Synopsis: When Lily Dietz, an ambitious yet short-tempered Asian-American NYC homicide detective, and longtime partner John Fremont begin to work a unique but gruesome murder case, cryptic clues in the evidence start to link with Lily’s dark and troubling past—one deeply imprinted with many psychological and emotional issues.
Borderline manic-depressive and a self-destructive alcoholic, Lily is strikingly beautiful and spoiled by her younger brother, CJ, a NBA All-Star basketball Knicks player, due to guilt uprooting from their own family history; separations of heart-wrenching losses and disappointments. The hunt for the killer escalates when the detectives discover more than one murder. Someone with cruel and twisted intentions motivated by a taste for sophistication yet also depravity is targeting and brutally mutilating Asian-American women. And somehow, the murderer knows Lily far too well.
Soon the game of cat-and-mouse becomes a thrilling chase from beginning to end, where Lily’s reality and the people in it begin to doubt her, not only as a detective but as a person. Who will be able to save this damaged soul? Or who will be the one to destroy it?
My Rating: 4/5
My Review:
If you followed my updates on Goodreads while reading this book (go on, check if you want to!) you may have noticed that it did not first initially grip me. I found the text to be way overly descriptive at times…to the point where I almost lost what the story was about. However the story itself had some promise so I continued to read despite my initial misgivings.
Lily herself is an interesting character. A NYC Homicide detective with a slightly unhealthy and obsessive nature. There is an interesting love-triangle between Lily, her partner and her best-friend. When the author referred to this, it was a bit over the top initially but I could see the reasoning behind it as I read on.
You are introduced fairly early to the killer in this book and eventually the link to Lily herself. I suppose that was supposed to be the twist, but I had figured it out early on…not the exact link but close enough. Despite this, the chase between Lily and the killer is interesting and picks up pace towards the end of the book.
I believe this is the author’s debut novel and for that, she should be commended as the plot, characters and overall feel of the book was really good. Certain characters really drew me in –Lily’s niece, Lily herself and her partner, John. Some characters I felt needed more to them–Her father, her brother, her best friend…as you only get to know a little bit and it was not enough to keep me interested in them despite the part within the storyline itself.
Would I recommend this books to others: simply put…YES…it was a good story with some interesting developments, but word of caution–do not expect a spectacular twist, as sadly, for me there did not appear to be one. Despite this, I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading what Suzanne creates for her next book