💻📱 "Network of Deceit" (Amara Alvarez #2) (2021) 📱💻 - Book Review
MY REVIEW
Publisher: Revell (February 2, 2021)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0800736516
ISBN-13: 978-0800736514
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“After her rescue of nearly fifty kidnapped children made international headlines, Amara Alvarez gets what she's worked for: a transfer to San Antonio's Homicide Division. Reality sets in quickly, though, as her first case, the suspicious death of a teenager at a crowded local water park, brings chaos to her personal life.
As the investigation moves forward and she increases the pressure on the suspects, Amara finds herself under attack by cybercriminals. Her every move is being potentially watched online, and she's forced to resort to unconventional methods to find the killer. With few leads, she fights to keep her first murder investigation from ending up in the cold case files.”
Thank you in advance to the publisher, Revell (a division of Baker Books), for providing a complimentary review copy through. A positive review was not required or requested, and all words are my own.
Last year I was privileged enough to be on the Revell Reads review team for the author’s Collision of Lies. After reading that, and then hearing about this novel I couldn’t wait to get it. And, I was THRILLED to be a blogger for this book, the second (2nd) in the Amara Alvarez series. If you haven’t read Collision of Lies, I highly recommend reading that first, as there are some references to it in this book.
While the first one was intense, this one was more suspense, but with a dash of humor. I definitely enjoyed this one a lot more than the first one. Readers will see one “romance” break up, but one going strong. I kind of suspected the second one would be a “forever” deal.
In addition to the return of now Homicide Detective, Amara Alvarez, Threadgill also brought along Detective Jeremiah Peckham, aka: Starsky. Which, I’ll be honest, he is my favorite character. And, he definitely brought the humor to this read. But, it isn’t all laughs either.
The intense and intriguing cover drew me right away. And, it almost looks sinister.
The plot; involving the internet and hacking; was exciting, terrifying, kept me guessing up until the end. There are references to codes and virtual cash so readers unfamiliar with those aspects might find this a challenging read. Thus the dialogue and characters were very realistic.
Threadgill opens with newly assigned Homicide Detective Amara Alvarez watching a video – a woman finding the deceased body of a teen (Zachary Coleman) at a water park.
While not yet a homicide, Amara is looking at the suspicious death. It doesn’t help she is getting an icy cold reception in homicide. One of the detectives, Travis Rutledge, is harassing Amara who he doesn’t feel paid her dues; this is despite her actions during “Cotulla” (Collision of Lies). The only bright spot is her “meals” with Starsky, though they aren’t officially dating. I really disliked Lt. Segura who I felt there was something up with.
At first, the death looks like heatstroke from alcohol consumption. There is a mention of vodka being snuck in via water bottles. I actually saw this happen several years ago at a race track. I watched a group of people pouring vodka into Dasani bottles to take into the track, so the practice is very much a real deal.
Anyway …
As Amara investigates – unofficially as there is nothing to determine it a homicide yet – she finds the victim has no social media presence, worked at Target, and had no criminal background.
Another suspicious deal – splotchy security outages at the water park.
The father of the victim is appreciative of Amara’s diligence; he wants to know the truth of what happened. Amara also wants to search the home and decides to come back a few days later. She discovers a wad of cash that the teen didn’t get from saving up paychecks.
What she finds leads her to an interesting group of teens, hacking, and ransom ware. And, the author gives us a bunch of suspects – Haley, Liam, Matias who met in an online game. They’re not exactly Zach’s friends per se.
Amara doesn’t get too far into her investigation when she gets a creepy call that is very personal. But, she doesn’t back down and neither do the threats – from power outages to blocking her debit cards – someone wants her to stop. Though why?
Up to this point she doesn’t have much for an investigation let alone an arrest. It is mostly speculation.
Amara also learns some devastating news about her mother – but thankfully her mother has someone to help her.
When the kids don’t cooperate, Amara goes to their parents.
Amara also finds that there was a power outage at the home where Zachary’s grandmother is. That, combined with her out power outage, along with the water park’s breach – it sparks something in the investigation.
Haley goes to talk, but stops; Liam’s mother wants a concrete deal; Matias offers something, but very little.
Amara soon learns about the “business” which then turns the investigation around. It never is deemed a homicide and the author keep the mystery going up until the end.
She learns her stalker and the killer are two different people in the shocking end.
There was a final twist, right before the epilogue, that I didn’t see coming. I understood it, but it was definitely a shock.
I really couldn’t put it down and while it took me four (4) days, it would’ve taken half the time had I not been sick or been reading another novel for an online “book club” at the same time.
Some of the fun Starsky moments included a “death by snack cake” comment; a speedo comment; as well as his notorious appetite. There is also a little kiss between him and Amara.
Despite being distributed by a Christian themed publisher, this has no real references to Christianity or faith. It is a clean read without sex or foul language.
Fans of the genre as well as those who’ve read Collision of Lies are sure to enjoy this read. I will definitely be reading the third (3rd) book when it comes out due to the “open” ending of this one, along with Amara’s mom’s health update. I was also hoping for the origin of Starsky’s nickname, which didn’t surface, so that is another reason I’m looking forward to book three (#3).
RATING:
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html)
Previous Books in the Series:
Series: Amara Alvarez (Book #1)
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Revell (February 4, 2020)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0800736508
ISBN-13: 978-0800736507
⬅️ Click Photo for Purchase Information
“The case was tragic. But it was an accident. Right?
Three years ago, a collision between a fast-moving freight train and a school bus full of kids led to devastation and grief on an unimaginable scale. But a fresh clue leads San Antonio police detective Amara Alvarez to the unlikely conclusion that one of the children may still be alive. If she's correct, everything law enforcement believes about the accident is a lie.
With time running out, Amara must convince others--and herself--that despite all evidence to the contrary, the boy is alive. And she will do everything in her power to bring him home.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tom Threadgill is a full-time author and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the International Thriller Writers (ITW). The author of Collision of Lies, Tom lives with his wife near Dallas, Texas. Learn more at www.tomthreadgill.com.
You can follow him on the following social media accounts:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TomThreadgill.author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tom_Threadgill
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