Title: Her Dying Secret
(Detective Josie Quinn #20)
Author: Lisa Regan
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Detective
First published: May 14th 2024
Publisher: Bookouture
Finished reading: April 21st 2024
Pages: 255

“He always says he’ll protect me. He’ll do anything to protect me. But who will protect me from him?”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

REVIEW

I’ve been following the Detective Josie Quinn series ever since the very first book came out, and it is without doubt one of my favorite detective thriller series. I’m always looking forward to spend more time with its characters, so it’s a treat whenever a new sequel finds its way to my kindle. The previous book was quite different than the rest of the series, but Her Dying Secret returns to the same formula I’ve become used to with these books. And while a certain character kind of put a damper on things, I still had a great time reading what is already book number twenty! of a series that shows no signs of slowing down.

While technically you could read Her Dying Secret as a stand-alone, I personally wouldn’t recommend it. This series focused a lot on the personal development of the main characters as well as the actual crime, and it’s best to read the series in order both for the character background and because you will avoid spoilers this way. Book number twenty once again offers quite a development in both Josie and her husband Noah’s lives, although thankfully nothing negative this time around. The case itself does stand completely on its own though.

The team is back together after a little deviation in the previous book, although we of course have a new team member to deal with: Turner. And here is where it went wrong for me: Turner is such a horrible character, and having to deal with his antics, sexist comments, lack of teamwork and laziness over and over again really started to frustrate me. I get why the author would have introduced him to mix things up, but his negative behavior is way too present and it just isn’t believable that he is able to get away with the comments he makes and the things he does in this day and age.

That said, the case itself was intriguing. What seems to be quite a simple case at first glimpse turned out to be so much more complicated… And while I did guess part of the truth, I never saw the whole picture until it was revealed. I had a great time following the investigation, and there are plenty of moments of action and danger incorporated. There are also plenty of secrets to unravel, and the plot twists to enjoy of course. The writing style is just as engaging as always, and I loved the banter between the characters (excluding Turner).

If you are looking for an engaging, fast-paced and suspenseful detective thriller, I can highly recommend this series in general. Things can be said about the credibility, but the entertainment factor is high! I already can’t wait to see what Josie and the rest will be up to next (although I can’t deny that I’m not looking forward to meet up with Turner again).

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