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Formats
Ebook Details
  • 10/2022
  • B0BHRQJBFF
  • 284 pages
  • $2.99
Paperback Details
  • 10/2022
  • 978-1956806779
  • 284 pages
  • $12.99
Bonnie Traymore
Author
Little Loose Ends: A Psychological Thriller (Hudson Valley Series)
A stand-alone sequel to the hit page-turner Killer Motives: A Hudson Valley Mystery. After a year that turned her world upside down, Victoria Mancusio’s seemingly perfect life is back intact—except for one looming loose end. And Victoria doesn’t like loose ends. After a series of events that would have put anyone over the edge, all Victoria wants is for her life to go back to normal. In the aftermath of her husband’s infidelity, his lover’s murder, and the harrowing moments when her life flashed before her eyes, she just wants to focus on her perfect baby daughter, Lila, and live a simple, peaceful life. But given her family’s wealth and notoriety, a simple life has never really been possible for Victoria. And with a sensational murder case and their names splashed all over the media last year, a threat from her past has resurfaced. Are the taunting text messages he’s sending a genuine threat, or is it just his way of playing with her head? She takes it upon herself to find out, determined to protect herself and her daughter. But the more she uncovers, the more the fabric of her life begins to unravel, and Victoria soon realizes he’ll stop at nothing to get back at her. But not if she can get him first.
Plot/Idea: 7 out of 10
Originality: 7 out of 10
Prose: 7 out of 10
Character/Execution: 7 out of 10
Overall: 7.00 out of 10

Assessment:

Plot/Idea: In the successful sequel to Killer Motives, Traymore delivers a well-plotted mystery that provides depth through exploration of relationship dynamics, betrayals, and emotional upheavals. Though there are a number of unexpected developments and twists throughout, the work may benefit from some additional tension and buildup to the reveal of the culprit. Readers will benefit from having read the first title in the series, though Traymore establishes the previous circumstances for new readers.

Prose: The prose is solidly constructed and highly readable.

Originality: Traymore develops a unique and intriguing premise through the focus on a serial stalker. Perhaps most compelling are the relationships at the story's center and the emotional impact of the characters' struggles. 

Character/Execution: The two female protagonists are clearly portrayed, with Victoria emerging as the more complex and nuanced of the pair. Side characters provide texture and additional narrative substance. 

Date Submitted: April 08, 2023

Reviews
Kirkus Reviews

Traymore’s suspenseful mystery novel, the second in a series, pits one stalker against another. 

Victoria Mancusio’s life is at a precarious pass. After her husband, Nick, had an affair and faced a murder trial (he was acquitted), the marriage bond is very tenuous. The national publicity of the trial drew the attention of former art professor Timothy Sutton, a sexual predator who attacked Victoria when she was an undergraduate. She fought him off, and he was even forced out of his university position. So now, 10 years later, this narcissist may be out for revenge (he’s sending Victoria threatening texts), and he knows where she lives. She flies from her art gallery in New York to Arizona, deducing that he might be there. Indeed, she spots him and also finds and enlists Jenna Williams, another woman who survived his attacks, as a reluctant ally in trying to get this menace off the streets. Victoria is also attracted to hunky Scottsdale Police Department detective Randy Ramirez. Sutton winds up in “ankle monitor” custody but cuts it off and slips away, whereabouts unknown; likewise, Jenna, whom Victoria had bankrolled to move east, takes off. Now it’s cat and mouse, with Sutton and Victoria each both the cat and the mouse, leading to a surprising and violent conclusion. Traymore is a very competent writer (“There was enough guilt in this family to fill purgatory”) and very good with plotting and suspense. Another strong element is that everyone—even the good guys—harbors secrets. It began with Nick’s infidelity and is echoed in the flirtation between Victoria and Randy. And those are just a few examples. For the very best reasons (she tells herself), Victoria is playing it close to the vest, while Nick finally admits that he was not totally truthful about certain details, even after he confessed to the infidelity. There is even a grace note of deception, as it were: Victoria may have been the result of her mother’s early-on extramarital dalliance. The novel reads like a primer on tangled webs, and Traymore is clearly having fun with it. 

A well-plotted mystery to curl up with.

Formats
Ebook Details
  • 10/2022
  • B0BHRQJBFF
  • 284 pages
  • $2.99
Paperback Details
  • 10/2022
  • 978-1956806779
  • 284 pages
  • $12.99
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