“The kid stared at the one-way glass in front of him as if checking out his haircut, supremely unconcerned by the cops on either side of him. But his unnatural stillness told Jack that he was all too aware; his muscles tensed a little more with every inch closer Jack came. The instinctual recognition of one predator for another.”
Unpunished
By Lisa Black
Published: January 2017
Source: Advance review copy
In this sequel to That Darkness Maggie Gardiner, a forensic investigator for the Cleveland Police Department, is called to the Cleveland Herald when a body is discovered in the newspaper’s assembly line. Maggie quickly realizes that this was not a simple accident and the victim was murdered.
So once again Maggie’s path will cross with homicide detective Jack Renner. In the last installment Maggie had just found out that Jack is hiding a very dark secret. He’s the one who’s been acting as a vigilante in the area and killing off criminals who have committed murder.
Somehow now Maggie has become an accomplice in that she still hasn’t said anything about Renner and now has to work with him. Jack doesn’t know how much he can trust Maggie and he thinks it might be just a matter of time before she says something. But first, they have a murder to solve.
What are the editor and investors at the newspaper hiding and why are they finding more bodies? So while there is an interesting mystery to solve and I find the dynamics between Maggie and Jack fascinating. All of the tension was lost when there was so much emphasis on today’s status of the newspaper industry. It’s no secret that newspapers are closing thanks to digital media and the fast pace of news but it seems like most of this story is spent on that rather than solving the mystery and our two main characters.
I do have the next book in the series waiting for me and I hope this next installment will be a bit more like the first book. I want to know what will happen between Maggie and Jack and if they end up forming a closer alliance or will one day Jack be on the run. Lots of great material and hopefully more will be explored in the next book.
I haven’t read any of Lisa Black’s books. I’ve heard some good reports about them. It is true about the newspaper industry, but I’m not sure I’d want to read so much about that instead of the ‘why’ in the investigation.
I read the first one (That Darkness) , but decided not to pursue the series. It is funny how we can support vigilantism in fiction, isn’t it? In the first book, the bad guys were so awful, I despised the bad guys so much that I had no qualms about Renner killing them.
You know I’m not much of a mystery reader, but the book cover is really awesome!
Sounds like an interesting series, and one where I should definitely start with the first book! 🙂
I haven’t read anything yet by this author but I do seem to add all of her books to my TBR list. It sounds like I should read them in order 🙂 I’m glad to hear that you are enjoying this series
That’s too bad this disappointed a little, hopefully the next one is better.
Kay – Exactly, this book had so much potential and sort of missed the mark for me. But I still like the characters enough that I want to see if the next book will be better.
Jenclair – I know right? I’m kept thinking why do I like Renner when he is killing people -even if they are bad guys. I guess that’s an easier choice to stand behind when it’s fiction!
Stefanie – It is pretty isn’t it? I do love a good cover!
Lark – I cannot imagine starting this book and not feeling a bit lost. The writer does make references as to what happened in the first book but I feel like it’s not very clear so it would certainly help to read the first book.
Samantha – You are right, it seems her books do get a lot of talk. I do recommend the first one and then you can decide if you want to continue with the series.
Bookworm – I hope so too! 🙂
I don’t think I’ve read any of her books. Will have to check them out.