In the second installment of the Gardiner and Renner series by Lisa Black, Unpunished, there is a bizarre murder at a newspaper publishing office where the victim is found hanging. Maggie Gardiner is the forensic expert called in to process the scene, along with Jack Renner, a homicide detective whom Maggie does not fully trust. Maggie knows Renner’s secret – he takes the law into his own hands when he finds that justice isn’t going to prosecute the guilty – but knows if she exposes Jack, she may be up for homicide charges from a previous incident. As the story continues, there are more murders at the Newspaper, and Maggie and Jack become involved with the reporters who are fearing for their jobs due to the fact that print journalism is on its deathbed. Both Jack and Maggie are tired of hearing the reporters on their soapbox over what they believe will be the loss of their jobs, but must still investigate to solve the murders.

Gardiner and Renner are a very unlikely and unique duo; Black has done a good job of characterizing them, and while the reader knows what Renner is capable of and has done in the past, most of the other characters do not. This makes for an extra bit of suspense in addition to the building suspense that goes along with the story. Readers will not be sure what Renner is up to, and will also be unsure if Maggie is in danger due to her knowledge of what Jack really is. Black’s supporting characters are well-developed and believable.

Black is a well-established, bestselling author, and her writing style is easy for most readers to get into. She knows how to build suspense while leaving readers unsure of what is going to happen. This is a good suspense series, doesn’t have profanity or sexual innuendo, but contains some graphic descriptions of the dead bodies. It’s recommended for older teens and adults.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

This story was interesting and I liked the msin characters, but the book went on and on and on about the newspaper publishing business. Some of it was interesting but this was way too much.
I liked the main characters but there were too many side characters. It was hard to remember them all.
In my opinion this would have been a nice short story. A full novel needed less information about the newspaper business and more character backgrounds.

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Dedicated to the newspaper industry this is a mystery that takes place in a small Ohio newspaper. In fact one murder follows another. Jack Renner, killer with good in mind teams with Maggie Gardiner, forensic investigator, to find the answer. Having worked together before Maggie knows Jack's real motivation and wonders if he is behind the killing. Based on the current status of the newspaper business the story moves with the possible sale of the newspaper and who benefits. A quick but fun read.

I enjoyed this continuation of the Gardiner and Renner Series. Maggie and Jack are interesting characters with an uneasy alliance. I liked the suspense in this one and am looking forward to seeing where the next book takes Maggie and Jack.

Thanks to Netgalley, Penquin Random publishing and Lisa Black for the ARC. I did love this book. It was full of adventure, mystery, and a thriller.
I enjoyed reading about the newspaper business, and what happen when there is a inevitable takeover. So similar to a lot of things in the world lately. I liked the characters and even though this was book 2, I had no problem following the storylines. I will read That Darkness, book 1, as it builds the dynamics of the original characters and storylines to come, and seems like a 5 star read.
Reviews on Goodreads and Amazon (when they allow in their timeframe) . A suggestion for my book club as well..

I know other people will give a book a bad/low mark for being a DNF, but as an author myself I know how bad that feels. So I hope my no score is less painful. I’m not going to score this book as I don’t want to give it a bad score - as I don’t feel it deserves one. Nor do I want to give it a high score for the same reason.

Basically, this book was not for me. There is nothing wrong with the writing; I just couldn’t get into it. From other reviews I have read, people have loved this book. To me that proves it’s good… for the right audience.

This does not make it a bad book, and I really want to emphasise this. Despite not liking it and not being able to get into it, I did see potential. I, the reader, and this book just weren’t matched and I refuse to mark it down because of my own faults. :-)

A forensic expert and a homicide detective work together to find a killer inside the newspaper industry in this well written thriller. I was really impressed with the forensic insight it was really well done and my favorite parts of the book. This wasn't my favorite by this author that is a favorite of mine but is still highly recommended for someone looking for a good mystery thriller read.

A good old fashioned who done it with a twist.. I loved how this book stood alone without the first book. Sometimes you get lost in a book because too much is left unsaid from the first book.. or conversely the author basically rewrites the first book again by going into way too much detail. This book has just enough information from the first book to get a sense for who Gardiner and Renner were and what transpired in book one to get us to where these characters are in their relationship.

A great murder mystery with several murders and great plot hints. Black gives you just enough information to follow along in the investigation without giving away the ending. Will definitely be reading more from her! 5 stars

This is a slow paced book. I feel that it would have done far better with a bit less of something, and a bit more speed somehow. The slowness also seemed to take away from the main characters. The suspense was good, and the forensics was awesome. The over all plot and story still works, you have to be willing to pursue the leads to the very end, much like real life.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

If you buy the premise of Jack being both a good guy and a bad guy, then this is a pretty good series. Maggie is always quick with a comment and her dialogue, especially with Jack, rings true. The newspaper business doesn't need any more trouble, let alone a murder so these two, who make a good team, solve things quickly- although frankly this could have been trimmed a bit and the story wrapped up sooner. THanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. I like that the main characters are not "perfect" but they are human and trying to do the best they can. I always enjoy a good murder mystery and I look forward to more from this series.

I loved this book. I highly recommend starting with THAT DARKNESS, which is book one of this series. Also, it is helpful to remember that unlike CSI TV shows, not all evidence techs are cops. (In fact, CSI Miami makes clear it's a special unit... but who knows if people recall the differences!) This important fact means Maggie Gardiner is not trained as a police officer, in protocol or law. She has a different set of what-ifs to consider when making decisions about everything around her work and whatever secrets she may uncover, or willingly hide. She has done one thing the law would not forgive, ever, and has no statute of limitations. And only one other person knows. He holds her secret and his own as well, so they continue to have slightly strange interactions. An extra calculation in everything each one of them does.

You KNOW you want to read this series.
1: THAT DARKNESS
2: UNPUNISHED

A solid book with decent pacing and interesting characters. I might have enjoyed it more if I read the previous book in the series.

This is one of those cases where I should have read the first book before getting into the sequeal. As such, I couldn't get into the characters. The writing is well done, but I felt extra information was given that wasn't needed. Then again, that might be more for the benefit of cloaking the killer. No matter, I didn't care for this book.

This novel is the second in the Gardiner and Renner series. I was invited to read and review it by Kensington Press and Net Galley. I appreciate the invitation and have enjoyed other titles published by this house; unfortunately, this particular book didn’t work for me. It is now available for purchase.

The premise is that a man has been found hanging at the office of the Cleveland Herald. Forensic investigator Maggie Gardiner is called to the scene. Ultimately, she will pair once again with Jack Renner, a vigilante killer that uses his homicide cop skills to enforce his own code.

This aspect of the story is not without appeal. As traditional relationships between the public and law enforcement become more fraught with injustice, it’s hard to relate to a traditional cop, though for the sake of a good yarn, I can pretend. While it is unthinkable, in real life, for anyone to make their own private hit list according to who’s good and who’s not—in the mind of the list maker—it does make for good fiction.

That’s about all the good I found here, though. Stereotypes, women referred to as “girls”, at-risk urban youth all lumped into the category of “gangbangers” and made disposable; these things all set my teeth on edge. There’s some over-long dialogue that is flat, and there’s more information about the production of newspapers than I ever needed to know.

The place I reacted the most strongly was at the beginning, where we get detailed information about neck ligatures that tell whether a body on a rope committed suicide or was strangled and left there to swing. For some readers, I think this will be fascinating. But for those that have been close to someone that died by his or her own hand, particularly in this manner, let this review serve as a neon trigger warning. There’s no scooting past it to get to the story; the forensic aspect plays heavily here.

For fans of Lisa Black’s other novels, of which there are several, this will likely be a welcome read. And perhaps I am a wee bit harsh simply because I have read so much strong fiction lately; every reviewer is susceptible to the urge to compare work. What else is on the table that I could be reading? How good is it? And right now, the answer is that the table is groaning under the weight of excellent literature, and those with limited time and resources can likely find a better book than this one.

Not this book; not this time.

I enjoy the Maggie and Jack story line and the setting of Cleveland, OH, so will look forward to the next book.

If you have not read the first book in this series do so now! The book can stand alone, but you will appreciate it much more if you have read the first. Maggie and Jack are both engaging and flawed, especially Jack, or is that just a judgement call? The view of print journalism is very deep and will make you uneasy about our entire information network. Great thriller for fans of Lisa Gardner, Alex Brennan and Laura Griffin.

There isn't much that I can say on this one. Some parts I really enjoyed since the author does a wonderful job on the gory details which kept me reading. However, the pacing was very slow through the rest of the book, and I found myself putting this down quite often and struggled to finish. Not sure if I'll read this author again.

I’ve decided to broaden my horizons and read a book that had no dukes and duchesses, so I grabbed this thriller. I figured if I love thriller and mystery in movies, I may as well find out if the same applies to the written word.

This is the second book in the Gardiner and Renner series (let me note that I haven’t read the first one) and the main characters are Maggie and Renner, she a forensics expert, he a homicide detective. Both are searching for a killer, so the plot wasn’t bad. What I had trouble with is the two leads. I was hoping for some sparks, and couldn’t find any.

In the end I have to say the book was good, but I just wished it concentrated more on character development, rather than the plot and unlimited data of the newspaper industry.

Melanie for b2b