Friday, March 24, 2023

Karen Rose - Quarter to Midnight

Good cops. Bad cops. Only one will win.
After completing her tours with the Marines in Iraq, Molly Sutton knew she could take down any bad guy she met. But when a family tragedy exposes the dark side of her local police, she joined up with her former CO Burke Broussard, who left New Orleans PD to set up a private investigative service for people who couldn't find justice elsewhere.
Gabe Hebert saw the toll that working for the NOPD took on his dad and decided instead to make a name for himself as one of the best young chefs in the French Quarter. But when his father's death is ruled a suicide after a deliberately botched investigation by his former captain, Gabe knows his dad stumbled onto a truth that someone wants silenced.
Gabe goes to his father's best friend, Burke, for help. Burke assigns the toughest member of his team, Molly, to the case. Molly can't believe she's being asked to work with the smoking hot chef whose chocolate cake is not the only thing that makes her mouth water. Sparks fly as they follow the leads Gabe's dad left them, unraveling a web of crimes, corruption, and murder that runs all the way to the top.

Comment: This is book #26 in the long romantic suspense series by Karen Rose. Although not all the books are IN sequence or have obvious connections, there's still a linear string making it all feel understandable if one starts from the start. It has been quite a commitment but I have enjoyed the books a lot - of course some more than others - and I do plan on reading this author for as long as she writes.

In this book, the author picks new characters and a new setting in New Orleans. Gabe, a now famous chef in the area, hires a PI firm to investigate the death of his father, which was classified as a suicide but Gabe thinks this was unlikely. Molly is the investigator in charge of the case but everything becomes more complex when Xavier, a young man in Texas, contacts Gabe following the instructions of his late father. Years ago, Gabe's father rescued Xavier during the aftershock of Katrina and Xavier confessed he had seen a murder. Someone is now trying to "clean house" and Xavier might be next...can the PIs and their friends and connections help Xavier? What about Gabe, who wants to know what happened to his father and is now feeling something for Molly, the more they get to spend time together?

I think, by this point, that my appreciation of this author's books isn't much if I like it or not. I already consider it a given that I will like reading the work by this author but sometimes the challenge is to see if the content is more or less interesting or appealing, depending on how the plot progresses. Here, the crimes being investigated aren't the most gruesome the author has invented which, for me, puts this book in that middle road between tame and hard to swallow.

There is still a slight connection element to sort of connect it with the previous book. Two of the secondary characters were also secondary characters in that other book and it was nice enough to see them have a role here. But, of course, the main ones are new, live in a place that is introduced as new as well and it was quite fun to try to get an idea about everyone. I would not say it was exactly bittersweet because the books are simply engaging, but it did made me think about everyone else, characters I had gotten used to already...

As for the author's style, it's obviously still the same, whoever reads one of her books kind of knows what to always expect. I like her style,lots of details and time dedicated to the characters' actions and I know this can feel a bit repetitive to many readers and too long or too boring at times. I would not go as far as to say I'm bored but it is true some situations just take too long. I suppose the idea is to use all the moments to enhance what is going on but perhaps letting the plot happen in a longer period of time might help? What the author still includes and I still dislike and would completely remove is the lengthy entries narrated by the villain or from his/her POV. Totally unnecessary for me.

The case being investigated was more on the tame side for me because it was about a murder and corruption (as opposed, for instance, to the crimes of sexual abuse and similar which some other books had and that, to me, are harder to read about) and the need to see justice happen is easier even when there were some obstacles. I don't mean to say this isn't as serious or bad to read about, especially when we empathize with the characters but there are definitely harder books to read by the author.

As for the romance content, that isn't exactly the focus and feels like it happens a bit too quickly. We also must bear in mind the action scenes and the adrenaline make the plto feel as if it's busier, that it has a lot going on and while this can help the romance feel like it's a natural development because of the close proximity and such, it can have the opposite effect. I liked Gabe and Molly and, for a novelty, at least one of them ins't in the police or any kind of legal authority profession. Did I think they were the best couple? Not close to my favorites, but since this the beginning of a new series... actually I'm more interested in reading about the couple who will be protagonist of the next book set in new Orleans...

Basically, this was a good novel, probably will appeal more to those who already love the genre or those who are familiar to the author's style.
Grade: 8/10

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