Review: Murder Notes – Lisa Renee Jones

As an FBI profiler, it’s Lilah Love’s job to think like a killer. And she is very good at her job. When a series of murders surface—the victims all stripped naked and shot in the head—Lilah’s instincts tell her it’s the work of an assassin, not a serial killer. But when the case takes her back to her hometown in the Hamptons and a mysterious but unmistakable connection to her own life, all her assumptions are shaken to the core.

Thrust into a troubled past she’s tried to shut the door on, Lilah’s back in the town where her father is mayor, her brother is police chief, and she has an intimate history with the local crime lord’s son, Kane Mendez. The two share a devastating secret, and only Kane understands Lilah’s own darkest impulses. As more corpses surface, so does a series of anonymous notes to Lilah, threatening to expose her. Is the killer someone in her own circle? And is she the next target?

Murder Notes is a fast-paced, action-filled suspense / mystery / romance with a kick-ass heroine, and a lot of men who think they know better.

Story:

Murder Notes starts with a nightmare from Lilah’s past, only to propel both her and the reader to the present. With several execution-style murders. The dead do not appear to have anything in common – maybe apart from the fact that Lilah is the one who profiles their cases. In order to dig deeper, Lilah has to go to the one place she has no inclination of visiting again. Home in the Hamptons. To her father, her brother, and other people she really does not want to see.

Both the mystery and the suspense parts of Murder Notes are extremely well done, and I felt my heart beat faster, as I moved to the edge of my seat. There are some very strong trust issues in this story, and I am still wondering if Lilah is trusting the right people. And also if she’s trying to blame the right or the wrong people.

Well written, Murder Notes has a perfect balance of introspection, murder scenes, police work and great suspense. I’m very sad I have to wait until July to get my hands on the second book in this series.

Characters:

Lilah is the kind of female heroine I absolutely love! She’s tough, smart, strong, but flawed. And she is smart enough to know when to get help, and when to do it on her own! As a profiler for the FBI, she has seen more than her share of dead bodies, but she still manages to do her job well.

Kane is Lilah’s ex something… they have history, and now, she needs to make sure he’s not involved in the case she’s trying to solve.

Andrew is Lilah’s brother, he’s the police chief, and not happy his FBI working sister has shown up to the latest case in the Hamptons.

Alexandra used to be Lilah’s friend. Now she’s the DA, and quite slippery.

Samantha has always been Lilah’s enemy. There must be more to her than meets the eye, I’m sure of it!

Rich is Lilah’s friend with benefits man. And he shows up at the worst possible moment.

Writing style :

Murder Notes is written in first person point of view, from Lilah’s perspective, and in present tense. This makes the suspense almost unbearable at times.

Feels :

Oh my gosh the feels! I felt the suspense so well. But I also felt the distrust, the love, the challenges, and everything else Lilah was going through.

Ready to get out of here for more reasons than one, I step to Rich and he doesn’t budge, his big body blocking my petite one.

I inhale and stand up, turning to find Assistant Director Murphy a good twenty yards away. Yanking my gloves off, I start walking in that direction, only to have Detective Oliver catch up with me. “Hold on there, sweetie.” Anger officially ignited, I whirl on him. “Sweetie? Well, look here, honey. Unless you want me to shove that sock you have in your pants in your mouth, back off, Detective Oliver.[…]”

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 2018 NetGalley and Edelweiss Challenge
• 2018 New Release Challenge

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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