Switchblade
by Carsen Taite
Pages: 205
Date: May 11 2014
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Series: Luca Bennett Bounty Hunter (3rd in series)
Review
Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0
Read: April 26 2016
The last book in the series (at least as of this date).
I've had something of a running theme in my reviews, barring the one for the short story, about how much having read the short story did or did not impact my ability to read the books that came before it. Since the short story is the last thing, currently, published in the series. Well, things kind of built. First book wasn't that impacted. Sure, things were a lot different than the world the short story lived in, but, for all I knew, the events in the first book occurred years before the short story. So any differences could be pushed aside. Second book? Less easy to push things aside. Especially since the relationship, whatever it might have been would be had been, was a huge question mark in the second book between the two people who were lovey-dovey in the short story (okay, they weren't, but they were a definite couple). Spent most of the second book in a kind of 'get on with it, I know the relationship you two are going to have . . . stop being morons' haze.
Third book? It wasn't the romance, per se, that I had an issue with, it was the mystery/action part. Because I knew what would happen, since it had already happened for me - from having read the short story. 'Come on already . . come on . . . WTF? That's not how it was described in the short story. mmphs.' So - my ability to enjoy the third book was greatly undermined by having read the short story before I'd read anything else.
So. Luca Bennett came from a crap background. A broken home. Without any real desire for the work, she went to the police academy. Meet someone named Jessica Chance there. They both graduated. Were friendly towards each other. They begin their training with two experienced partners - Teresa Perez (with Jessica), and Larry Brewster (with Luca). An incident occurs, both Brewster and Luca are shot. Perez is pissed at Luca. Luca says fuck it and leaves the police force. All of this occurring before the first book in the series. She becomes a bounty hunter, licensed private investigator, and fuck-buddy with Jessica Chance.
First book involves a good mystery. On again, off again fuck buddy status with Jessica Chance. And a relationship between Luca and a lawyer named Veronica 'Ronnie' Moreno.
Second book involves an interesting enough mystery. Weirdness with Jessica Chance. Relationship between Luca and a federal agent named Diamond Collier - who Luca had apparently hooked up with in the past during a case that gets talked about in the series, but never actually detailed fully. Meanwhile Jessica Chance has hooked up with a doctor.
Third book. Ronnie's turned up for Luca's help. Her brother, a cop, is in trouble. The only reason I can fathom Ronnie turning to Luca is because Luca had worked with her in the past (and she can't turn to the police - they are the ones investigating her brother; and she can't turn to . . . apparently anyone else - apparently having grown up in the area gave her access to no other living person in Dallas except her family, and Luca Bennett - and she only meet Luca when Ronnie moved back to Dallas). Otherwise . . . going to a bounty hunter to hunt down a fugitive is one thing. Going to a bounty hunter to help your brother, who isn't missing I remind everyone, is . . . confusing. A conspiracy involving drugs, which may or may not be fake; and really really stupid cops - seriously, no one questions the fact that a newly promoted vice detective lives in a 'good' area of town, in a 'nice' house, and drives a newish corvette? What, do they need the cops to wander around handing out flyers saying 'we are corrupt, heh heh heh' for anyone to notice? (Why yes, I say to myself, people did notice - hence - stupid stupid evil corrupt cops).
So. I ran through the list of the relationships in the series for the important point of now saying - everyone who had popped up at any point in the series and had any type of physical relationship with Luca, turns up in this book. Ronnie's here, Jessica's here, as is Diamond Collier. Luca's been on something of a growing path - one involving forcing herself to recognize her feelings. And yet . . . well, it's hard to break patterns/habits, eh? Oh, and almost forgot - the flirty Nancy Walters is also in this book as well. She does everything short of pouncing onto Luca and humping her. Everyone seems to like making disparaging remarks to Luca, but they all sure want to hump her.
Teresa Perez had kind of been built up in my mind, from the short story and the first book, as being this smart woman who despises Luca. Other than running around with a, figurative, sign on her head in this book, she didn't exactly seem to be as smart as I'd expected/been lead to believe
I distracted myself and I am rambling so I'll boil things down - there's a good chance I would have rated this book at least 4 stars if not for how I screwed myself by reading the short story before the books in this series. At the moment I figure I'd give it 3.5 stars. And probably raise the rating up to 4 at some point relatively soon. Maybe.
April 27 2016
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