly because of the most interesting characters. Not highly suspenseful, the ending came as a surprise.
Many thanks to the author / Kensington Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
Let Justice Descend by Lisa Black moved a bit slow for me and I really did not get into it like I was hoping I would. I usually love the books with Jack and Maggie but I just did not feel this one like I have the other ones in the series. Maybe it was the whole politics theme and I am so sick of having to
deal with it in the media everyday day I really did not want to have to read about it in one of my favorite book series I wanted to escape not deal with it more. That is just my personally feelings because I work on campaigns. However, the twist at the end did shock me and saved the book for me. Lisa Black had me thinking I did not see that at all.
It was because of the end that the book god redemption and I had to give it four out of five stars.
Another great book in the Gardiner and a Renner series!
I received a ARC of Let Justice Descend from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my fair and honest review.
This book is pretty much a depiction of what I expect from our elected officials. From what I can see in todays day and age most appear to be crooks, they may go in with the best of intentions but then eventually the greed take over and they become wealthly. I believe this is my first book from this author and overall I found it very well written, it contains murder, corruption and greed just to name a few things. I was actually surprised by the ending, and I would recommend this to others.
Forensic detail added a lot to this story, that was heavy in dealing with money and greed, and political corruption. When a senator is electrocuted one knows that things have turned ugly when they need to elemanite a prominate person. Who wants the power, a good plot to the end.
Given ARC for my voluntary review and my honest opinion by Net Galley and Kensington .
Let Justice Descend by Lisa Black
Gardiner & Renner #5
Great story even though I am not a big fan of politics and political shenanigans that include corruption, bribery and not putting the constituents needs first. Putting THAT aside…I LOVED this book and skimmed over parts of the politics to get to the meat of the matter. And what might that be? The murder mystery and the tension/story developing between Maggie Gardiner, CSI and Jack Renner, homicide detective.
Maggie knows something about Jack that has her always wondering about him and what he has been up to. She admires his police abilities but perhaps questions his ethics. The two have a bond based in their mutual secret and at times it feels as if the two might actually move toward a relationship although it is also difficult to see how they might be able to do so. It is indeed a twisty twisted situation the two have managed to create for themselves – a balanced situation that the two both want to keep stable without either ending up too far up or down on the teeter-totter.
What I liked:
* Jack – I like this silent man who does what he believes necessary to bring evil people to justice
* Maggie – I enjoy seeing her work the case and the dilemma(s) she sometimes finds herself in while working or when thinking about Jack.
* The plotting and pace of the stories and the “gotcha” feel I had at the end
* Riley – Jack’s partner on the job seems a nice guy and I look forward to hearing more about him.
* The anticipation of what story will come next.
What I did not like:
* The many despicable characters only out to further their own agendas
* The greed
* The politics – after so many years of watching politics in the countries I have lived in…am happier not looking at what is going on and playing ostrich instead.
Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I like to read more in this series? Without a doubt
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.
4-5 Stars
Did not hold my interest
I didn’t hate this book, however there was so much political talk that I was bored. When Maggie was in the lab and the actual murders were being investigated, I enjoyed it. But when the lobbyist, EPA, Democratic and all the other characters were pointing fingers and explaining things, I felt like my eyes were crossing. This is not my favorite in this series, but the “whodunit” part though… I did very much like end.
I found myself skipping thru a lot of this because of all the political drama. The characters were likable, I believe I would have enjoyed it more with less politics involved.