POISONOUS by Allison Brennan

A Max Revere Novel, Book 3

Minotaur Books

April 12^th, 2016

978-1-250-06684-8

Thriller/Mystery

Hardcover

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Library

4 Hearts

When teenager Ivy Lake died from a freak fall off a cliff, no one was really upset…except her mentally challenged step-brother Tommy, who wrote a letter to Investigative reporter Max Revere to see if she could come and help find out who killed Ivy.

Max is intrigued by Tommy’s letter and the unsolved case is something she sees getting her teeth into but when searching for the truth, sometimes secrets can come out that might not want to see the light of day. Can Max figure out just what the truth is in the death of Ivy Lake and will it matter in the end when all the pieces are finally revealed?

POISONOUS delivers a story of cyber-bullying, secrets and more all wrapped up with twists and turn that will leave you breathless. I adore this series. The main character is a multidimensional woman named Max Revere who is as tough and complicated as anyone else in the real world. I can’t get enough of Max and her right hand man/bodyguard, David Kane. In the third book we see Max take on the most complicated case yet in her career, a teenage cyber bully dies and the police think its murder but have no proof of it. Max is still reeling from a case three months before that caused her to be kidnapped, tortured and drugged. With David hovering and offering his help, Max is determined to help Tommy and his family except the more she finds out about that family, the more questions she seems to have.

I really like how this author has Max tough as nails in her work and in her personal life, a bit more uncertain and wary. Max is a character that you can’t help but root for as you get caught up in her cases. Since the first book, Notorious, I was drawn to Max as a character as it felt like this was a person with vulnerabilities and issues other mortals have in real life. The author does an amazing job in capturing those nuances of Max’s personality and writing it in a way that you can’t help but be sympathetic toward. Her personal relationships are complex and she can’t help but speak her mind about situations even if it was the wrong thing to do. Honesty and truth is the core of Max and the reader gets to see that even more in POISONOUS. Add in a few twists and a killer I so didn’t see coming and you got the earmarks of an engaging story right to the climatic finish!

POISONOUS is a thrill ride every second and was drawn into the book right from the first page. If you haven’t picked this series up, then I highly recommend you start from the beginning with Notorious as it gives you the background of who Max really is and what shaped her to be the hard-nosed reporter she is. I cannot wait to see where Max goes next especially since the ending left a slight cliffhanger in Max’s personal life that I am anxious to see resolved one way or another. All I can ask the author is- please write the next book faster!

This is an objective review and not an endorsement