2-3-4 Challenge Book Discussions #1 discussion

What was different about this story from the others in the series? Was it a good place to end?

I liked this book better than others in the series. I don't remember Maggie doing anything stupid in this one. We got to see more of Tully and met a new character (Ryder Creed) who was interesting. I was totally floored by the identity of the killer. This guy never crossed my mind. There were still things left hanging, but it felt to me that the author is planning on coming back to this series in the future.

It did not end the series in that there were so many unanswered questions. As Robin says maybe she wants to come back to it.

I thought it was much better written and the pace was really good. It didn't feel like 400 pages. It was interesting and I enjoyed it for the most part...until it ended. It may not be a good place to end the series but I'm glad it's ended for me.

I agree about the unanswered questions. I'm convinced it's her writing style, which just doesn't suit me. What happened with Patrick and the young woman who almost burned to death? Is Tully okay?

I was wondering about Patrick when I read the book. Maggie's house burned down, Gwen was sitting with the dogs, but Maggie never mentioned where her brother is staying. Did he get fired from his job for helping to put out a fire that wasn't sanctioned by his boss? We were never told.

That's what drove me crazy about this series...all these loose threads.

Suzanne Brockmann has a TON of characters and she manages to keep things straight and never leaves you dangling. I asked her once how she kept up with it all and the system she described was impressive (involved a huge notebook with color coding for each character and op). Kava couldn't even get it straight that Patrick was Maggie's half brother. I emailed her about the one book where she referred to him as her stepbrother and in her response she just said she goofed.

While Kava's writing is problematic and she has a tendency to leave too many loose threads and unanswered questions, I do enjoy her fast paced writing style overall. This is definitely one of the better books.

As to the villain, I guessed who it was almost immediately. At the end of the chapter where he is introduced, Maggie notices that he has a strange smile on his face when every one else is looking very grim about the murders. This tipped me off to his being the killer.

Lauren wrote: "While Kava's writing is problematic and she has a tendency to leave too many loose threads and unanswered questions, I do enjoy her fast paced writing style overall. This is definitely one of the b..."

Nice catch. When his identity was uncovered in the book, I actually had to take a moment to remember who this guy was.