Posted on  20/08/2024 17:13:51

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Copy received from the author in exchange for an honest review

This debut novel by Lawrence Hall brings to mind the cool superhero movies where we get a badass heroine and an even more awesome hero, lots of action, an intriguing mystery and that overall great-cop-movie vibe.

The story kicks off from the very first paragraph and hooks the reader in. A no-nonsense cop and a law-upholding vigilante need to work together to stop a new criminal organization that has moved into the city. Not because they keep disturbing the current crime boss and his empire, but because the conflict is bound to start a turf war that will hurt a lot of innocent people.
She works for the law, he works above it. And they need to find a middle ground, especially since the outstanding order of the mayor is that the Vigilante must be arrested on sight.

Hall gives the reader a lot of action, an engrossing crime story and an unexpected pretty awesome paranormal twist. No romance for now, but a hint of it to come in the future books. All in all, a great premise, solid characters and an ingenious mystery.

Then why 3 stars you'll ask?!
Well, first of all because the book felt more like a prequel than a first in series and ended in a cliffhanger with a lot of threads left fully open. Granted, it is a short book, but still, I would have preferred a little more conclusion. The action scenes, despite being hot and many, are more tell than show and at times confusing, due to repetition of both certain scenes and words. And the character descriptions give you the impression that you are reading a fitness magazine instead of a novel, which is somewhat distracting and off-putting
The POV changes too, felt a bit confusing once in a while, but all these things could be easily fixed by a round of good editing and truth be told, if that is done, this will be a first-class book!

I am in fact looking forward to the next instalment in the Vigilante series to see if there's any future between Ashlyn and Cain and to get to the bottom of all those hinted at mysteries.

Check out this book and more of Lawrence Hall here