Sunday, October 28, 2018

Deranged

Deranged by T.R. Ragan
Thomas & Mercer: 10/30/18
eBook review copy; 288 pages
paperback ISBN-13: 9781503904293
Jessie Cole series 3#

Deranged by T.R. Ragan is the highly recommended third book featuring private investigator Jessie Cole.

Jessie has been trying to help crime reporter Ben Morrison investigate his past. After an accident left him with amnesia, he can't remember who he was before the accident, but from what he does know, he had a troubled childhood. His father is in prison and his sister wants nothing to do with him. He has also been having troubling memories or are they flashbacks of him acting violently. Compounding Ben's emotional turmoil, he has temporarily left his family because he does not trust his daughter's soccer coach. Jessie and her assistant Zee have been trying to help Ben, when they also take on a domestic surveillance case from a man who wants his wife watched.

The action moves quickly in the story and a serial killer on the loose adds a great deal of trepidation since you know he will obviously be continuing his crimes. Jessie's boyfriend Colin Grayson, a local homicide detective, is on the cases along with a rookie he is mentoring. Jessie's niece, Olivia, 15, is also adding some stress to Jessie's life because she is starting to take on babysitting and dog walking jobs in an attempt to earn money for her own car someday. 

The chapters alternate between the various characters point-of-view - including Jessie, Ben, Colin, the killer, as well as others. You can follow along along with the different perspectives and
discoveries as they happen through the eyes of the characters involved. Ultimately, this will allow you to put the pieces together and figure out some of the answers before the end. Many readers will figure out who the killer is, but the real point is cheering on the characters as they uncover clues.

The writing is good and the cases and characters are an interesting mix. I did notice a few instances of repeated phrases ("sooner rather than later" being one) that occurred a bit too close together in the text so the repetition was obvious. Setting that aside, however, the fast paced action and discoveries moved the novel along quickly to a satisfying conclusion. This was my first book in the series and I didn't feel I missed much by not reading the first two.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Thomas & Mercer.

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